The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-10
NEW FIELD
 FOR FIGHTERS James J. Corbett Sounds
 Warning. WRITES OF IENNESSEE'S ACT Says Kindly SoIons Have Paved
 Way for Good Bouts. The Former Champion Advises Pro- moters of Possible Mistakes in aThe Scheduling of Too Many
 Ffghn.


 present time centers Tn Tennessee The eight round boxing law just passed by the state legislature means that the sport will flourish there for two years al least.
 For the next year probably more lights will take place in Memphis, Chattanooga and Nashville than In all the rest of the United States com bined. In fact the interest in the game has about shifted to the south.
 Of course. Los Angeles and San Francisco will be the spots for the great bis bouts. as championships are seldom settled in eight rounds.
 But for minor contests Tennessee will surpass even Philadelphia and equal New York. Of course, the clubs in the latter place are lying quiet at the present time and only few con tests are being held.
 Tennessee is great sporting center in every way. When the racing game was going on there the meets were as successful as any held In the South. In football Vanderbilt University is far ahead of any other school, and now that fighting is allowed. New Orleans will fall in the background when com pared with Memphis.
 Too Many Fights Hurt Sport.
 1 willy watch with great deal of in- terest the development of the game If the sport is kept clean and absolute. ly above anything that smacks of crookedness then the people will con tinue to support 1t and the better class of people will stand for 1t.
 Another bad thing that may hap pen Is "overproduction." so to speak Too many fights always tend to drag the game down. Better have few clubs handling the sport and doing 1t right than to have 1t iostleI and jug gled about by everybody. IT Tennes- see is able to keep the sport carefully controlled and on a popular basis. wouldn't be surprised to see several other Southern states follow in It's footsteps.
 Not far south of Tennessee Is a lit- tie village that was made famous all over the world by means or prize fight. As an advertising feature the pulling off of a worlds championship fight surpasses anything In the sport ing line. Who would ever have heard of Goldfield had not Cans and Nelson clashed there? And there are hair same benefit from the pulling off of a great fight
 Richburx On The Map.
 But of all the unheard of spots that never was anything nor probably will ever be anything the town of Richburg in Mississippi has the call. Had not Sullivan and Ki1rain met there for the championship of the world. the town, would scarcely eyer have ot.a, 6een mentioned outside of the fmmeoiate country surrounding 1t.
 Today one finds the name Of Rich burg Miss, in every sporting anhua. published And of the older sports and the younger there are scarcely any of them who follow fighting that have not heard of the great bare fist battle between John L. Sullivan and Jake Kilrain In the open air under burn ing sun on bright July day in 1889 for side bet of s10,o00 and the worlds heavyweight championship. Sullivan won the fight. but he had to go through the toughest miIi ne ever indulged in. ASK John iA ouIii-
 Well 1t put Richburg on the map for all time to come and added chap- ter to fighting history, that will re- main one of the best pieces or pugilis- tic literature. To the town or city that could bring James J. Jeffries anu Jack Johnson together would come more advertising than ever was given any place by means of a sporting event
 Deadly Shift of KetcheI.
 I promised in a former letter to The Tribune that I would try to describe think about the awkward movement of that great fighter and how eftec- tive 1t is I am almost ready 10 aomit that a certain kind of awkwardness IS either a part of or closely allied 10
 Fltzsimmons was noted for his shift and 1t was often stated that 1t was by means of 1t that he won the battle with me at Carson City. never re garded Fitzsimmons' shift seriously nor did think that a shift was efiec. tive in the ring because of the quick change generally necessary in the posi- ton of tho feet. Of course cleVet man might be able to work it. but for a fighter who depended upon this wallop to win a battle the shift wou'd not come in so handy.
 Ketchel has the movement iown to A degree of perfection that spells sue cess. He can start either his left or right hand towards his opponents jaw or body and then switch and land the opposite mitt with terrific force.
 In Ketchel's first battle with Papke he fought as he thought best himself. He tried no new methods of other men. He depended upon his own fighting sense to win, In the battle 1t Los Angeles which Papke won. fIetchel tried to do as some one else told him He tried to forget his own fighting methods which won him his first battle and brought him to the front in the fighting game
 When visited his camp Just before the third battle with Papke he came to me and asked me how I thought he ought to fight Papke. told him then the only way to fight anybody was the way one learned 10 fight at the beginning.
 Ketchei put Pu,o on the tna ei9yas oftsrr"a6 wth visited him. nnd 1t didn't. take me long to see why he had become champion and one of the world $ best known fighters He seldom failed to land when he brought his awkward shift into play, and the hlow seemed to worry his boxing partner at lot
 You go in and fight Papke that way and you will win sure" was my advice to him. and that IS the way he fought. Ketchel might whip the best big man that ever lived with his shift. Why Jeff or Jack Johnson or sam Langford or any man would succumb to Ketchel If he once sent home one of the terrible wallops which l saw in a smothered form the day he boxed for me.
 Compared With J.nnEfOrd.
 Of course Ketchel would stand q poor chance of whipping Johnson or J Jeffries. taking everything in their makeups into consideration. They are too big for him. But all the talk perior Is the result of the latter g drawing the color line Ketchel would stand an even clanCe of whipping Langforl. and 1T lie ever la nded his shift which he certainly would Lang ford would go down
 in action can realize what c terrific punch he possesses Had Ketchel tho cleVerness of Tommy Ryan. combined with the other qualities he possesses he would be the fighting marvel of the world.
 Battling Nelson had busy time wardinK off challenges on the coast. The Dane handed out a new dsfi every day and managed to keep out of trouble until he secured what he