The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1910-07-08
JOHNSON DEFEATS
JAMES ]. JEFFR|ES
End Comes In the Fifteenth
Round Of Fight

Jack Johnson. the negro heavyweight
champion, defeated James J. .Jeffries
in fifteen rounds of fighting in the are
ma at Reno, New. 1t was sudden, this
defeating Of hitherto unbeaten man.
1t came swiftly like the dropping of
some bolt that wrecks a 10000 horse
power dynamo. Hardly had the bell
sound when the lightning movement
of the negro's right arm in an upper
cut ended in a thud. TIE tremendous
head of the white fighting man swung
back as the glove landed on his jaw
just to the right of the mid-chin. His
torso relaxed his knees trembled, then
crooked. Down he went. Sixteen thou
sand people leaped to their feet. and
the great dish of the arena was so
still that those sitting next to the ring
could hear the click of the black cham
pion's teeth as he snapped his jaws
shut and stood waiting over the fallen
fighter.
The time keeper had counted nine.
Jeffries, his head swinging from side
to side on his thick neck, struggled to
his knees, to his feet. Hardly had he
Strengthened when two terrific blows
shot over his feebly rising guard A
right and left uppercut to the chin fol
lowed Down the white man tumbled.
This time his body was outside the
10 cd
the white strands.
The spell was broken, the arena
roared. Rickard, the referee, was rat
tied. He stood by the side of the
beaten pugilist, counting in dazed
sort of way. Nobody watched him.
Everybody had his eyes on JEFF in the
uproar Timekeepsr Harding counted
Jeff out. Nobody heard him. Abe
Attel ran over from Jeff's corner and
lifted up the ropes while the fighter
clambered blindly through.
The man stood, half crouching, know
ing nothing Jim Corbet yelled some
thing at him. The words were un-
heard. Then came the black man, not
knowing that his antagonist had been
counted out.
He came lightly, stepping swiftly like
a cat stalking. He jumped to the side
of the bloodied, half conscious man
and with his arms jerking back and
forth with the thrust of an engines
piston, he pounded and pounded the
dropping head of the former champion.
Uppercuts, each one of them. First
with the right, then with the left,
Johnson swung back the iolling head.
Again the tremendous bulk of the
white man tottered.
Sam Berger, Jeff's manager, jumped
into the ring and rushed to Jeff's side.
Richard understood and he waved
Johnson back to his corner. At the
same time he held up his hand and
motioned toward the black retreating.
That was the end The fight was won.
A man unbeaten, and thought to be
unbeatableShad been pounded into de-
feat The championship remained
with the negro and $4,000, so per cent
of the total purse of SOL, 900, had been
won. It was what the followers Of
pugilism call a clean knockout The
blow that the black man sent up from
his waist to the point of Jeffs chin in
that first quarter minute of the fif-
teenth round was the blow that fin
ished the battle. jeff was outclassed,
outpointed. He did not lose because
of lucky blow.
No such spectacle as the one inside
the graded tiers of humanity has ever
been seen. Probably in this country
no such spectacle will be seen again.
1t was the fight of the century. 1t
was the surprise of the century also.