Norwich bulletin., 1910-07-28
JOHN L. OR JEFFRIEs
 THE BETTER FIGHTER?
ouiIivan Never Learned to Lick a so<er-Jeff Had Him on Weight, Reach and Height

Who was the greatest prize fighter ? John Heenan was. John l.. Sullivan Was. Jeftries was. Johnson is. You i can ind plenty of supporters for any proposition. Champions come and champions go. In the height of their greatness they are unbeatable, wonder fui, superhuman. Then they are beat en- The next champion looms up Huh, they never were much good. any way. When did they ever beat a first class man?
 Thus it is now with JeTries For 10 years hailed as the pugiIistic mar vel of the ages. there are now many to insist that he was always a grossly overrated man. favorite compari- son is that of Jeffries with Sullivan. Was ever Jeff as great a man as John l.. in his prime? oh. my, no. John L.. ate 'em alive. That is the way it goes. Jeffries is dethroned, humiliat- ed, in contempt. John l.. is enjoying sort of recrudescence, with the years giving mirage eXaggeration to his ex- ploits
 But. compared by record. John L.. was never in the class with Jeff. If this be treason, make the most of it. The facts are there to sustain the con tention John l.. was never of the Jef- fries caliber.
 Probably nobody will claim that John L. eyer packed harder punch than Jemries. Both of them al their best hit like pile drivers. Consider their punching power equal then. Certainly Jeff possessed the advantage of height weight and reach; certainly he dis played in his battle with Fitzsimmons. Sharhey and Corbett a gameness which John l.. never excelled: certainly he possessed the power of absorbing pun fshnent to an ever greater extent than Sullivan; and, finally. there are two other things to consider and consider we'll From the time he won. - the championship every one of Ieff's fights was with a first class man. Sullivan, E-z lr1 xT,.zTf Vz.n -l-. with dubs
 Who Could Lick Boxer7
 Jeffries learned to box. He could box well enough to hold his own with the agile Corbett. Sullivan was always at the mercy of the rsal boxer. There are three fights to prove it. He didn't understand, could not grasp the idea of boxing. man he couldn't overwhelm with a rush was his master, because that man could keep out of his way un- til Sullivan rushed himself to death It is the fact that John l.. was only fighter and boxer that makes most evident the Californian's superiority.
 What Sullivan Fought.
 Sullivan won. his championship un- der the old London prize ring rules by defeating Paddy Ryan. After that what was his record? He went about the country knocking out innumerable
 
 rounds against him, but where were the really good men2 He passed up Frank Slavin and he passed up big Peter Jackson. who was probably better black than the Johnson of to- day.
 What happened to him when he met the boxers? True. he fought and whipped Billy Edwards, one of the lightweight. weight 123 pounds. He couldn't get to Jack Burke. a weller weight, in five rounds. and Burke laughed at him. thing came over the seas from Engiand named Tug Will son. He knocked Sullivan down ard stayed the four rounds with slin,. Wi son was uudo' tle U1ifGie weight limit Frank Herald Patsy Cardiff, pUncan McDorald, Cher 'e% Mitchell and Jake Kilrain were tlCP orlv men Sullivan fought frcm 1886 to 1892. when Jim CoThett laid Elm awSy iIl moth balls and o0sz zuTitv. WIZ an5 body claim that theT were Of H "lfss with the Fitzsimmorses. the Corbettrs. the Shar- keys and the Ruhli~s whom ,Jcefries battad to the ground?
 That Draw With Mitchell.
 McDonaId and Cardiff went four rounds each with tle destroyer and each got draw. Mitchell. who never was anything more than little mid dleweight. fought him 20 rounds t' Chantilly. France. and Sullivan was mighty glad to get a draw. Corbett knocked tEe same Mitchell senseless in three rounds. You zee Corbett could fight boxer and Sullivan couldn't.
 Kilrain went 75 rounds with John l.. and might have won if he hadn't felt so cocksure of the victory. Sullivan was violently i'll in the ring Edlrain refused to hit him. He consid cred the fight won, anyway. Then John l.. stopped being sick. Kilrain was sub sequently removed on a shutter. Yet this same 75-round Kilrain was subse auently slowed away by Corbett in six rounds Finally there was Corbett himself, upon whom John l.. couldn't lay a glove. although he charged like a bull for 21 rounds and was chopped into Hamburg steak for his pains.
 Jeff's Record.
 Now what did Jeffries do? He