Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-01-08
Of RING
TOO MUCHFOR
F|TzS|MM0NS
Naughton Declares Comeback
Bee Is a Disease Which
Attracts All Veterans.
By w. w. Naughton.

~ AN FRANCISCO, Jan. S.-Manv
surprises are sprung in connec-
ton with pugilism from time to
time, but the news that the lure of the
roped and resined platform has un-
settled veteran Bob F'itZsimmons
comes pretty near 10 being the pre-
mer sensation of the. year just
closed.
The pity of it is that Fitzsimmons
seems terribly in earnest about it, In
his plea to be given a chance to show
what he can do he does not claim that
he is as good as ever, or even advance
the argument that he feels he has
one good fight left in him.
He simply reasons that the present
day heavies are a bunch of incapables
and begs for an opportunity to show
that he is not undertaking them.
What causes me- to lay special
stress on Fitzsimmons' earnestness in
this connection is the fact that while
other "exempts" along the big fell
lows have spoken from time to time
Of getting back in the game, they al
Y
when they saw the things they said
in print.
This thing of feeling an itch TO
tread the boards again after years of
retirement is a disease and it disap-
pears very quickly when the fellow
afflicted with it sees that he has be-
come a mark of curiosity to the pub
lie and a mark of ridicule for the crit
les.
If you don't believe me, ask Jim
Jeffries, Tom Sharkey and a few
others.
Fitzsimmons is with one exception
the oldest ex-champion of the world
in captivity, his senior being John t..
century mark and recalling his earlier
exploits, even in America, smacks of
looking back into another life.
Naughton Tells of Battles.
The writer saw him in his first bout
In this country. That was when he
whipped Billy McCarty at the Cali
fornia Club, San Francisco, about 23
years ago. 1 saw him win the cham
pionship from Jim Corbett at Carson.
saw him lose his heavyweight title
to Jeffries, and I saw him in the re-
turn match in San Francisco. I saw
him box Gus Rubin at Madison
Square and even at that time-it was
thirteen years ago-I noticed how
bunglingly he splashed around in the
opening round. He went back to his
corner and said to George Dawson,
who was behind him: 81 don't know
what's the matter. l seem to have
forgotten all I knew"
You'll be better when you get
warmed up" said Dawson encourag-
ngly, and sure enough Bob imme-
diately improved round by round I'M
til he laid Rubin low with his ia
nous shift in the sixth.
Bob in Long Downward Slide.
I saw him two weeks later with
Tom Sharkey at Coney Island. That
time Bob profited by his previous eX-
perience and did his warming up in
his dressing room before entering the
ring. And Sharkey lasted about a
round and half.
I remember that Bob. flushed with
success, leaned over the ropes and
beckoned vigorously to Jim Jeffries to
come up and be challenged. but Jim
merely laughed and shook his head.
After another few years | saw Bob
step twenty spiritless rounds with
George Gardner in San Francisco and
said to myself right then: MY, what
lamentable falling away
Two years later-it was in 1905-l
saw Fitzsimmons slide from his chair
in a state of coma after completing
thirteen rounds with Jack O'Brien,
and it occurred to me then that it
would be a good thing if there were a
law debarring pugilists from follow
ing their vocation when they were
manifestly on the down grade.