The evening world., 1905-12-27
:.


O'Brden can put In q 0car CLAIM
for. That Is Tho hight heavy
weight championship, which up1oubt'
edly belonged to Fitzsimmons, His boas'
that he has won the middleweight hon
ors, too. Is absurd. o'Brlen may have
been a middleweight some time Of
other, but ne fought at catchweights
last Wednesday night, and II he had
been compelled to get upon the scales
his ring side weight would have been
nearer 10 pounds than lbS.
Tommy Ryan is still middlewelght
champion, and although he has made
one or two cracks about retiring he
seems TO be still in the ring and looking
for a good match. Ryan weighed JAS
pounds stripped when he fought and
knocked out Kid Carter at Buffalo. He
seldom weighed over l52, He was a real
middleweight, and a few years ago had
no master in the class.
o'Brien seems very anxious to night
Ryan, He has a line on foxy Tommy,
Just az he had a line on Ftzsimmons,
He knows Ryan's body is in such con-
dition that he cannot endure punish
ment, and no thinks the time has come
al last when he can really fight Ryan
without insurirg his own safety by
fixing up a fake.
Besides the middleweight and light
heavyweight titles, modest Philadelphia
Jack wants 1t distinctly understood that
he is the worlds crack heavyweight. He
wishes to wear Jeffries's crown, and
that he stands ready TO
fight any man in the world who can
show him that he has a right to battle
for the heavyweight title."
r IMAGINE that Jack will have the
man from Missouri stung forty diff
ferent ways when II comes to the
''show me" proposition Marvin Hart,
who Is now transforming out West
billed as the heavyweight champion"
will have a hard time convincing
o'Bren that he has a right TO battle
for the heavyweight title" Hart isn't
much Of a fighter compared to Jeffrles
or Ftzsimmons in his prime, or any
OF the men who have hsld the premier
place In the prize ring He is slow and
awkward in his movements. But he
has the courage 10 hang on like grim
death, youth, endurance, aggressiveness
and a beautiful punch. He nearly put .
o'Brien out In a Philadelphia six-round
bout. Hart landed a short right upper
cut, quite accidentally, OF course, for
o'Brien had carefully arranged a pro-
gramme with the Knockout possibility
barred, OBrien would very much pre-
fer meeting an aged and decrept fight
er like Tommy Ryan to mixing things
with Marvin Hart. Besides, Ryan
would fight at some weight not over
10 or l5c pounds, while Hart would
be thirty-hve or forty pounds heavier,
Thomas Sharkey would like 70 show
o'Brien, "Tll go away for a couple OF
months and train II he'll take me on
says the sailor.
Gus Rubin growls over the fact that
o'Brien has turned down his many
challenges.
The heavyweight championship is stu
In a muddle, O'Brlen, having beaten
Fltzsimmons, seems t. have a stronger
claim than any Of the other aspirants.
Hart only beat Jack Johnson, black
heavyweight champion, who isn't much
when 1t comes to class, and Jack Root,
a poor second rater, Rubin has been
knocked out by Titzsimmons, sharkey
lost a couple Of times 10 Rubin, But
o'Brien's victory over Fitzsimmons
was not enough to show clearly that
he Is the best man IN the game, lie
will have to fight 1t out with Hart
ana one or two OF the other big fel-
lows before he will be recognized by
the public,