The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1906-10-16

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"The trouble with the majority of
our scrappers," said Madden, the
veteran manager, "is that they over
do things. They work too hard when
they have their vitality and youth
and sap their strength to such an
extent that by the time they have
been campaigning with the gloves
for, say, five years, they are all In,
so to speak. Over-indulgence In ex-
ercise is worse than partaking OF in
toxicating liquors to excess. Too
much gymnasium work has killed
more persons than booze. in my opin-
Ion.
when a young, strong, husky fell
low elects to take up the. precarious
business of prizefighting for living,
he forgets everything else in his en-
thusiasm. He has health on his side
and he desires to make muscle,
thinking that 1t will accelerate mat
ters in his march to the top Of the
ladder. He enters the gym, say, early
in the morning and plods away like
a Trojan for hours at a stretch. He
perspires, he grows weary, rests
and recuperates and goes over the
entire programme again. He keeps
this up for days and weeks. At the
time he may not feel the strain that
he unconsciously places upon his
nervous system. His hearts action
is Quickened and an extra strain Is
put upon this organ, which In the
end must surely collapse. He watches
his muscles grow. Some may have
widened few inches and he is ex-
tremely delighted"
1t was Madden who took John L.
Sullivan In hand and helped the Bos-
ton boy to achieve fame and fortune
in the ring. 1t was Madden who re-
vived boxing in America through the
medium of having Sullivan tour the
country meeting all comers in four
round bouts.
Madden has been a trainer and
manager for twenty-five years and
was a pugilist himself for ten years.
"A fighter should be champion un-
oil he is thirty-seven years old" con-
tinued Madden ref1ectively. "It's a
pity that such youngsters as Terry
be forced to meet their opponents in
the ring to-day as ex-champions.
Little McGovern has not as yet
reached thirty. Corbett is many
years below this mark.
"a fighter should train but three
weeks for any mill. He may dwell
in the country and take things easy
a month before he starts his labors.
But he should have plenty of sleep
and fresh air. Two hours in the gym
nasium, one hour in the morning and
one hour in the afternoon, are sufa-
Client. Let him go on the road and
indulge in a six to eight mile spin.
Do not run the entire distance. Vary
the journey by walking or trotting,
according to the way one feels. Cut
out boxing entirely. For the ordi-
nary citizen who wants some kind OF
exercise one hour daily in the gym
nasium will suffice.
"JOhn L. never made 1t a practice
to box while in very severe training.
Jeffries and Jim Corbett did when
they were in the ring. But 1t must
have injured them, for they had to
abandon their title before they were
81.
Sullivan dissipated or else he
might have been champion to-day.
Jim Mace was champion of the world
at 40 years. Fitzsimmons was cham
pion at 81, and Joe Goss fought Pad
dy Ryan for the title at AZ. Mace
never cared to box while in train
Fitzsimmons, in my opinion, is the
only pugilist before the public who
knows how to train properly. That is
why he has lasted as long as he has.
He understands his own physique,
the same as a good physician should
understand his patient.
GAS to the development of pugil-
lists, there is not much to say. Some
trainers trust to luck in bringing a
fighter to the front, while others
work on careful and intelligent lines.
If you have man that is the goods
give him plenty of scope. If he is
found wanting, look elsewhere for
some one to take his place. ] disap-
prove of the fallacy that man must
be oyer 6 feet to be successful, his
= L"
other qualifications being considered.
, Look at Joe Walcott, with his feet
and half an inch and weighing only
142 pounds in shape He was able to
beat heavyweights. Fitzsimmons,
: too, weighing 153 pounds, had only
weighed lao pounds, and he had to
: drink ten bottles of ale day to put
on seven pounds. There is only one
good pugilist in thousand men In
troduced, and one great champion is
developed once In ten years. Fight
ers should train privately. No pugil-
tst likes to be told in the presence of
lot Of sports what to do. He wants
- convey the impression that he
knows 1t all, and consequently the
! instructions that trainer would like
: 10 fmDart are lost New York Sun