The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-10-15
C0UL0N TELLS Of
HIS ONLY DEFEAT
Wasn't I the Boob When I
Lost Fight to Kid
Murphy?"
(By Ray c. pearson.l

HAAy
i (By Ray c.. P%earson.)
There is one chapter i'm the pusilis-
tic history Ok the biggest little man"
in the ring that he just dotes on talk
ing about. Johnny. Coulon. bantam
weight champion, smilinslN turns over
the pages that tell Of what he has
done To make history in the game of
i%isticuffs until he comes to the chap
ter that tells of the only defeat. that
ever has been scored against. him in
The seven Years that he has been fight
ing. Then he smiles.
Say. wasn't | the boob when 1 lost
that fight 10 Kid Murphy at Milwau-
kee.?" said Coulin. Nv ny, when
cago to meet this Murphy fellow, l
actually felt sorry for him. l told pa,
who was with ms, that ! didn't feel
like hurting Murphy. but that 1 knew
] could give him an awful licing. So
decided to let him down easy-just
beat him.. YOU know. All Of that. how
ever, Mas before VIC entered the ring.
When We loft the ring that night
everything was entirely different.
= hN0 6tSh luS Il swell IilllS
Notwithstanding that ! could not
forget in a hurry"
Coulon describes that battle with
kid" Murphy as the toughest Of his
ring career, and 10 hear Johnny tell
about it anybody would be convinced
that his argument is right. Coulon
had been in the hit and get away
game for a little more than two years
Whom ha nv, v,,nt1t,nI <-o &hZ Lo,S
which was staged on March Is. 1907,
at Milwaukee. He says now that what
he didn't know about fighting then
would fill any encyclopedia.
Murphy. who was a New Yorker,
came west with a pretty fair reputa-
ton. but that didn't feaze. the Coulons
or. their Chicago friends. who figured
that sturdy Johnny could eat up his
weight in Wildcats.
But | CUES there couldn't have
been n wildcats around for me to ca,
that night" continued Johnny. ANY.
way. after Murphy planted a few
blooming wallops on my phiz / dom
suppose ! could have seen them. haG
there been n y Murphy didn't have
anything on me when It came t.
strength, and l was the stronger o.
the W at that. But the Kid knew
how to fight, and hat nor than made
er. " "@' 40" was '"e s'''
II thought at that time that. I knew
pretty nearly everything about fight.
ing that any n could know. I had
been boxing for more than two wears
and I beat the fellows that were stack.
ed up against me without any grea,
trouble. So it was only the natura'
thing that I should think l would bea,
Mr.. Kid
When the decision was awarded
to Murphy at the end of ten round.
he was some fighter. But Immediate.
~ I started to figure out what was the
matter with Coulon. 1t didn't take
me long. and I had plenty Of assist.
ance after I left the ring. for the frs,
person l ran into was George Siler
the Chicago referee. who wrote box.
ing news for The Chicago Tribune
George gave me all the instruction
ever had in the boxing game.
What Siler said to me c~ertainl,
was enough to convince me that / was
a real boob fighter. He was mad all
the way through. and plainly told me
that anybody who fought the way !
did would get his head knocked of
some time. Then he explained why
had made Il losing showing. 1t hap.
pened that l. had a habit of throwing
my head back when an opponent rush.
ed me to the ropes. instead of throw.
ing my head forward to get inside the
swings. So every time hat Murphy
got me to the ropes-and that hap.
pened pretty often-I threw my head
back over the ropes to get out OF
reach of his swings.
We'll, what did Mr.. Murphy do but
keep on swinging, and if he missed me
with his left he was pretty sure to
catch me with the right that followed.
So I was just getting away from one
come in close to him and clinched
when he had me backed up against the
hemp, l would not have taken the
punching that the Kid handed out
that night. and the changes are
might have got IN even break from
the referee.
'That was a dandy fine lesson for
me. and I ne"cr forgot it. If ! had not
learned from the experience with Muir
ply. l probably would De just as bum
n fighter today a. | was that night.
Blu now YOU can bet that when I'm
forced against the. ropes I'm going to
get inside the swings and escape the
damage.
!! Its a good thing for a fighter to
have such things put up to him. I've
found out. for I fought this Kid Muir
ply twice after he defeated me in Mill
waukee. and the results show that one
defect in my makeup IA enough.
THE next time | tackled Murphy
was at Peoria. and I won from him.
He went after me the same way that
he did in Milwaukee,. but when instead
OF throwing my head back ] came in
side. I saw that he could do nothing
with me and tina l had him beaten.
George Siler is dead. but what he
taught me that night and on many
other nights is certainly alive when l
| ON, fsuhAino In tho rinu0