Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-04
PLEASED
LOCAL FIGHT FANS
B0i|ermaker Looked Close to
Form in Last Nights
Exhibition.

Well. he was here. They all went to
see him and came away talking And as
he skipped lightly around the ring at
Convention Hall in his shadow boxing
stunt a man who knows him we'll re-
marked:
HE is not SO far from the Jim Jeffries
Of old
Just then the champion of all cham
pions.' as Jimmie Callahan called him in
his Introductory speech, tented at an
imaginary opponent with his left, tented
again with his right and. shifting his
feet quickly, sent a snappy left hook
WhlZzing through the air.
Farewell, Jack Johnson" yelled an
admirer in the gallery.
The audience roared. Even Jeff smiled.
How did he look?
Well, he looked surprisingly good in
one way, but experts say the answer to
that great question, Can jeff come
back'?" has not been answered yet, and
will not be until he has gone a few
rounds in an actual fight.
AS far as physical lines go, his appear
ance is we'll nigh perfect for man who
has seven months in which to prepare
himself for a championship boxing
match. His chest stands out round, deep
and beautiful. There is no clinging fat
around his bulky shoulders. His waist
measurement is several inches greater
than 1t will be when he fights Johnson,
but he has mighty little superfiuous flesh
around his midsectiOn at that.
In Grand Health.
Moreover. he does not look like man
who has spent much time dissipatng, for
all the reports about him. His skin and
eyes are perfectly clear. And in his
Voica indicatjnnS n
buoyant health and vitality.
The most gratifying part Of his per-
Torrance to his admirers was his use of
his legs and feet. No lightweight could
move around much faster than Jeff did
when skipping the rope and shadow box
ing. There was no taking about the way
he used his feet. The strength and speed
were Enthusiastically there.
The change from the Jeffries o. year
ago to the Jeffries of today is remarkable.
He has taken off a world of foe flesh, and
yet in doing SO he appears to have sacri-
feed none of his vitality.
The show was good one of its KIND,
in spite of the fact that Jeffries was not
allowed to spar. There were several
wrestling matches of one sort and an
other, cub-swinging act, Frank Gotch
and Jim Jeffries.
1t began with club-swinging exhibition
by Dick Cox, who was introduced as the
club swinging champion of the south. Cox
had the goods and delighted the crowd.
Followed fifteen-minute wrestling match
between two welterweights, Jack Spauld-
ing and Nick Long, both of Washington.
Our own Patrick F. O'Connor was referee
and Arthur Devlin held the watch. OCon-
non called the bout a. draw, as no fall
occurred.
Turner the Goods.
Then Joe Turner and Dummy Tom
Williams went on for a fifteen-minute
bout for a purse of $75. winner take all,
Turner got it Off he did), for after ten
minutes of pretty stiff work Williams,
who lis a deaf mute. signaled O'Connor
that one of his arms, which was broken
some time ago, could not stand the strain,
and the bout was stopped.
Following Turner and Williams came
Frank Gotch 1t was said he weighed
2O2 pounds. He looked like he weighed
of it. His first opponent was James
ONeill of Washington. who. the an
nouncer declared, weighed 100 pounds
and would get $3.50 If he stayed fifteen
minutes with Gotch. Most Of Mr.. O'Neilrs
weight lay between his chest and IS
hips. But his skin was beautifully pink.
After Gotch had yanked him around the
ring a few minutes and had held him
down with one hand while he quietly I'M
laced and took off the Washingtonian's
shoes with the other, O'Neill's skin was
a gorgeous red. He did not get the $3.50,
for after fooling with him five minutes
and thirty seconds GOtch got tired and
sat on him. ONeilPs chubby shoulders
sank gratefully into the mat.
Gotch then let Joe Turner have "a
try for that $780, as the announcer put
it, Joe lasted three minutes and few
seconds. He would have fallen out of
the ring once if Gotch hadn't plucked
him by the ear and lifted him gently
back. Having hurled Joseph through the
ropes, it was up to Gotch to replace him
on the mat. He did.
The star performance of the evening
was a fifteen minute match between
Gotch and DIR. Roller, who is with the
show. Roller is an old foot ball player
and was star guard on one of the Pitts
burg professional teams back in the
nineties. Recently he turned professional
and got a match with Gotch, who de-
feated him handily. He is good wres-
tier. weighs an even 200 pounds and gave
GOtch all he wanted last night No fall
resulted, but it was a pretty exhibition
while 1t lasted.
A few minutes after Gotch had left the
ring Jimmie Callahan began speech.
He said Jeff had started training the dav
after Johnson whipped Burns in Austria
liza. His purpose was simply~to bring the
championship back to the white race
jeff Comes On.
jeff was waiting in an aisle near by
and at a signal from Callahan he rushed