Omaha daily bee., 1915-05-02
LIGHTWEIGHTS A POOR LOT &
So Says Frank Erne Of Little
Pugilists Who Are Now
in Ring.
DON'T PREPARE FOR FIGHTS

asaIood euI.,-I HBW 'HHOX MrIN
lot of lightweights in the history Of the
ring grace It now" says Frank Brne. II
don't like Welsh at all. never saw Mel
son, but I'm sure that Wolgast could
have whipped him at any stage OF his
career. I didn't go to see Shugrus or
White because they are so poor that 1t
would be wasting an evening. think
Elbows McFadden. Dial Hawkins. Lavigna
or Spike Sullivan could have cleaned them
all up one by one.
why, these fellows don't prepare for
fight You can't condition yourself in
two weeks. It takes weeks 10 prepare
and weeks 10 relax 30 that the body can
regain its normal standard. Oscar Gard
ner. who weighed 116 pounds. could have
whipped all this lot Wonderful puncher.
he could train down to nothing. He al
most had the upper body Of a middle
weight.
Sammy Kelly, the cleverest of the
clever could have stabbed these fellows
silly. What a great fight he and Gardner
put upi Oscar broke two OF sammy's
ribs George Dixon was a marvel. With
great head and hands he was everything
that a brilliant boxer should be. He was
always fighting men larger than himself.
He could hit with either hand equally
well. Now they go through ten rounds
Of perpetual motion, Shaping and cutting,
and the crowd thinks they're hitting.
They don't applaud Mike Gibbons. He
is the high art of boxing today. Gb-
bons, Tommy Ryan. KID Mccoy. they
showed more to the public than any three
~ II
Mccoy were opponents of their own point
OF view. They were as much inclined to
fool the public as they wero their oppo-
nsnts. Good as they were. Gibbons
showed me masterful boxing that hasn't
been equaled in my day. Welsh fights
the hard hitters without a display OF
generalship. Believe me. he never en-
countered McFadden or Fitzgerald
Cans Punch a Real One.
Cans was a master. He could feint
you into any position he pleased. leaving
you easy prey to q solid punch. hard
because Il was so unexpected. He was
the master hitter. You perhaps have
seen an impromptu battle in a cafe. A
man will be hit. sending him across the
room. That man wasn't hit. he was
pushed. Another nRn win swing and
the other fellow will go flying sideways
to the wall. Not punch. He was pulled
around. When Cans hit you didn't move
out of your tracks. Yoa Just crumpled
dead to the floor.
''AIl things considered. Bob Fitzsim-
mons was the best fighter that ever
stepped into the ring. He fought at a
time when a man went a distance. having
TO take into consideration his powers and
his opponents powers. always figuring
as he went along just how good he'd be
at the end OF ten. fifteen. twenty or
twenty-five rounds. II took q general
to plan his battle along those lines. That's
what made them stand head and Shout
ders over today's crop.
The greatest match In the world to-
day from a standpoint OF high boxing
art would be one between Packy Nc
Farland and Nike Gibbons. Compared
to some Of the matches we see II would
be like comparing grand opera TO
honksy-tonk concert. II would be treat
IN generalship. skill. hitting. blocking,
everything that constitutes the fine art
OF boxing"