Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-12
SPARR|NG PARTNERS
OF FAMOUS BOXERS
Not Punished Severely on Ac-
count of Desire for Speed
in Exhibitions.
BY BILL BLUNT.
Special Correspondence Of The star.


bouts, it is but seldom one reads about
the sparring partners of the famous
gIovesmen. 1t is true the public pays its
money primarily at the door 10 see the
champ and takes but passing interest il.
the assistant stlil the sparring partner
forms important feature of the exhibit
tion. If lie boxes too slowly, the bout
drags If he is TOO speedy he will make
his boss look slow in comparison, and that
would never do. lie must box just so;
gauge his work according 10 the pace set
ny the star If the spaTrng partner is
smart and quick to learn. he will pick up
tricks that will liVen up the bout and
make ii look like the real thing. lie
viii know when to duck IN spectacular
fa shon. when to aim A wild swing for
tie jaw that he does not intend to land.
and TO take seemingly hard punch on
his glove, at tine same time making it APP
pear as though it landed his chin or
neck. In the rallies that always wind
up the rounds he draws his head in be-
tween his shoulders. turtle fashion. and
whales away with both hands. the spec
tators think each man is doing his best 10
ffatten the other and the big applause
follows It's all IL the game and in
knowing how to do it
The salaries OF sparrinG partners cover
a wide range. 1t is said that Jim Jeffries
has paid high as $40 week, but that
Is an exception. The better class get
800 or $40 per week. The figures run as
low a : $40 and $50. The average is about
severely i'm the eXhib tionS, because it is
speed rather than hard punching that
makes the bout look attractive from i'll
front. About the only part of the anat-
omy that really suffers is the left ear
THAI member genera ly becomes Duffed
no from the many right swings that
lana on il, and III many instances re-
q,IreS ALMOST constant medical attention.
lea of ha I'll a "A
fast. SNOWY bout N which he lands the
more clean blows. but there is little
steam behind them and that makes it
easy for the Sparring partner. The two
exceptions We're Bob Fitzsimmons and
Kid Laviene. Fitz had way of snap
Ping in short body punches that hurt
He hit possibly harder than he intended.
hui the sting there just the same
Mike Conley, who made one tour with
FitZ. said that every time he boxed with
him it was like taking part in real
fight Dan Hickey, who boxed with Fitz
several seasons, was generally pretty
We'll bunged up
Kid LaviSne was the worst of all. He
didn't know how To box lightly. 1t was
a of fight from the start and woe De
unto the sparring partner, The first time
avigne ever boxed on the stage the
writer happened to be present The Kid 5
Brother Bill was carded to work with
him. The Kid was very fond of his
DrbtItf, DuI as soon dS he saw the HSHtS.
the of faces and felt the gloves on
his hands, he forgot for the nonce just
where he was. He thought it was real
battle. and as soon as the bell rang he
tore after Bill like a hurricane. The first
punch, a left swing, ripped Bits eye open
and almost sent him sprawlins into the
orchestra. He had difficult time getting
through the three one-minute rounds.
Down in the dressing room, the Kid or ed
and said he didn't mean to hit so hard.
Jack Hanley finished the week out. He
had his own 1uhles and had to be on
the watch continuously or he would have
taken a nap when least expected Most
of the other noted boxers were easy with
their sparrins partners. John l.. Sulli-
van had Dan Dwyer and later Ed White
for assistants and always put IIp an in
teresting setto. Jack Dempsey used
Denny Costigan and never pommeled him
up very badly. Jack McAuliffe and
Jimmy Nelson always put up lively
bout without resorting 10 the rough
stuff Jim Corbett was another who
worked easily He used to land many a
blow on Connie McNey during their three
rounds, but they were light and didn't
bother the muscular McVey to any great
extent
one would think Jim Jeffries would be
a terror. hut he wasn't. He put up
SNOWY bout with Joe Kennedy or Jack
Jeffries and never hurt either very much.
Since he has been preparing for Johnson,
he goes a little harder and sometimes
makes II interesting for Sam Berger.
S shsrkey w, Vas very easy In. He AID the
three fast rounds without a stiff blow
being landed II was the same with Gus
Ruhiin He and Charley Golf had a
clever turn rehearsed and always pleased
the spectators without trying to hurt each
other.
Terry McGovern was a sure enough
terror in the ring but he and little Dan
NJ DoHghery could put up a corking ex-
hihition without getting too strenuous.
Tommy Burns and George Memsic. the
lightweight, made nice setto ana 1t
was seldom that Burns forgot himself
and let hard go. Peter Naher.
proveTbially hard hitter. had Peter Low
rey for partner. Maher outweished him
forty pounds, but he never took advan-
tage Of him. When Peter jackson made
his tour with Con Riordan their exhibit
tions were very interesting, but he went
easy with Riordan. Little George Dixon
had Prof. Jimmy Lynch for years. The
former was very wicked meeting ''com-
ers. hut with Lynch he always let up.
After the hundreds of bouts in which
they took part, the only mark Lynch had
t" sho" was ''puffed', ear. As long
as the champion is making the better
showing everything is lovely, but once
let the sparring partner get fresh and
he IS pretty sure 10 get good hiding.
They've put the kbosh on sam Lang
ford so far as a bout with Jack John
son goes; at least until after next July
The final articles signed by Jeffries and
Johnson state explicitly that neither man
Is TO engage in a bout prior TO the big
one. Just who it interpolated this
condition no one seems to know, but IL is
in the articles. II may have been Jeffries
or the promoters. Gleason and Rickard
or, perhaps. even Johnson himself NAV
have suggested it. There was no chance
of Jeffries fight ng before July 4, so the
Stipulat OH must have been PIT in to
preclude the possibility of Johnson and
Langford meeting before July 4 While
K-.Ay T1 al vlRs.t
fair TO Langford il a wise move for
those connected with the Jeff. es-J ohm
son contest. Langford is the most dam
eerous man fighting today. Ii he fought
johnson between now and next summer
he might be Just lucky enough TO drop
one of those short rights on the big
negro's jaw and then IL would he honey
bar the door for true. Anybody Lang
ford hits fairly on the jaw with his
right is of a tumble. They don't
wohble much, just drop in a heap. That
would be pretty kettle OF fish, Lang
ford beating Johnson between now and
July !. II would mean the calling off OF
the big fight and the " thdrawinG of the
hundreds of thousands of gate money and
the alleged half-million profits from the
pictures.
While the local promoters are a little
slow in resuming their stays now that
the election is more than IA month old
The ice Is beginning 10 break. The Mount
Vernon, the Shamrock and the Olympic
A. c. are running and several more are
likely TO start in couple of weeks
Jimmy Johnson. the matchmaker of the
Paramount \. G, at present the largest
club the civ his