The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-06-08
TIMELY BOXING TALK.
Jim Corbett Praises jim Jenries and Says
He Was Better Than John l..

Pugilists as class are not always ready
to praise their brother professionals. Often
a victorious fighter will give vent to some
nice remarks about a rival. but it Is usually
made in a spirit OF pride. Since jim Jenries
announced his retirement from the game
OF hit. stop and get away there are any amount
Of bruisers who have come forward with kind
word about the champion Corbett. until
.Jeffries came into the limelisht. believed
that there was no man in the ring who could
swap punch for punch with him and win.
Corbett did not regard the victory OF Fitzsim-
mons at Carson city over him as any thing else
but a fuke. He thought that 1t was a lucky
blow that Fitz got home that whipped him
and probably harbors the Idea to-day. al
though it is strange that they have never met
again since that time. However this is no
fault of the Cornish man. who has tried every
conceivable thing to get the Californian to
engage in a return essay. but to no purpose
This Is what Corbett has to say about Jefries' s
retirement and in view of Corbetts reluctance
in the past to give credit to rival his remarks
are interesting:
-.Jefrries will be looked upon as the cham
pion as lonc as he lives You cannot take
that title away from him because he has de-
cided TO quit. He must be defeated first.
and tell me. who is to accomplish such feat
at this time? ] don't know Of any man. He
il in a class by himself and always will be.
There il no one In sight who can give him
an argument. and so naturally he Ia forced
to retire. .effres is only 80 years old. and
he could come back in Ave years and go
through the list OF the men he has already
whipped and do the same thing over once
more. II in the meantime good fighter
should appear and whip a few OF the light
heavyweights you can bet that Jefrres will
return TO the ring and got after his new man.
lie likes boxing too we'll to keep away, from it
o,on, IL. skt 10
should any foreign country produce heavy
weight champion. ! think Jeffries to-day
is a much better man than John 1. Sullivan
last on his feet as SONG Of them. is Just as
the the punch, and this counts the most nowadays
in ring contests. He showed that when he
beat both Fitz and Sharkey. These two
selves But he o,,tpnnohcd them and Won,
Regarding Corbett,s assertion that .Irifriees
heSd Hs OF the sfsl e
Of fistc critics who agree with him in this
respect. In comparins beth men me-. physically
Sullivan sullivan when he was the cham
pion was powerful. rugged man. Nature
frame began to weaken. BY the time he
met Corbett he was but shadow. Of his
Of big men. not even as clever as corbett could
have whipped John L at the time sullivan
may have been as stiff a puncher as Jeffres
is to-day especially with his right hand.
but it cannot be said that he was as scientific.
.JefIries grew from rough and ready. fighter
it must be said that he knows as much. If
not more than Sullivan did when he was
it cannot be denied that the men he has de-
feated were better and knew more about
boxing than were the men Sullivan con
ouered Probably the best man sullivan
ever fought in point of skill was Charley
Mitchell. sullivan fought the Briton draw
This fight did not rebound much to sullivan s
credit In view OF the fact that Mitchell wei ghed
less than sullivan and was badly handled