Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-04-27
IN
RING CHAMPS

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champion? What is 1t that lifts him
above the common plane Of his d.
vision into that sphere Of undivided
excellence wherein he towers above
his competitors like a Goddess Of Lib
ertyf Is 1t that his physical ability is
so much superior, Is 1t that his men
tai power is so much keener, or Is his
individuality, his faith tn himself, so
much deeper than that possessed by
others whom he passed In the race for
d~istinction7
None OF these elements alone Is re-
sponsible. All of them, blended prop
erly, combine to make a champion Of
a man, and luck, too, In the final anal
ysis, is an undeniable factor. Luck
has bestowed many a fighter with a
halo of kingship. Luck has likewise
removed many a crown.
But, despite the fact that a cham
pion must have several essentials,
there is one thing far ahead of all the
rest that even a second rate pummeler
needs to possess. That is absolute
fearlessness, or, turned around, per
feet twelve inches to the foot conf
dence. No gloveman who lacked this
important attribute ever assembled to
the apex Of his class, or, II he did, re-
manned there for any length of time.
Many Gymnasium Fighters.
No coward ever made a fighter. No
coward ever held a championship for
very long, nor a man whose duct Of
confidence was not proporttonate to
his other assets. There are a thou
sand boys today who can give a daz-
zltng exhibition In a gymnasium. but
who when they set loot In a public
arena to fight in earnest are awful
disappointments. Why is this? They
fear themselves, they underestimate
their ability, and when their gloves
fly out there Is not the cocksureness
back Of them. They do not unsheath
all their physical force, for the simple
reason that they are afraid to, and
their mental faculties do not perform
p~roiciently for the same reason.
Fear whipped Jim Jeffr1es last July.
A study of the photographs Of the big
fellow when he was Tn hts prime and
just before the Reno fiasco shows two
entirely different characters. When
JEFF met Fitzsfmmons, Corbett and
Sharkey he was all determination
The facial expression, the self reliant
pose, gives every evidence Of his great
confidence In himself. Now see him at
Reno, a much changed a There Is
an air of uncertainty about him. His
face bears a hesitating look. 1t seems
as though be has given much thought
to the johnson part Of the fight. Back
a few years ago he did not concern
himself so much about the caliber Of
an opponent. He imagined there was
no man but what he could beat, and,
although he disliked fighting, when he
took his seat In the n corner of the
ring he was supremacy certain of him
self.
Nelson Was Not Fearful.
Bat Nelson took many terrible wal
lopings during bis career, but be did
SO because that was his method Of
fighting and because he was positive
Of what the end would be. He be-
lieved his physical power was greater
than that Of his antagonist. and he
was sure that ultimately the result
would favor him. 1t could not be
otherwise. He entered the ring for
every battle with his spirit crying for
victory. 1t was to be his victory, not
the other fellows. And SO he won and
continued to win until he opposed a
boy whose confidence was just as great
as his.
Nelson Is not the same man today,
It can be wagered. Wolgast took some
Of the nerve from him. inspired him In
a slight degree with fear. Possibly
Nelson did not realize 1T when he met
Moran, but he was inclined to doubt
bis ability Just a little, and he was
more ttmid. A beating makes towards
Of US all. The Battler still declares he
Il as good as ever, but down In his
heart something tells him he is not.
Jack johnson is confident to the
point of e4ettsm. He has An exceed
ingly high and lovely opinion Of his
really great prowess. II he hadn't he
would not be champ today. Because
Of his indubitable faith In himself he
chased Tommy Burns half way around
the world to securs a match with
him. During the preparation for the
Jeffries contest last summer he was
a care free negro, who seemed to
worry little about anything. When he
doffed his bath ro.>, on that hot July
afternoon he war a big, courageous
man-animal.
What Is 1t that makes a fight? Con-
1danca on the part Of both partici-
pants. When confidence meets conf
dence there n always sur to be a
throhh!ng battiA But II ona man fears
himself over 20 little that man II go
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