Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-01-08
LURE Of RING
TOD MUCHFOR
F|TzS|MMONS
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 I'M
settled veteran Bob Fitzsimmons
comes pretty near to being the pre-
mier 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
no is as good as ever, or even advance
the argument that he feels he has
one good flght-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 nssA undertaking them.
What causes me to lay special
stress on f'itzsihlmons' 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
ways weakened and made denials
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 1t disap-
pears very quickly when tho 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
Teffries, Tom Sharkey and a few
others.
Fitzsimmons Is with one exception
the oldest champion of the world
in captivity, his senior being John L.
Sullivan. Bob has passed the half
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 %
years ago. I 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,
VINO was behind him: 81 don't know
what's the matter. I seem to have
forgotten all 1 knew"
You'll be better when you get
warmed up," said Dawson encourag-
ingly. and sure enough Bob imme-
dtately improved round by round I'M
I'll he laid Rubin low with his ia
nous shift in the sixth
Bob in Long Downward Slide.
| saw him two weeks later with
Tom Sharkey at Coney Island. That
time Bob prof1ted 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.
| 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 I saw Bob
step twenty spiritless rounds with
George Gardner in San Francisco and
said to myself right then: My, what
a lamentable falling away"
Two years later-it was in 1861
saw Fitzsimmons slide from his chair
IN state of coma after completing
thirteen rounds with Jack O'Brien,
and 1t occurred to me then that it
would be a good thing if there were
law debarring pugilists from follow
ing their vocation when they were
manifestly on the down grade.