Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-22
REAL FIGHT ON
ORPHEUM STAGE
PAIR OF HEAVIES BATTLE TO
KNOCKOUT
oLD-TIME scRAPPER APPEARS IN
LEADING ROLE
Soldier Tom Wilson, Heavyweight,
Winner of Thrty-five in Thirty
six Fights, Here on vaude-
Vile Sketch

Old-time fight fans would recognize
an old favorite in Los Angeles should
they attend the Orpheum show this
week and witness the act in which
Soldier Tom Wilson and Bill Russell
pull off a three-round rough house fight
SO realistic that it would stir the sport
ing blood into an enthusiastic cours-
ing through the veins. Soldier Tom is
an old-time heavyweight scrapper and
in which he engaged. Although his
lighting career in Los Angeles was
brief, it was sufficiently extended for
him to acquire the only defeat of his
career, Hank Griffin winning from him
when they fought at Hazards povilion
several years ago.
Wilson and Russell pull off sketch
that begins with nice line of training
camp comedy, in which Arthur Sulli-
van, his trainer, is the star comedian
and a good one at that. The scene
opens at Wilson's training camp while
he is making ready for his first pro-
fessional fight, and in which he is
fighting for $4,000 purse, $4,000 to the
winner. Only a few minutes before the
hour for entering the ring Wilson's wife
learns that he is to engage in fight,
and starts the usual stunt of crying
and pleading against the plans. She
stays until Wilson is literally dragged
away to enter the ring and is permitted
to witness the fight by gazing through
a window. Wilson takes terrible
beating in two rounds, and is fioored
three times, and saved by the gong in
the second round. In the third round
he goes in and fights a la Jim Flynn
and knocks his opponent down twice,
the last time for the full count 1t Is a
realistic piece of business all the way.
Wilson is not entirely retired from
the ring, and has laundering for more
of the fight game. He is ~ years old,
q giant in size and weighs about 100
pounds. He began fighting when 13
years old and weighed 175 pounds then.
He is considering an offer of fight
now and probably will accept if the
date can be arranged at a time when
he has an open week. He is in fine
condition and says that the constant
work on the stage and his daily train
ing keep him on edge and in good con-
dition.
There is a probability that if Jack
Johnson finds it impossible to get other
fights in America, Wilson will take him
on. Wilson knows Johnson we'll and
has seen him fight several times and
says he believes he would be able to
trim the big black. Wilson trained Bob
FlIZSl1nIllOIlS WIFI he was pICPeli ia 3
for his first fight with Jeffries He
says that Jeffries will fight Johnson in
a year. and that he will stop the coon
when they meet. He has no fears
whatever that Jeff will be unable to
train into first class condition for fight
ing Johnson, and says that Jeff is a
cinch winner any time the pair climb
through the ropes. He holds that the
light training Jeff is doing every day.
and the beneficial effects he is deriving
from his daily boxing stunts, will put
him into condition for beginning hard
training by the time his theatrical en- :
gagement is ended and that Jeff could
get into perfect condition in sixty or
ninety days afterward. Wilson does
not believe that Jeff has lost any OF his
speed, cleverness or punch, and says
that he bases this opinion on what he
has seen Jeff do since he started upon
the road several weeks ago. On the
contrary, he does not belieXe Corbctt
ever could get into condition to make a
decent showing with Johnson.