Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1910-05-28
n made mr les feel heavy Cor a m0.

| i made my legs feel heavy for a mo-
ment
The amount of punching Bob could
/ take was wonder. In the eighth,
after landing a bunch Of hard blows
on his ribs, sent in one that lifted
him from the floor and nearly threw
him over the ropes Yet Fitz came
back at me grlnning as If he liked it
and trying to knock my head of.
had a big cut over one eye. and his
swings opened it fresh every round.
Still. l wasn't getting cut up the way
] expected to be. Fitzslmmons was
bleeding much more from my left
jabs.
In the ninth I slipped in hard rights
to Bob's ribs as he rushed me and
then suddenly varied by following the
right with left hook so hard that the
breath few out of his mouth. That
was a great combination of punches.
I knocked out Jim Corbett the same
way years later in San Francisco.
This time it didn't put the champion
down, but it robbed him of his judg-
ment. and although he came at me
again in his dead game fashion his
swings were wild. They either went
short or around my neck as l ducked
in toward him.
"Go slow" I said to myself go
slow! You've got this fellow licked"
The end was near l think everybody
in the house but Fitzsimmons realized
it. The crowd that had been cheering
like mad grew quieter 1t was seeing
the passing of a great champion.
In the tenth round Fitzsimmons
started furiously and drove me across
the ring and against the ropes. AS L
felt them at my back l managed to
slip away to one side. Fltz turned
and fairly jumped at me. l met him
with a straight left on the face with
all my weight behind it. AS in the
second round. the champion was lift
ed from his feet and thrown fat on
his back 1t was Il hard knockdown
and would have kept nine men out of
ten on the floor. Seven or eight sec
onds went by, and then Fitz got up
slowly and shook himself and looked
around to see where he was and what
was going on. ! waited and gave him
plenty Of time. AS soon as he saw
me he came in again with a wild rush,
swinging both hands for my body with
all his might He was a desperate
man now. He forced me to the ropes,
and for moment l covered up. Then
/ found that there was no real force
behind the champions blows. l push
,T eto
for him again when the bell rang.
He was a good, game sport-Fitz-
simmons. As soon as the bell rang
for the eleventh he came at me as
hard as ever and apparently just as
confidently. He was grinning as he
swung one hand after another for my
jaw l ducked under the blows and
met him with right in the ribs that
stopped him short and showed him
back a step. 1t knocked the breath
out of him, and for a moment he
didn't move | stood still and looked
him over. The muscles of his thighs
were quivering. His mouth was open
as he gasped for air. But only for a
second. Then he tore at me again.
This time l crouched low and drove
my left into his body. The punch
didn't stop Fitz. He pushed me back
to the ropes, trying his best to put me
down with a swing on the jaw. The
blows glanced off, and l stopped him
with jabs on the mouth.
And now came the finish. Fitz
rushed at me. For the first time 1
broke ground and ran away 1t was
only to draw him on for as he came
with a great rush l stopped suddenly
with my left arm stuck out like a
beam and let him run into it. My
glove caught him on the mouth, and
he dropped, forward this time, on his
face. Siler, the referee, stepped right
over Fitz to push me back. l had
dropped my hands and was waiting
quietly. l didn't feel excited. was
sorry for the game man who had given