Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-03-31
CARPENTER HAS FINE PACE
French Boxers Recent Victory is
Attracting Attention.
PROFIT BY AMERICAN STYLE
Frenchmen Have Long Been Ex-
perts with Foil, Possessing Judg-
ment, and should ! BE
Good Ring en-. t,

NEW YORK, March 30.-The victory Of
George Carpenter. the French middle
weight champion. over Jim Sullivan at
Monte Carlo. when the ,Frenchman won
In seven minutes. has attracted the at
tention Of followers OF pugilism to the
progress Of French boxers. Carpenter
is now the recognized middleweight cham
plon Of Europe. He has pace and a fine
defense, which. together with excellent
hitting powers. make him a dangerous
opponent IN the ring.
Ten years ago the Frenchman was still
supposed TO be physically and morally In
capable to fight like a Christian" ito
quote the quaint phrase used by worthy
of the old prize ring), and when little
later 10 boxe began to be cultivated in
Paris II was possible for the foreign critic
to contemplate the first products OF the
new cult with mingled amusement and
amusement. Yet there was no reason In
the nature OF things why race which
had always excelled In the art OF the
sword should not also distinguish itself
In the ring. The characteristic qualities
Of the successful fencer-fine footwork.
accurate timing. the ability to Judge dis
tanee. the harmony OF hand and eye.
and a reserve OF nervous energyTare
equally valuable In the modern game OF
boxing, while the campact physique of
the round-headed. short-necked French
athlete and his ,conquerable courage OBJ
viously provided him with the capacity Of
withstandng punishment.
It was soon evident that the deficiencies
Of the first French boxers were merely
the result Of a lack OF scientific teach
Ing. As TO their possession OF the physi-
cal and moral stamina there is really
no such thing as merely physical cou-
rage. known as bottom spirit to the
old-fashioned pugilists, there was no
doubt whatever. They could endure an
intolerable deal Of pounding: as a rule II
required a knockout TO extinguish the
ring. And from the first the writer was
impressed by the fact that-as a result, |
no doubt. OF the national absemiousness |
in drinking. and the eating Of flesh-the
French stomach is much less susceptible |
to jolts and drives than that OF the
average English or American pugilist
The invasion Of Paris by a number Of
american boxers provided the expert
teaching required. and the result is seen
today in the appearance Of group OF
skilful and hard-hittiug French pugillsts
whose style Is in most cases a blend Of
American and English methods. A few
Of them adopt the so-called American
crouch. which. as the annals Of the old
prize ring clearly show. is actually Of
English origin. BIZ. the best Of them can
only be called "Americanized' in the
sense that they attack In two planes,
paying as much attention TO an opponents
body as to his head. whereas the point
of the chin Is the chief objective of at
tack with nearly all English boxers. All.
DR. nearly all. Of them have a punch"
This is q striking proof that the
French style is excellent in an essential
point. which Is too often ignored by Eng
Ish teachers OF boxing. The faculty OF
hitting hard is not an inexplicable Gift
Of the gods; it is the result Of proper
of athe body which admits Of
ne constant use Of leg drive. which
counts for as much in boxing as in row
ng. Let anybody who doubts this watch
lin Driscolls foot work when he Is at
acking. This power Of delivering blows
With the weight Of the body driven be-
hind them is common Characteristic Of
he style, otherwise differing in several
'espects. Of Ledoux and Poesy. who have
ateiy distinguished themselves in con-
ests with first rate professionals at the
london National Sporting club. Stanley.
Utmost as swift and subtle a boxer as
0riscoI, was not disgraced in his unsuc-
,essful contest with the latter. who
must have been eight or nine pounds
leavier-an advantage equal to twenty
i've pounds in the heavyweight class.
But there can be little doubt that POesy
5 quite good enough already 10 give
ven DFfscoIi any amount Of trouble.