The Washington herald., 1908-01-19
TOp-heaVy FaVorites Often
Make Friends Gasp.
FAKES WELL ACCOMPLISHED
Crooked Fighters and Their Man-
ayers Fool Public, but John l.. Sui
Iivan, FitzsimmOns, McGOvern,
Dempsey, and Neil Plunged Their
Admirers in Gloom when Defeated.

When a fake has been arranged, and
the result was not In accord with public
form. it has usually been accomplished
in a manner TO ease the shock. For ex-
ample, when C0rbett and Sharkey fought
their famous fake, in 1898, Con McVey,
second for Corbett, jumped into the ring
in the ninth round, causing the verdict
to go to the sailor OF course, this left
the question OF supremacy in doubt, and
as Corbett was the public choice, those
who bet on him had the satisfaction Of
thinking that had the battle gone the
limit he might have won. Later, when
they found that the bout was rank
fake that had been rehearsed by the
principals for weeks, so that there would
be no slip up in the affair. the public
was not so complacent Still, the belief
holds that had the men fought on their
merits Corbett would have won, says the
New York Press.
The Corbett- Mccoy fake in Madison
Square Garden. on August 30, 1900, also
was cleverly arranged. Corbett was the
public choice to win the battle, and there
was one Of the biggest houses that ever
1 was drawn 10 q boxing match. Corbett
/ was a 10 70 Z choice, and as there was
much Mccoy money IN sight those who
were aware that CoTbett was to WIN and
/ that Mccoy would feign 10 be knocked
1 out. did well Coroett and Mccoy were
/ satisfied TO take their share Of the gate
receipts for an exhibition bout. and they
went through the fake so cleveTly that
1 .1.ar ~.
/ bout was on its merits.
when COrbett Won.
/ OF the genuinely contested bouts that
/ did not result according to public opinion,
/ the SuIlivan-COrbett bout in New orleans
on September Z, 1892, was the most note
worthy. Those who thought the Cali
| fornian had a chance were few and far
/ between. Ii was regarded as cake
walk for the burly champion, and his
supporters offered and 10 1 on Sullivan.
with few takers.
/ So poorly We're Corbetts chances re-
gaTded, that he almost failed 70 get to-
gcther the side stake of $4,000 that Sui
lHvan insisted on as a condition of max
l ing the match.
/ 4 few venturesOme persons. who were
not blinded by alteration for the cham
! pi0n. suggested that a man who could
I hold the great Peter Jackson to a draw
( in sixty-one rounds, beat Joe Choynski
I in several fights. and make Jake kilraIn
/ look like a pugilistic deuce In six rounds.
was not 10 be despised. and might prove
| a disagreeable surprise TO the champion.
/ All such talk, however. was sCoffed at,
and the men who spoke IN that vein were
/ regarded as visionary and undesirable
citizens. II was unpleasant for the Cor
/ bett supporters previous TO the battle, for
their arguments We're always laughed
down. and they were glad 90 change the
subject After the battle however, there
was a different story to tell
John l.. In Training
with the side stake arranged and arti-
cles signed the men went to their train
ling quarters Sullivan hied himself to
/ Shinnecock. at the extreme western end
Of Long Island. where it was thought he
would be so far removed from the temp
tations that beset him in the big cities
/ that he would be able to train with good
effect. Phil Casey, the handbaI cham
pion. now dead was put in charge of the
camp, and Sullivan began work for the
battle While it was reported that Sulli-
van had some lapses from strict training,
still he did fairly well, and when he
stepped into the ring he was in as good
condition physically as It was possible for
him TO get He was strong, had his
punch with him, and the only drawback
was a slight tendency 10 fullness about
the waist
But no matter how good Sullivan had
/ been, he would not have prevailed on that
/ occasion over Corbett, who was a Won
derfui specimen of physical perfection
when he started for the battle ground.
Corbett trained at Asoury Park, and no
one ever saw a man work as ne did He
was strong as an OK, quick as panther,
| tireless as a locomotive, and backed all
! that W with the most remarkable boxing
/ skill ever possessed by a heavyweight.
| This was a combination that would have
| beaten any man in the ring at that time
with the possible exception of Fitzsim-
mons or Peter Jackson.
All was iubilation on the Sullivan spe-
ciaI train when it left here for the South.
Il was hlled 10 its capacity with leading
/ sporting men, and there was one con-
tinual cheer for the champion inter
/ spersed with illusions to the unfortunate
/ Mr. Corbett, who was TO be knocked into
a cooked hat.
COrbett UnhOnored.
COTbett did not 90 to the battle ground
in a special He and his handlers rode on
a regular train. and there We're few with
/ him. Corbett was ignored and unhonored
up to the time he got into the ring, and
even when he had shown his superiority
! over the champion in a hard battle he
was begTudged the hOnors he had won.
II was then said that he had beaten a
man who had lost his vigor because of
/ the pace ne had gone. This was most
unjust but many persons still believe
that Sullivan was a wOrn-out man wnen
he was beaten by Corbett. Such was not
the case. Sullivan was a strong, active,
hard-hitting boxer at the time he was
made to look foolish by Corbett, and the
match was made solely for the reason
that Sullivan thought Corbett would not
be able to hit hard enough to hurt the
champion, who would sooner or later get
one of his famous punches over on the
jaw Of the youngster.
While Corbett was training it vas sug-
gested that Sullivan was apt to kill him
with a blow
That's so" replied the coming cham
piOn; he might hit me on the shoulder
blade and knock out all my teeth
The sarcasm of the remark was appre-
ciated by those who saw the fight and
observed that Sullivan did not land an
effective blow during the entire battle
The bout in which Young COTbett won
the feather-weight title from Terry Nc
Govern also was a dreadful upset for
those who thought they knew all about
boxing. McGovern was held in practi-
caily the same esteem that Sullivan had
been held. Terry had the wallop. and a