The Washington herald., 1908-02-02
BeStIIlustratiOn OfAll-rOund
Skill Among Fighters.
MAHER THE HARDEST HITTER
Hurricane style of PugiIist DetcriO-
rates Rapidly, but the Public Likes
change Smash for Smash-Jeffries'
Ability to stand GFueIing.

by the successful efforts OF a clever boxer
to avoid the attacks OF his opponent, but
such patrons of the game of hit, stop. and
get away are In "A lonesome minority.
Ninety-nine of every hundred persons
who 20 TO a boxing bout are there with
the object Of seeing one or both Of the
contestants land resounding thumps, and
the more the merFier, II is only when the
boxers engaged in a bout begin to pum-
mel each other with the greatest vigor,
and when science is thrown TO the winds.
that the onlookers jump out of their
chairs and cheer and Shrek with delight
1t may possibly be the brute instinct
implanted in the human breast that is
responsible for this ebullltion of ferocity.
but it certainly goes to prove that ma
jority of those who go To ring contests
are not educated in the fine points Of the
game OF else do not care for them. The
punch" is what attracts their attention
and receives their applause, and the man
who can land hard enough to send his
opponent to the canvas is the hero Of the
hour. says the New York Press
In considering this quality of the boxer,
there are several points to he studied.
There are boxers who can hit hard. but
have no defensive skilli there are others
who have great defensive ability but do
not hit with any force. and there are
others who possess effective hitting abi-
ity with excellent defense. The latter
combination is the most valuable, and
viii in the end bring success to its pos
SCISSOR, as such q boxer viii endure long
er than any other and Is thus enabled to
fight al greater speed.
Do Not last Long.
The fighter who merely can punch ard
is without boxing science has short
career. He may In the yigor of his youth
win many battles in hurricane style. but
he usually receives so much punishment
while winning his fights or losing them
that he deteri0rates rapidly Examples
of that sort are found In Peter Maher.
John L. Sullivan Tom sharkey Kid
Carter, Terry NcGoyern, Young Corbett,
and many others.
Clever boxers who do not punch bard
include Jim Corbett. Frank Ernc Jimmy
Britt. and a large collection of others
The men noted for good defensive tac-
tics and Knockout ability included Kid
Mccoy and Tommy Ryan both of whom
are out Of the game az present, and the
late George Dixon. Joe Cans. the light
weight champion. is doubtless the best
illustration of all-round boxing in the
country with a defensive skill that has
always baffied his opponents. and which
enables him to retain his vig0r. he com
bines a hitting power that is second to
none.
James Jenrles. in his prime. was in a
peculiar position. lie never was q clever
sparrer although in the last few years Of
his career in the ring he developed much
skill Yet his huge bulk and great
strength enabled him to assimilate the
punishment of his opponents and tire
them out so they would fall easy victims
10 his blows.
This was the case in his last battles
with Jim Corbett and Bon Fitzsimmons.
Corbctt for twenty-three rounds danced
about Jeffries jabbing him at viii, and
at the end Of the twenty-second round
had Outpointed the BoilermakeT. 4 10 J.
II was simply a question of COTbett re-
E4a4litlsE OH HIS lt-t A4li ftiF emu ti iltt
twenty-ffth round to assure him of the
decision on points. But the effort was too
great for Corbett who, i'm the twenty
third round, became so exhausted that he
was barely able to hold up his hands.
and was easily knocked out CoTbett had
so tired himself out by his efforts TO
avoid the rushes Of the giant that he
could not go any further
JeRriez Never BIinked.
In the case Of Fitzsimmons. he beat
the Boilermaker black and blue, cutting
Jeffries face TO ribbons, and banging
him on the jaw forty times. But the big
fellow never blinked, and when, in the
eighth round, Fitz broke his knuckles on
the hard face Of the champion, and could
do no more effective punching. Jenries
bored in and put Old Freckles to sleep.
The question has often been asked.
"Who is the hardest hitter among the
heavy-weights?'
The reply 10 that query spells Peter
Maher, and the opinion is based on the
effect Of the blows rs delivered by the
perennial Irish champion in bouts IN this
city There is, however, distinction be-
tween hardest hitter" and most ef-
fective. hitter" Unless a hard hitter has
the skill to place his blows with good
Judgment he seldom reaches the spot
aimed at, and that applies TO Maher.
Fitzsimmons undoubtedly was the most
effective hitter in the ring. for in addition
to having q powerful blow always on tap.
he had q strategic system Of delivering
his punches that made them effective.
Again, FitzsmmOns' hitting power was
largely in the forearm, due to his many
years of toll as a blacksmith, and he
could deliver a short-arm jolt and score a
Knockout when his hand would travel
only a few inches.
On the contrary. MaheT was a hard
swinger almost all his heavy blows start
ing from the shoulder. wherein the Irish
man had wonderful power Maher knew
none Of the fine points Of the game of
boxing and for that reason never sue
ceeded in beating a man of class, He
was twice beaten by Fitzsimmons, who
conquered because of superior craft and
ring generalship.
Peter Maher Landed.
But in the first meeting between the
pair in New Orleans in 1892 Maher landed
one Of his terrific swings on the Cornish
man. who went down in a heap, appar-
emily knocked out Then. by clever
bluffing Fltz managed to get on his feet,
and fooled Peter by feinting till the end
of the round. When he came out for tie
third round fresh and strong Fitz pro-
ceeded TO make il so interesting for the
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