Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1911-08-16
"WHITE MANS HOPE" HERE.
Al. PalZer, Formerly of This City.
Worlds Coming Pu9ilistic
Champion, Here This
Week.

! Slolllly OF Al. falZer, VINO lived
about Ossian in his boyhood days
and for some time was employed in
DEBORAH livery, becoming the
worlds champion pugilist by
knocking out Jack Johnson, the
negro. We have noted in these col
umns his wonderful development,
and the opinion is now quite gen.
eral that he will soon be able to
wrest the title from the present
champion. He has been in New York
for some time, and has been making
them all sit up and take notice. He
is now visiting at Ossian, and ex-
poets to MAKE his old DEBORAH
friends a visit during the present
week
On the 3rd inst. he knocked out
Big Tom" Kennedy in New York,
and the Evening World describes the
fight as follows:
In the ninth round of one of the
most terrific battles between heavy
weights New York has ever seen, AL
Palzer battered Big Tom Kennedy
into insensibility at the National
Sporting Club last night and climbed
step nearer the championship
throne. Palzer is easily the most like
ly looking white fighter among the
big men in America today, and I'M
less the White Hope tournaments
bring to light some one better he is
the leading hopper of the pale-faced
race Palzer showed every thing in
last nights bout. He took punish
ment, lot of it, too, boxed Clearly
or mixed it up close when the occa-
sion demanded, and he knew when
| and where to hit. Under the able
direction of Tom O'Rourke, who was
in his corner and who backed his
man to the extent of $500 with Ken
nedy's father on the other end of
the bet, Palzer fought a heady and
nice battle. He listened to o.
Rourkes advice between the rounds
and unlike most fighters, when the
FUNDS were on remembered what he
was told. AT times he showed a
desire to throw away caution and
slug, but word from his corner
put him right. 1t was really re-
markable the way he watched his
manager, and did as he was direct
ed to do, which showed that even in
fight which was so fast that the
| big audience was standing up and
cheering like mad most of the time,
he never lost his head. Then, when
the time came to finish Kennedy in
the ninth round, PalZer stopped
looking for advice and sailed in. He
put his man down twice in the ninth
round, the first time doubling him
over the lower rope of the ring, and
the next time putting him out for
good just as the round ended.
There was a claim after the fight
that the ninth round went ten Sec
onds over the limit of three minutes.
The men were fighting so fast and
furiously all through that round and
the crowd was in such an uproar
that no one, not even Kennedy
seconds, knew whether the bell had
rung or not. AS matter OF fact,
the bell had been broken in the pre-
vious round and Timekeeper Jimmy
De Forest hammered on the ring
floor with mallet just as Kennedy
went down and out. There was no
chance for Kennedy to come up
again in the tenth, and the victory
was Palzer's by clean knockout
The mix up over the end of the
ninth round really cut no figure. For
the last minute of that session Ken
nedy was helpless and hopeless, and
the crowd was yelling for his Sec
onds to throw up the sponge, which
they should have done and saved
their man the terrible punishment
which he took gamely. Had the
round ended twenty seconds earlier
there would have been no chance for
Kennedy to come to the mark in the
tenth, for he was beaten through
and through long before. 1t was not
up to Referee Haley by any means
to step in and save the big white
hope, for then the latters seconds
would have yelled loud and long
about how he would have come back
quickly and won out. He is a big
man, able to take punishment, and
he took it. Heavyweight prize fight.
ing is not child's play, and heavy.
weight prize fighters are seldom
knocked out with a punch. They are
usually battered down just as Ken.
nedy was last night.
Up to the ninth round Kennedy
had gone along very well, and in
many of the periods of fighting he
had shade on Palzer. The latter
however, was on top of his man al
the time and took his blows, which
were terrific, without even shakine
his head. He was clearly Kennedy's
master, and it seemed to be only &
question of time when the knockout
would come. Kennedy looked to be
a trifie fat, but he must have beer
in the very best condition to with.
stand the terrible body punches ad
ministered by PalZer. 1t was those
body blows, battering ram affairs
they were, in the stomach, which led
to his undoing, however, and put
him in shape to go down and out
later, although it was the wallops
to the jaw which finished him.
Earlier in the fight in a fast mix.
up, Kennedy slipped and fell. Just
as he did so Palzer was swinging