The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-12-19
The Indicated Heavyweight
Champion Never Cared
Much for the Stage.
WANTED TO AVOID CROWDS
jim coRBETT TOOK HIS SEAT BY
JEFFRIES VERY MUCH TO
HEART, AS HE WAS ALWAYS A
VERY VAIN MAN.

AS a champion Jeffries was a busy
fellow. After 1885 Sullivan did not
average fight a year; Corbett
fought but two real fights in defense
of his title in four years; Fitz defend
ed it but once in two years. Jeff
weeded out the challengers as fast as
he could get at them, for Jeff never
cared for the theatrical game. He
despised the one-night stands with the
loathing of man who hates to have
people staring at him.
They look to me- he once COM
planned, "as if l was a side show
freak. All want is to be left alone"
So he tried to get away from the
quarters. Seven months after whip
ping Sharkey at Coney Island, Jeff
had another fight on his hands. this
time with the former employer, James
J. Corbett.
Corbett was in bad with the better
element. One year after his defeat at
Carson City, Corbett had boxed Shar-
key in New York, and when he was
being beaten by the sailor one of Cor
belts seconds climbed into the ring
and the fight was lost on foul
Uncle" Bill Naughton came out the
next morning with a story which drop
ped Jim Corbett into the taking
class.
Corbett Gets in Shape.
Corbett, always very vain. took this
much to heart. The loss Of the fight
was as nothing to the loss of personal
popularity and the reputation of being
game fighter. Corbett quietly set
about conditioning himself for hard
fight For nearly two years he kept
under cover, but all the time he was
slowly working back into condition.
He cut the midnight suppers and the
pastry and the wine, and drank water
and exercised on the road and in pri-
vate gymnasium. When he felt that
he was right" he challenged Jeffries
ana was accommodated. Only few
people looked for Corbett to make any
sort of a showing the general impress
sion prevailed that he was 'all in"
two years before.
Corbett gave everybody a great sur
prise in that Coney Island engage
ment. He turned up in the ring as
lean as lathe and as sound in wind
as new bellows. For % rounds he
danced rings around the burly cham
pion. stabbing and ripping and jabbing
<1oy Ne ho
old Corbett in everything but the pow
err of the punch. That he did not
have: had not had for many years.
One Punch Enough.
But he had the decision won a city
block on cleverness, and he made jeff
look like an awkward school boy.
Just when Corbett sympathizers were
cheering their hardest. believing that
Jim was about to regain his champion
runs, let fly a wandering wallop, and
down went James J. Corbett in
heap. knocked out in the twenty-third
round by the first good punch which
the champion had managed to land.
Once more Corbett was a popular he
70, and Jeffries went on the road
again, enduring the one-night stands
with Spartan fortitude.
There was one dent in his armor,
which he felt bound to iron out-the
draw with Gus Rubin. Billy Madden
was handling Rubin, and Billy had
way of saying very sarcastic things
to newspaper men, which later appear
ed in print. Billy was demanding
battle for Rubin as the Akron Giants
right. Jeff transformed for awhile,
visited his folks. went quail shooting
few times. boxed a couple of exhi-
billions on the coast, and then went
into training for Rubin. the fight to
take place in San Francisco. boxing
having been revived on the coast
This was at the very time a young
negro named johnson was winning
lot of pork and bean fights in Calves
ton.
Almost Broke Rubin in Two.
jeff fought Rubin the second time
on November Is, 1901, four years af-
ter the first meeting. Most people
believe that Rubin quit cold in five
rounds. AS matter of fact, JEFF bonn
barded the Akron giants stomach SO
heavily that Rubin was all but brok-
en- in two by the hammering he receiv-
ed. Those who doubted the effect of
Jeff's punches should have seen Billy
Madden's face. peering through the
ropes in Ruhlin's corner. Every time
Jeff's fist crashed into Ruhlin's stom-
ach, Madden WINGED. for Rubin had
told his manager that the punches
were killing him.
Gus could not continue, and Jeffries
won in the fifth round, thus wiping
out one of the two draw decisions reg
istered against him.
Rubin was the last of the crop of
young men. There remained nothing
for Jeff after this fight, but Fitzsim-
mons said he was not right" at the
time he defended his title: Corbett
said his great showing entitled him to
a second meeting with his old spar
ring partner.
JEFF was willing. He would rather
fight than 60 on the road with a the
atrical business. and then signed arti-
cles for a return match with Fitzsim-