The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-04-16
SECOND
IS IMPORTANT
Gives Great Assistance to
Fighter If His Advice Is
Good.
MUST KNOW WEAK AS
WELL AS STRONG POINTS
Should Keep His Mind OFF the
Battle as Much as
Possible.

Victory in many of the greatest
prize fights held in this and other
countries has been due in large
measure to the Judgment Of the win
ming fighter principal second and not
to his own superior skill or knowledge
of the Marquis of Queensbury sport
Fight fans seldom give the man be-
hind the sponge moment g considera-
tion during bout, but center their in
terest entirely on the principals in the
mills. But everv first or second-class
knight Of the roped arena will tell you,
if he is truthful, that advice received
from his adviser during. gruelling
contest did more to bring home the
bacon than all of his wallops and
cross-counters delivered in the scrap.
De Wit Van Court, the boxing in
structor of the Los Angeles Athletic
club, holds that q majority of the
on the Judgment OF their seconds dur
ing a fight, and that many of them
owe their present position in the boxing
realm to the overlooked ringside ad
wiser.
Van Court has seconded many Of the
greatest fighters IN the world among
the number being Jimmy Britt, Jim
Jeffries, Jim Corbett and frankie
Neil.
Must Be Help.
''It is necessary for second to
know the strong and weak points of
his man g opponent just as much as
he should know the fighting qualities
of his man, SAWS Van Court.
ga good second will spend his tins
during the training season preparatory
TO the bout studying the points in his
own man, and he must do the same
with his opponent if he gets the op-
portunity. He must keep his mind off
the fight as much as possible, the same
as the fighter, and not think Of the
contest until a few minutes before he
jumps into the ring.
''The less excitement and demonstra-
ton about the ring corner the better for
the fighter. Towel singers and sponge
throwers often get up in the air dur
ing hard fought battle and before you
know it they yell to the fighter and
rattle him. According to the rules of
boxing. no one is permitted to make any
remarks to the fighters while they are
in action. The referees fail to enforce
this rule and consequently the fighters
and fans are often disturbed and ruff
fled by the boisterous and rowdy con-
duct of the seconds,
=
est second in the world He knows the
game from A to and knows the
weak and strong points of every first
class fighter in the roped ring today.
He is great kidder and often gets
the other fellows goat joshing him
at critical stages of the fight. Jim
Corbett tried the kidding stunt at
Reno. hut Jack johnson made him
look like ten. twenty and thirty mon
ologue artist when it came to kid
ding Time and time again the big
black came back at Corbett In such
clever and convincing manner that it
made the former champ fairly vince,
After few rounds Corbett cut it out
and trotted back to jeff g corner like
whipped puppy.
The Right Kind,
GA fighter should exercise great care
in selecting his chief second. If he
is a clever boxer he should secure a
clever boxer, for an awkward boxer
would be of little use behind him un-