The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-09-17
O'RIEN ACCUSES
JAMES JEFFRIES
Confessed Fakir Claims Re-
tired Champion Was Mixed
Up in Crooked Work.

Jack O'Brien is still confessing his guilt
as a fake fighter and has gone into details
of how he arranged two of the biggest
Jobs in tina line which he has been con-
nected with. The most sensational part OF
his latest effusion is that he charges ex-
Champion Jim Jeffres with being a party
to the Jobs. O'Brien says:
"On October s, 1904, l met Tommy Burns
in Milwaukee. The fight, a six7round az
fair. was arranged in that city. was %
weigh 15S pounds at the ringside. Ana
the fight was to go the six rounds. Burns
sent John Willie, a Chicago heavyweight,
to make that point clear, and Willie told
me that Burr would not go on at all
unless / posted a money forfeit that |
would let him stay the six rounds. was
short Of ready money at the time ana told
Willie so. Then Burns demanded that L
put UP my diamond ring, a very expensive
stone. ] told Tommy that l did not see
why 1 should put up the ring, inasmuch
as my word was as good or better than
his. He finally agreed to go on, but dur,
and so suspicious Of a double cross that
he refused to come to me at any stage OF
DE- battle. and in consequence the hght
was a wretchedly tame affair.
II outpointed him with ease, and AFTER
the fight he came to my corner, shook
hands with me, and declared, in the hear
ing of people who were leaving their ring
side seats, that l was there with the goods
and that he would perhaps be able TO ar
range another meeting with me.
Later, when / went to Los Angeles ana
saw Tom McCarey he wanted me TO ar
range a fake fight with Burns at his CLUB.
told him It was no easy matter TO box
would seem like a good, spirited draw. He
said:
the refereeing and he will be all right. No
body will be suspicious with the big fell
low in the ring =,
THE day before the fight Jeffries called
on me and told me he was going TO give
the decision to the man that made the
best showing, and added that he wanted
both Burns and myself to understand that.
This statement from Je1fries did not
surprise me, because had always be
lieved the big fellow to be strictly on the
what Jeffries had said. He laughed,
shrugged his shoulders and said: That's
all right. l have jeff fixed. The tight will
well, the night of the fight came, and
in the fifth round BHrns caught me off my
guard and smashed me a vicious wallop
on the nose, breaking 1t, and making me
bleed like a slaughtered pig. This action
on his part didn't speak very well for his
good faith Cor bad faith, l should say, and
more was i'll store for me.
From the fifth to the fifteenth round he
rushed me all over the ring, trying des-
perately for a knockout. By that time he
had pretty well run his legs off, and l got
punched the head off him. AT the end of
the twentieth round | felt that l was
easily entitled to the decision, and dur
ing the last three rounds l heard jeff talk
ing to the various reporters around the
ringside, asking them what they thought
of 1t. Some said one thing, some said an
other.
JEFF said: Well, 1 was told to make
this a draw, and l am going to do it.
This statement appeared in a Los An
geles paper on the 18th day Of November.
1.-TWO days after the fight McCarey and
l had bitter words in his office, and he
| ta1l mo that An1u for Tnff hainO HXaA I
would have lost the decision
ION the 4th day of December, 1906. a
message came to me from Promoter Skin,
myself a purse of SIS, 900 for a finish fight.
| at once wired him my acceptance, and
stated in the telegram that / would go
there and arrange details. That telegram
can be found today in the files at Los
Angeles: nou,evsr ,.osusea 70 entertain
the offer of Mr.. Skinner, saying that Nc
Carey could do as well for us, If not bet
ter. 1 ave since understood why Burns
took this stand. Skinner, after making
Rhyolite, threw up his hands in disgust,
and left Mr.. Burns and myself at the
tender mercy of McCarey, all of which
was very pleasing to the Los Angeles
"Then McCarey called Burns and myself
together and offered US a purse Of $4,000,
explaining at the time that he would an
nounce the purse to the. public at $4,000.
He said that be would offer the winner, in
addition to the winners end of the purse,
q championship belt worth Sc, 500. / told
him / would much prefer to have him
give the winner $500. in real money and
keep the extra $500 for himself, assuring
him that L did .. care to wear a 5000
belt either on or off the stage.
"On the Sth of May, Fiesta Week in Los
Angeles, the fight took place. Two weeks
before the fight, the day Of the Melody
Sullivan contest, l came into Los Angeles
and called on McCarey at his private office,
being sent for by him.
During the interview which took place
in McCarey's office, he made me the fol-
lowing propositions, after assuring me that
he was my good friend and would see that
l could lose nothing:
"2. Either Burns or myself could lay
down, and l would toss a coin to see
whether it would be Tommy or myself.
80. Burns and ] could SO manipulate the
go that one or the other of US would be
entitled to a decision.
Il told MI. McCarey that l did not be-
lieve Burns would agree to lay down, be-
cause l thought he had too much pride to
entertain such a proposition,
"'Don't you believe it,, said McCarey;
little Tommy is my friend, and he will do
what say.
McCarey said this:
of your end of the purse he will lay down
to you in the eleventh round
81 don't want Tommy to be cheap /
! told McCarey. 4 will give him $500.
'And so it was arranged.
Mr.. McCarey explained to me that he
had given to the public the announcement
that the purse for this fight was $4,000.
Then he went on to say that In case | won,
according to the agreement, ] might be
sordid enough to demand the winners end
Of that $50, 600 purse--a matter of SlS.00Q-
and he admitted frankly that in a court OF
law / could probably grab 1t from him, or
at least expose the fact that the $4,000
was a bogus purse.
"To obviate any such difficulty he sug-
gested / shoul give him my I o u for
$4,000. TcAhs I demurred, though had
never thought of making, any such demand