Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1914-04-18
R|TCH|E STILL CHAMP
AFTER TERRIFIC FIGHT
Murphy Shows Himself to Be One of
the Gamest Fighter in the
Ring.
BODY BLOWS WEAR
CHALLENGER DOWN
Champion Has Best of II Out of 20
Round Contest-Two Were
Even.

San Francisco, April 1S.-Willie
Richie still retains his title as light
weight champion of the world today.
He defended it last night againsnt
Harlem Tommy Murphy in one Of the
fastest 20-round contests ever seen in
San Francisco.
Charges that the champion was
afraid of the challenger were fully
disproved. 1t is also true that Muir
ply is one of the gamest scrappers
that the game has ever known. A less
courageous mlln would have gone
down from the terrific hammering the
challenger received. His ability to as
simulate punishment was marvellous.
Ritchie outclassed and outfought
Murphy at every angle of the game.
Seventeen of the 20 rounds belonged
to Ritchie. The other three were prac-
tically even. The champion s victory
was decisive. In the closing rounds
he hammered the New Yorker all over
the ring. Tommy was all but out
when the gong changed the end of the
twentieth round. Had the battle gone
another round it ascertain that Ritchie
would have won by a knockout.
The champion left the ring un-
marked. Tommy was covered with
cuts and bruises, His left eye was bad
ly puffed and bleeding. When the
final gong sounded he staggered to his
corner, hardly hearing the words of
praise voiced by the champion. Only
bulldog determination, backed by won
dcrful grit, enabled Murphy to go
through the battle to a finish.
Ritchie played for the body through
out the contest and this attack grad
ually wore the challenger down. Time
and again he sent terrific rights and
lefts into Murphy's mid-section until
the spectators marveled that he stood
up under it.
San Franciscans were convinced that
the local boy is real champion. He
fought heady fight and showed that
he is q splendid two-handed scrapper.
And that Ritchie failed to knock out
the challenger was due entirely to the
latter's wonderful condition and game
ness.
Close students of the game say that
last night s mauling will tell on the
Harlemite in the future. He is no
longer a youngster, and 1t will be
weeks before the soreness leaves his
body. v7ue
After the battle the champion
walked over to Murphy's corner and
put his arm about his shoulder. "Tom-
N.Y." he said, "you made great
fight. No gamer boxer ever entered
the ring
While Murphy felt his defeat keen
", he admitted frankly and volun-
tarily that the champion had won.
"I don Z want to be sore loser, !"
he said, "but | feel confident that |
can do better than I did last night. ]
went against real fighter and a real
champion, and l did the best that |
could for my friends. l would like
another chance"
Richie took his victory as matter
Of course.
"I never met such game man in
all my life," he said. 81 hit Tommy
rs hard as l ever hit any man in nv
life, and he stood up under it. Both
Of my hands are sore. Tommy punches
did not bother me, and, after we had
gone couple of rounds | thought it
would only be matter Of my waiting
for the chance to land the knockout
wallop. Murphy covers up in such
style. however, that it hard to hit him
and he has great powers of recovery.
hope T never have to hit as many
stomach blows as l gave him last
night I have the greatest admira-
ton for Tommy, and / can almost say
that am sorry that it had to be so.'
Referee Jim Griffin said;
"Ritchie won all the way. He has
improved wonderfully since his last
appearance here. Hard rights and
lefts to the stomach weakened the
challenger, and Murphy took enough
punishment to put half q dozen ordin-
airy fighters to sleep. It was q clean
battle from start to finish"
Weather conditions for night fight
were perfect, and the big arena was
packed.