El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-07-12

AN FRANCISCO. Calf, July 70
~ A correspondent wants to know
- who in the writer's opinion was the
most perfect boxer" of all the Aus
trallan ring men who came TO America
in the SOS and SOS And while I think
of it, j might remark. "cOrrespO ndent''
is asking me to fiji pretty large
question.
In the communication embOdying the
query the correspondent says;
Il am a close reader of all thht is
printed In regard 70 ring happenings
and I have noticed that quite often
when discussions about comparative
clevernesS Of latter day boxers and
former pugilists are In order, some
critic viii make reference to the mar
velOus GriffO,' as If he were the stand
ard by which all that is clever in the
glove game is recloned. I have a
friend who says that Critic was simply
trick boxer and that for useful
Cleverness he could not compare with
George Dawson, Peter Jackson or Jim
Hall, who were also Australians. What
is your opinion on this2 Who do you
think was the most perfect boxer Of
all the Australians who came here in
the SOS and 90sT'
saw Little Of Critic.
In regard to Critic, I can only say
that / did not have an opportunity of
judging the young mans merits when
he was at his best I did not see him
In action until he had passed his hey
day and then only once or twice IN
events for which he had no training
and seemed little concerned as to which
way the decision went
He had degenerated into q queens
berry clown at the time Of which /
speak and was more fired with the am
hitiou TO make the spectators Iaugh
than anything else. He retained suffi-
cient Of his hardness with the gloves
to make things interesting for his Op-
pOnents. but his blows were Of the
mushy order and his defence not nearly
so complete as it had been in former
years
Whatever he might have been earlier
In his career. Griffo was certainly more
Of trick performer or juggler when I
saw him.
SO far az Critic may figure in a dis
cussiOn Of this kind 7 would prefer TO
pass the question on to other critics
who had opportunities of making com
parsons between Critic and other Aus
tralians when Critic was at his best.
Peter Jackson the Best.
Australia sent. us some exceedingly
clever ring men and now. with my
experiences and reCOlleCtiOns meuOwed
by years, I have no hesitation in saying
tnar Peter jackson was the most per
feet boxer" Of all the antipodeans I
have seen in real action
George Dawson had ideas of his own
and did not hew to the lines of the
Mace ideals Of boxing Judged by what
he accomplished in the ring he earned
the right to be described as clever but
he was far from being as well balanced
a piece of fighting machinery as
Jackson.
Many of the Australians were ex-
tremely clever having the fine points
of the game at their command to a de-
gree which made them appear graceful
in action. Among these Jim Hail was
prominent and Steve O'DonnelI was an
other; George Mckenzie. a liEhtweight
was very talented glove wielder and
that scamp, George MuIhOIland could
make almost any man VINO opposed him
look foolish. FitzsimmOns boxed clev-
erly when he first came across. but
when he began TO study anatomy ano
devise knockout punches. he sacrificed
art to utility.
Peter q Talented Boxer.
Peter Jackson was the most talented
exponent Of the Mace school of boxing
the writer ever came across He knew
how to lead and counter. and time and
measure, and his fOOtwork always
rhymed with his first play. He could
duck. snap back and sidestep in be-
wilderiug way and he appeared to be
always within range so far as his own
attack was concerned and out of range
when his adversary tried retaliation
] remember JaCkSOn's first match at
the old California Athletic club in san
Francisco back in 1855. His opponent
was George Godfrey