The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1906-04-20
{ From !
| Inside the
PrizeRing
INTERESTING LETTERS OF AN
EX-WORLD'S CHAMPION
HEAVYWEIGHT
By BOB fITZSIMM0NS
AMERICA FURNISHES
WORLDS BEST BOXERS.
I Copyright, BY Joseph B. Bowles.)

ACo4 6OONo.
Maybe it sounds queer for me to
talk about 'we' like I do when 1 am
an Englishman by birth, but I'm an
American citizen and I'm for the coun-
try that gave me my real start and
made it possible for me to get {.
blamed sight better living than l could
corral anywhere else that I know Of
Besides, I like the country, the people
and the way things are handled
Here, when man believes he deserves
anything he goes and gets it, and there
is no nonsense about it, The question
as to whether he deserves it or not is
outside and he can comfort himself
with the thought that he deserves any
thing ne can get.
What was going to say, though,
was that the United States has been
turning out champions for good
many years now, and it looks to me
as if it was going to go right along on
that basis. When 1 say champions,
can enlarge that to mean champions of
most everything you can think of.
But I started out to mean champion
boxers.
This country furnishes the best box
ers in the world, and it's going to go
right along that way. 1t can't help it
If it wanted to. To be sure, there's
mighty few countries that are deliy-
ering any goods of that class, but you
can't count that. l should say that
outside of America, England and her
direct colonies, there's not a. zeal
boxer coming from anywhere. I once
did hear of Chinaman who had an
idea that he could put up his hands,
but some one took quick punch at
him once and he faded away into
somewhere. There used to be a Jap,
too, but they're not built for the stand
up-and-take-it game at all. I don't
think we can afford to waste any time
peeking over at Japan through tel.
escope watching out for a carload of
pugilists: they're not coming over in
any cargo lots. England as a fighter
producing country isn't in the same
class now with this place. Whether
it's getting worked out or whether the
L |
know, but it's here that the real fight
ing men come from. I don't believe
I'm throwing bouquets at myself when
say that I'm about the only cham
piOn that ever came out of England
and made good right along. And then
you've got to remember that 1 was
bred in Australia, and that the co1di-
tons over there are about the same
as they are here.
Of course there's a reason for it, and
the only thing can think of right off
the reel is that over here we've got
whole lot of different breeds, and that
we get the best of each one of them
in a combination. Every one knows
that away back, the Jew used to put
up pretty stiff scrap, and he had the
noble Roman on the run a whole lot,
but the Jew sort of petered out after
awhile, and as pure stock fighter he
didn't amount to a whole lot.
The Italian-I mean the old-timcr-
used to put up rafting fight, but he
vgot over his energy too, and he don't
cut any ice any more with his hands.
The Irish are pretty good, but they
haven't the staying power that the
others have, and while they're all
there at the. start, they're like race
horse that's been trained to do mile
at top speed, and is then sent out On q
ten mile sprint. You know where he
lands. There's no better fighting stock
in the world to-day than the Irish
Jew, and he's better still when he's
born and brought up here and has a
little good American in him. You
can't whip him much.
The Englishman is a good fighter
(never mind the violets now, thanks.
I'll waltz, but he's a whole lot better
when he comes over here and gets as
simulated into the country. When he
gets that cross strain in him, you can't
whip him unless you kill him. The.
Scotch makes a hot boxer, but he's
slow until you cross linn with some
thing speedy of the U. S. A., and then
he can 60 some,
That's why the best fighters in the
world come out right here. It's like
the bull terrier The terrier will pick
a fight with anything that; walks or.
crawls, but he can't last. The bulldog
doesn't get in action quickly, but he
sticks when he's in and the cross of
the two can put up a racket that Is
worth going to see. It's the west.
though, that breeds tho real fighting
men in this country-that is tho
heavyweights: I don't suppose there's
man on top of the earth at this min
ute-or we'll say two years ago-tllat
could whip Jim Jeffries went after
him twice and couldn't do it, and i
never said that before about any man,
and barring Jim, I won't say it about
any man now. There's something In
that western life that makes real men.