Evening star., 1911-08-20
By T. s. Andrews.
correspondence Of The star.

special Correspondence of The Star.
MILWAUKEE, August II. 1911.
Can you imagine anything more
thrilling in a boxing contest than Two
men battling through twenty ROUNDS
in a terrific downpour of rain. with
heavy peals OF thunder and flashes or
lightning to cheer the men along!
The above. in a nutshell, gives an
idea of how Jimmy Clabby, the Ameri-
can welterweight champion. and Dave
Smith, the Australian champion, fought
during their memorable battle at Sgd
ney last January.
Recently I received a letter from
friend in France who had witnessed
this contest and who wanted to know
whether or not 1t was Clabby's hardest
fight during his trip around the world.
There is no hesitancy in stating
same. that the battle above referred to
was without a doubt the severest test
that Clabby had during his entire tour.
and 1t is doubtful whether he will ever
have another experience OF that kind.
When the match was made great
many Of the Australians had an idea that
the young man who looks so much like
Kid Mccoy would prove easy picking for
Smith. who had previously won from
Billy Papke on a foul, and who was con-
had an advantage of over eighteen
pounds in weight. and this served to
make him a two-to-one favorite over
Clabby the day OF the contest The bat
tie was helu at the Stadium. controlled
by Hugh ID. Mcintosh. where Tommy
Burns and Jack Johnson fought for the
worlds title In 1908. There were over
1900 people present when Clabby and
Smith met, and had 1t not been for the
fact that the fight was postponed three
81 af in,
have been 10000 people present. just
as large a crowd as witnessed the Burns
Johnson bout. On the night of the con-
test the clouds were still hanging over
the city, and threatened rain, but despite
this fact the place was crowded with
1900 wildly enthusiastic fans,
After f1ashlight had been taken OF the
men in the ring and they shaped up for
action 1t was plain to be seen that smith
carried q great deal more weight than
| full nor as fast as the youthful American.
| For nine rounds the men battled at a
| terrific clip, neither one gaining any ad-
vantage, although on clean boxing Cab
| by appeared to have the best of 1t. Then
the thunder began to roar, and flashes of
| lightning lit up the huge Stadium as
| though it were day, and in a few mo-
ments it appeared as il the clouds had
simply. opened and let the water down
| in buckets full. The twenty -four-foot ring
was flooded with water, everything being
in the open. 1t was no ordinary rain,
but the drops were like marbles, and as
they pelted down against the mems flesh.
the splashes could be heard distinctly
around the ring. Clabby had on a new
pair of shoes, and this proved great
handicap to him, for he kept slipping
about, and could not get solid foot
| ing when delivering blow. His SECONDS
when they saw that the ring was full
of roSin and would doubtless have cut
his feet badly.
! 1t was expected that the rain would
subside in a short time. but witt. each
succeeding round it seemed as though it
came down all the harder. Smith, with
his greater weight and ability to hold
his feet, had a decided advantage. and
began to gain in points. At times the
men stood toe to toe and exchanged wal
lops In the middle Of the ring, but never
an inch did either man give. 1t seemed
as though the rain upon their skins IN
vigorated them and urged them to greater
aggressive work. This was continued from
the ninth until the twentieth round with
never a let-up. The excitement through
out the Stadium was intense, and the
character of the battle can better be
Judged when 1t is stated that not one man
of the 1900 left the place during the
terrific downpour OF rain ana terrible
blasts Of thunder throughout.
| When the twentieth round Was reached
the two fighters tried hard for knock
out, and they fought at clip that was
astounding, considering. what they mad
zone through. The referee, Snowy Ba-
ker. gave the decision to Smith on points.
but ii was by a very narrow margin. and
| It is my honest opinion that had the bat
tie been fought in dry ring that Clabby
would have out-pointed his man.
| A funny incident in connection with this
fight was the fact that Prince Leopold. one
| OF the heirs to the German crown, was IN
attendance incog. The prince did not