Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1913-01-15
pALzER ON THE FIGHT
Says Battle With McCarty Was Not
Fair Test of Fighting Ability.
EASILY HAVE STAYED
THE FULL TWENTY ROUNDS
Heavyweight Here Visiting Old
Friends, Gives Cause of Defeat.
Will Fight Jack Johnson
in Paris.

championship 20-round bout will
Luther McCarty at Vernon, Califor
mia, on New Years Day, spent thre,
! days here last week, visiting among
old friends of the days when he wa
swipe in the Anderson feed barn
AL. is looking fine, and bore bu
one mark of the long battle, a bruis,
under the left eye, which he say
was caused by McCarty "heeling'
him with the string knot on hi
glove. Other than that he looked
the pink OF condition, and said HI
felt much better than when h,
fought McCarty.
We enjoyed listening to him tel
the story of his fight. He says tha
he was not whipped by McCarty
and could easily have stayed with
him the scheduled twenty rounds
had the referee not stopped the fight
That there was not a knock-dowr
during the fight and he himself wa:
evidence of the fact that he was mo-
''pommeled and beaten to a frazzle,
as the news report stated, and he
certainly looked 1t. He said no mar
could take the beating the papers ac.
corded to him and look like he die
week afterward.
He blames his manager, O'Rourke
with whom he is tied up with a five
year contract, for losing the fight
O'Rourke insisted upon his standing
up straight and boxing every round
when he does not pretend to be. q
great boxer, but his fighting ability
lies in being able to take severe pun
ishment and keep fighting, and his
terrific punch. He says that he would
have won the fight if O'Rourke had
let him crouch and fight for a knock
out blow as he wanted to and as he
has done in every fight he has had.
Instead O'Rourke sat in his corner
yelling Instructions to him through
a megaphone, and as he would
turn to look at him each time, Nc
Carly would pommel him with blows.
Besides McCarty knew just what to
expect from him all the time, and
had distinct advantage. He thinks
that O'Rourke, an old man, has poor
Judgment in present day fighting,
and that if he rushed McCarty as he
did Bombardier Wells, he would
have knocked him out. He begged
O'Rourke to let him fight his way
when he saw that he could not out
box McCarty, but his manager insist
ed upon his standing up and boxing
throughout the entire fight. AS a
result, the only blows he got on Nc
Carly were with ihs left hand, and
he could not get his famous punch
in action.
why, look at me- he said. "Do
look like / had been beaten to a
pulp, are there any teeth knocked
out, is my ear cut to shreds? 1t
was the easiest big fight l have had
so far as punishment is concerned.
When / fought Bombardier Wells,
the Englishman weighed 249 pounds,
and he landed a punch on my
chin when l first came up in the first
round that lifted me off the floor,
turned me upside down and landed
me on my head and shoulders on the
corner of the mat, cutting a slit in
my shoulders that you could lay two
fingers in. When l got up in the
next round / was dazed, the only
time l ever was dazed in fight.
wandered around the ring trying to
find him until came to, then
knocked him down twice, and we
went to it until I knocked him out
Was there anything like that in this
fight? / tell you, Wells is the great
est fighter in the business. and If he
fights McCarty the Fourth of July
he will beat him. Then l will de-
mand a match for the championship
with Wells, as have already beaten
him.
Palzer also said that he was sick
all the time he was In Los Angeles;
that he tried to get O'ROurke to
postpone the fight until he could get
acclimated, and that his doctor ad-
vised him not to fight in that condi-
tion. He had severe bilious attack
and could not train as he ought to,
and was not in good condition. He
says that they did not take him to
California in time to get in condi-
ton. Also that he sent word home
for his family and friends not to
wager anything on the fght for he
l'4I' ~