Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-18
FIGHT HEAVIER MEN
And Ruin Their Careers by
Doing 1t.
Is STORY OF MANY BOXERS
Erne, McGovern, Ryan, Lavigne and
Others Lost Titles by That
Method.
IS STORY OF MANY BOXERS

They say a good little man can always
beat big one. but he cant-not If the
big man is proportionately good. Faith
in the old saying has stopped some of
the best little fighters the game pro-
duced.
Go back to the days of George Dixon.
George fought at the bantamweight limit,
lis pounds. and then at the feather
! weight limit, which was us. He almost
constantly met men to whom he con-
coded several pounds of weight. And
finally the end came. The Nemesis was
Terry McGovern. the Terrible. Terry
fought Dixon for the featherweight
championship MoGovern weighed 10
pounds. He beat Dixon.
And Young Corbett Beat Terry.
Then what happened to McGovern? Did
Terry let the fate of his predecessor
serve as example? Not much. Terry
| took them on weighing pounds more than
he weighed. And his end also came
in the same way that Dixon's had ar
rived. McGovern fought Young Corbett
for the title. Corbett weighed 126
pounds. He beat McGovern in two
rounds.
l AUn uiU JOuUS \OTuttt lel tie ldte VI
Dixon and Terry McGovern stand as ex-
ample to him? He did not. He agreed
/ to fight Jimmy Britt. and the versatile
James weighed 1913 pounds, just the light
| weight limit. Britt closed the career of
Young Corbett. . He whipped him, and
| Nelson came along and also whipped
| him. Corbett was easy for Nelson after
Britt had put the kibosh on his career.
They Never Learn.
| Take the case Of Kid Lavigne, whom
George Siler called the greatest light
weight who ever laced on a boxing
| glove" There was some excuse for
Lavigne. He won the lightweight cham
pionship and cleaned up everybody in his
class. He had to meet bigger men or
quit fighting. He constantly left his
| class to battle. He met Dick Burge in
| England. Burge was a welterweight and
| stood five inches taller than the Saginaw
Kid. But Lavigne whipped him. 1t took
| him seventeen rounds of fierce fighting
| to accomplish ii.
| Lavigne bucked the rule of weight and
| it finally got him the way it got all
those who went before him. His finish
| came when he tackled Mysterious Billy
| Smith, a welterweight and also one of
| the toughest battlers in the history OF
the ring. Lavigne went up against MIN
| and in the fourteenth round of that fight
| on the coast March 10. 1899, Lavigne's
| brother tossed up the sponge to save
| George.
! The Case of Lavigne.
| The Saginaw Kid was never good after
ward. Lavigne had three ribs shattered
| in that bout and his career as a light
| weight titleholder was practically closed
July 3, 1899, he met Frank Erne in
| Buffalo. The lightweight title was at
| stake Erne beat Lavigne in twenty
| rounds
Erne successfully held the crown until
| he began meeting men out of his class.
| His nemesis was RUDE Ferns. At that
| time Ferns was welterweight champion.
Ferns and Erne met September 3d. 1901.
| at Fort Erie. Erne was knocked out in
| the ninth round. That finished Erne. for
| In the following May Joe Cans knocked
| for the title, staged at Fort Erie. the
same ring in which Ferns had stopped
| the clever Erne.
Taking Chances Other Ways.
| And SO on down the line. Whenever
| they got out Of their weight they take
a chance Tommy Ryan as welterweight
| titleholder took on Kid Mccoy. The
| adventurous Norman Selby was fighting
| under the name of Mccoy at the middle
| weight limit Mccoy beat Ryan in If
/ teen rounds
| Taking of weight constantly is as bad
| as giving weight. Joe Cans killed him.
| self getting down to the lightweight
limit, and Battling Nelson can blame his
| loss OF the title on weakening himself to
| reduce his weight to 1S3 pounds The
| task was too big. The best boys and the
| big money rested in the lightweight divis-
| ion, so Cans and Nelson hung on as long
j as drying out processes. starvation and
| physical torture enabled them to make
/ 133 pounds. 1t beat Nelson and 1t killed
Cans.
| Now. do you blame Wolgast for want
| ing a big price to concede six or eight
/ pounds?
/ Pitcher Romer. q left-hander who has
/ attracted attention as a member OF the
i New York police team, may turn profess
i sional. He had been dickering with the
Il New York mnnagement, also with the