Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-10
INTERESTING FIGHT
NEWS FROM GOTHAM
Bill Blunt Tells Of the Value
of Perfect Condition
of Scrappers.
By Bill Blunt.
NEW YORK, October 9, 1906

By Bill Blunt.
NEW YORK, October 8, 1909.
Physical fitness In a bout IL q wonder
full help to fighter in more ways than
one. It not only enables him to put forth
his best efforts and sustains him when he
Is being severely punished but also gives
him confidence in himself It makes him
fight better and faster, and thereby adds
interest to a contest. The more interest
ing a fighter can make q bout the more
it pleases the promoters and spectators.
and naturally. the moro 1t enhances his
value as a drawing card. The better
the card the larger the purse the fighter
can command, SO. in the long run. condi-
ton actually is money to the boxer. OF
the fighters who commanded the big
money, nearly all were faithful trainers.
McGovern, Dixon, Lavigne and Nelson.
for example. In fact all Of the brainy.
money getting boxers. with a rare ex-
tie when they entered the ring. Nobody
ever heard Of Tommy Ryan or Frank
Erne or Joe Cans engaging In contest
when out of condition. It Is true that
Cans was in poor shape when he met
Nelson at Goldfeld. and Erne was not
Govern at the Garden, but these condi-
tions were not due to q lack of training
on the part of Erne and Cans: They
were due more to over training, be-
ly low weight and they were obliged to
practically work their heads of to get
to the notch and save their forfeits. You
would have to search long time to find
any other instances where either man
was not at his best.
Now and then you would hear that
Cans was not in condition. especially
after he had made listless showing In
a bout. but that was all buncombe. 1t
might have been an of night. Any
man who fought as often as he was
bound to have his off nights the same
as the best race horses that ever looked
The best evidence that Cans was a
faithful trainer lies in the fact that you
didn't hear of anybody licking him a
few years ago when he was in his alb
nineteen years as one Of the top-notch-
ers and IL he hadn't been there with
the condition he never could have done
1t. AS for Ryan. he always was In
shape He fought for twenty-one straight
years. engaged in close to two hundred
battles and in all that time. although
he ran the gamut from weller to heavy,
he stumbled across but ono man who
could tame him, Kid Mccoy. and he
really was tricked into that match. Get
ting into condition Is a duty every fighter
owes his friends and followers. Although
betting is not a part of the game and
10 not one of the props upon which 1t relies
for support. there is bound to be more or
less wagering on every bout. the same
from boat race to foot ball game.
The promoters try to discourage 1t, but
it is impossible to stamp it out. The
Armory Club of Boston went so far as to
establish a rule calling for the expulsion
of any member who was found laying a
wager while in the clubhouse. If there
is bound to be some betting. and q
fighter knows his friends are backing
him with their money, the least he can
do is to train faithfully and give them a
run for it.
Strange as it may seem, It has been the
little fellows who have been the principal
offenders In the past. AS a rule. the
heavyweights have been the more faith
full workers. This has been necessary be-
cause 1t takes a much longer time for
does a feather or q lightweight. Some
times as many as four months are needed
and the average is about six weeks for a
heavyweight to get in his best possible
shape for an important contest. A large
majority of the prominent heavyweights
since Sullivan's time have been willing
trainers. Mike Schreck, Marvin Hart and
Denver Ed Smith may have been trif1e
lax, at times. not to say downright negh-
gent. but The same should not be said
of the other topnotchers. Jim Corbett
always trained hard; In fact. 1t may be
said that he did too much work The same
goes for Bob FitZsimmons and Kid Nc
Coy. Tom Sharkey was a hard worker.
He put in about eight weeks for the JEFF
fries fight at the island. Gus Rubin Is
another one who never shirked. Peter
Maher may have had his shortcomings,
but one of them was not laziness In train
ing. Joe Choynsk knew the value Of
training and governed himself o.n accord
and Tommy Burns never needed any one
to drive them to do the proper work and
they were always in condition when the
bell rang. While johnson may have been
that time he worked hard for his inn
portant contests. AS for Jeffries he al
ways trained faithfully and many times
1t stood him in good stead, especially
with Fitz, Corbett and Sharlkey at Coney
Island.
The latest boxers to take the big steam
boat for Europe were Jim Stewart and
Joe jeanette. the two heavyweights In
the Dan Mcketrick stable. Stewart will
be the first to engage In battle. being
signed to box twenty rounds In Paris
OCtopeI 10 Will cIlpci 1oH iAo0uo' ASSH
Taylor or Gunner Moir, the club to make
the selection. jeanette will box one week
later his opponent not having Deen de-
cided upon as yet. II both Stewart and
Jeanette win their battles, the Paris club
oficials have pledged themselves to put
them on again at future date. Among
the other american boxers now on the
other side the following may be noted:
Bob Scanlon of Pittsburg Jimmy Britt of
Frisco Fred Sydney Of Boston. Jack
Nelson of New York and Blink McClos-
key of Philadelphia. A number OF others
say they will make the trip this fall.
American ring followers soon will have
the opportunity of seeing for themselves
how much the French fighters have learn
ed about the manly art. Two of them
arrived here the past week, Henri P1et
and c. Adolphe. both lightweights. The
French haven't had much chance to de-
velop any first-class men. because they
took up the sport but recently. but the
American managers who have been
across say they are apt pupils and will
be heard from before very long. Little Is
known about Adolphe, but 1t Is said by
a pretty good man, even as judged by the
Yankee standard, and Is liable to make
any of the lightweishts travel some to
win. Gus Miller, who accompanied them
over, is managing the pair, and he says
he will have them working in a week or
two. -
Hugh Mcintosh. the promoter who
staged the Johnson-Burns bout. has sign
ed Johnny Summers, the English light
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