The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-01-28
FIGHTERS MAY
HAVE A TRY AT
CHAMPION CANS
CONTINUED from FIRST Page.)

there does not seem to be any mad rush
to take up the argument with the former
| lightweight king. Still, when a few of
| these boys get around to it, there should
be some splendid battling In the weller
country before Cans can sit back and
gaze at his prizes.
don't know Of any division now that
offers promise of better fights than
the welterweights, II the boys will
get busy. They had a strong burst Of
energy some time back. but 1t died out
quickly, and there has been no noise
| since.
1t would seem that jimmy Gardner
! should be first In line for battle with
| Cans, II he wants the Baltimore mans
| game. Gardner has shown himself to be
| fighter of no mean ability, and UP to
| tho time ne lost to Sullivan, had a strong
err claim on the title than any fighter in
the ring.
1t was Gardner who lowered Buddy
Ryan's flag in fifteen rounds at colma.
Ryan is a dangerous fighter, and has at
one time or other beaten nearly every
weller of prominence in the country.
Gardner deserves all the credit he got for
his victory. Then came his defeat at
the hands of Mike Crwin) Sullivan, and
then the meeting between Cans and Sui
| Ivan.
That string of fights ought TO make
| Gans's title pretty clear. but there Is
| plenty of room for some good scrapping
IL the other boys want to take it up. 1t
| should be remembered that Suliivans
| win from Gardner was only decision
| at the end of twenty rounds of hard fight
| ing Also that Gardner won from Buddy
Ryan only by narrow margin in a hard
/ fight. Either of these boys Should be
given fight with Cans If they want it,
There is no doubt that Gans's great
| form in the fight with Sullivan was a sur
I prise to the country at large. In his last
fights he showed nothing like work that
would lead one to expect a great battle.
Sullivan, on the other hand. has always
shown himself to be a game. dangerous
and consistent fighter, and there was
consequently no lack of hackers when he
went into the ring
Nor was 1t up to him to make any
apologies. He put up splendid fight. but
he was simply in front of a better man.
I Cans had everything that wins a fight
! He had the head, the punch, the speed
/, and the cleverness. and he used all of
them at the right time. 1t will take a
cracker-jack to beat him in the welter-
weight limit.
I was talking TO some one the other
| day about Fltzslmmons and his long
career in the ring. The discussion was
on what were the probable causes of his
long effectiveness rs a fighter. or course
the usual arguments of abstemous llv-
ing, ETC., We're handed out, but there
was one rather new one, and that offers
! a chance for a good argument.
The theory advanced was that Fits
long career as a good fighter was due TO
the fact that he did not begin fighting
as professional until he had reached
an age when many lighters are retired or
| retiring.
Now, before you get excited one way
or the other on this proposition, 1t would
! be good scheme to look into It, 1t
is true that Fitz did not begin his fight
ing until he was twenty eight years old
He is now forty six (?> which means
rthat he has been In the game for at
! least eighteen years. In his last fight
he showed wonderful endurance and
| stamina, and against any man but a
wonder like o'Bricn he might have given
different finish to the battle.
1t Is unfortunate In doping this thing
out that Fitz is the only example of a
really great fighter who broke into the
game In his late youth. because there
Is no way Of making good comparisons.
lll2 was certainly good for a long time,
and that explanation would seem to an
swer as well as any other.
Now, carrying the argument to its
natural conclusion, what of the fighters
who begin when they are boys?
1t must be admitted that there Is a
little something In favor OF the argu-
ment that many fighters begin too young
when the records OF some Of them arc
considered.
Take. for instance, Terry McGovern
Terry had fought some fifty or more
battles before he met Young Corbett al
Hartford and was knocked out In two
rounds He was then twenty-five years
old. II is no knock on the Terror to say
that he has never been the same fghte,
since That means that he was out o.
the running before some boys have fully
reached their growth.
Young Corbett Is another fighter tha
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