Los Angeles herald., 1908-04-24
SMALL CROWD AT
VERNON OPENING
SULLIVAN WHIPS GARDNER IN
POOR BOUT
MIKE TWIN ouTCLAssEs JIMMY
ALL THE WAY
Magnificent Arena Contains but Few
Fans and the Club Is Forced
to Meet a Big
Deficit
NY J. q. GRIFFIN

IKE TWIN SOIl-A ' <AAN w
H Jim Jeffries' new Vernon nsnt
AL arena last night by decisiVey
whipping Jimmy Gardner for twenty
five rounds and at the same time snow
| ing about a thousand fans that MS OPP
ponent is a muchly overrated man.
,, The Twin was never in danger anu
with the exception of about two ROUNDS
was never outpointed or outfought dur
ing any stage of poor battle.
Not much of bunch turned out 10
the houseWarming, if you can call slt-
ting around for three hours without any
overhead shelter by that name. Less
than a thousand spectators shlVereo
around in the big arena, and there was
no fighting on the bill conducive to cir
culating their blood until overcoatS
were not in demand. Everything tend
ing toward perfect evenings sport
was there-but the fighters.
To do the new club justice. 1t must
be said that the depressing surround
ings, including the vast expanse OF
empty seats and the distance of some
of the customers from the ring, went
long way toward making the fights ap-
GEAR poorer than they really were. HAD
the Sullivan-Gardner mill been held In
the Cabin, where the fans were per-
fectly at home, there would have been
some racket, but as it was nothing In
the line of noise was very much in evil
dence.
The appointments of the new clup
were perfect, and there was none OF tne
crowding and disagreeable huhtlng oi
seats experienced at some SHOWS stassu
not so many miles away from mere. ne
size of the house was a huge dlsap-
pointment to Jeffries and Long, ana
| thew were forced to dig into the ola
gray sock and meet big denclt pc
| fore sullivan and Gardner could De III
duced TO 90 on. At that the new pro-
moters were game, and sooner tnah
disappoint their few patrons tney
coughed up to the demands OF the hsh'-
| erS.
Not Much Good
| To get back to the fight itself, II was
not we'll liked in many ways. ever
since the match was made we nave
been hearing what an unusually .op
notcher welter Jimmy Gardner was, out
| if last nights sample is TO De taken as
the regula. stock, he is the rankest
kind of a dub and ought to be mlhsiihs
| in the preliminary ranks instead ol
claiming the highest honors III MS III
vision. Ii. .d
aid all that he said he would. Had IL
rested with his opponent there Woulo
not have been even the semDlance OF
fight, but Mike kept after Jimmy anu anu
with long jabs and an occasional sWills
to the face or body cut MIN up SO llia'
he bled freely. Any credit 1or aIlus
inc or interesting the spectators must
go to the win. 100
For the first few rounds every one
present thought that Gardner was Just
| feeling Sullivan out, but as tne Ash ~
progressed they awakened 10 the iae'
| that Jimmy was nothing but oup;
Along about the tenth round the crown
(?) which had been Yelling lot odr
in the spasmodic periods WheIi ~
ili,S of q noise resounds through the
empty pavilion, began TO warm up "a
the Twin. and from then on TO tne emu emu
he was easily the popular man OF tle @
two. He was deserving OF IL, .oo' 10
In addition to his cleverness Mike was
at times prone to mix and make 1aro-
ner give ground before MN. ,h;oh
With the bum preliminary W. nf
the way, the main eventers los' IA S
time in crawling under the ropes anu
| IN the decreasing gloom harkened 70
Iaeerias, instructions. Sullivan looked
strang and we'll trained, and Gardner
also doomed up in the best OF shape.
| In the first rally Mike sent na,e 1e
right to Gardner's stomach WhIcn ,oi, da
| 499istod Iirnnnv around He came back
with one 10 the head, but found II
hard work to get one through Mike ;
anard and the Twin had all the pest
of the argument. The second was
about the same, Mike getting out OF
the wav of some we'll meant Wallops,
and returning with straight ielts ~
the head, despite hard left Wnlch
caught him high on the nut.
Gardner Opens Up
Sullivan did all the work in the third,
and in the fourth Gardner opened up
a bit. but at the end of the perlou
Mike was still on the JOB. A iell 70
the jaw and a right TO tne stoiiiaoi =
made the Twin vince in the n1th' anu
after a short stall he began his jap
hing tactics again and had shade
on the round. -.
The sixth was the same in almost
every detail save that Sullivan escaped
Fau punishment and in the period 1ol-
| Lowing he closed Gardners left eye
nnd made the blood trickie from his
rnse A hard one on the neck In the
| aiobtb sent Mike back for couple OF
| seconds. but he came on again with
tho relentless, prodding left, and again
Gardner was bleeding at the CLOSE Vi
the act. nan, IN tho
Gardner opened up little III tne
ninth hut it got him nothing but some
iabs, IN the sore beak. The tenth was
iii cullivan's. and he showed Jimmy
~, &c the rankest kind of champlon-
shin asnirant. The crowd began 70
root for Mike about this time, and
he rewarded them by stinging Gaia-
ner repeatedly Gardner exposed NE
law and deliberately let sullivan wal
ion him three soft ones, but wnen
Mike set for a good punch ne covered
up and backed away.
The name of Sullivan waved on nign
from here to the eighteenth, whlch
found Gardner trying at his best pace,
and for the first time during the mill
the irwin was really forced to stall
In the jnfighting Jimmy worked potn
fists like fails, and on more than one
occasion he hit Sully low. 1t was the
Same in the following period, but Mike
made no complaint being content 70
iah and smile at Gardner when the
latter became violent.
Gardner went little faster at the
onenine OF the twentieth act, but soor
aIowed IN under the punishment ne
waa receiving. Mike was leading IN
every round to the end, ana there was
| nothing for jeff to do but give tine
Twin a well earned decision.
For an opening date the Jenries cur
met with "A sad disappointment, but
| ,hoaa .Uho did not attend because Ol