The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-01-17
BOXERS OF TODAY
NOT OUTRANKED
Gibbons and Many Others Glass
With Best of Old Timers.
.FITzSIMMONS WAS MARVEL

Great Australian Stood Out Among
His RivaIs-Made Better Record as
Heavyweight Than as a Middle
weight-Other Instances.
When Ruby" Robert FftZsimmons,
the speckled antipodean, shook the
dust of Australia from his rugged /
frame on Gle long sea trip to the Unit |
ed States almost thirty years ago he
had some idea of winning middle
weight laurels, but beyond that his
vision did not reach. Then the now
famous retired pugilistic champion was
only a youngster, built top heavy and
perfectly aware of his hitting ability
Although still under his majority, he
tipped the beam around 160 pounds
and found it hard work to get down to
the 1913 pounds ringside, which was de-
manded of him by the middleweights
he sought to conquer.
In his American career FitzsimmonS
really made the middleweight limit
only a few times. 1t has been said
since that the men in his class lodged
him. But this was for press agent
| reasons, as the fact of the matter was
! Fitzsimmons grew so rapidly that he
| never could have made less than 16J
! pounds ringside after the Dempsey af-
/ fair. In fact, most of his ring history
was recorded while he weighed more
| than ITO pounds.
/ This history of the ring is only quoted
in argument against the many state
ments made of late that boxers Of the
type of Mike Gibbons, Young Ahearn,
JEFF Smith and Les Darcy are not to
be considered in the same category as
Fitzsimmons. Certainly they are not,
for they are all legitimate, simon pure
middleweights, who can and do make
the limit prescribed, something that
FitzsimmOns could not do after the
Dempsey fight.
Ketche Was Heavy.
In trying to contrast the present day
middleweights with Fitzsimmons or
even with Stanley Ketchel most crit
les do an injustice to the men of
today. 1t viii be recalled that Ketchel
during the last two years of his fstic
career and after he had abolished
Papke, Thomas and Il few other mid
dleweight contenders rarely fought
middleweights, and for no other rea-
son than he could not make the limit
asked His best weight was around
It's pounds, and, strangely enough, this
was about the pOundage which FitZ-
simmons carried into the ring while
making himself famous as champion
Of champions.
Not long ago the statement was made
that Tommy Ryan would not consider
. a match with Fitzsimmons at Us
pounds ringside. This is an injustice
to Ryan, who never weighed more thar
that and who in reality was nothing
more than heavy welter Ryan in
= deed tried hard to get Fittzsimmon!
into the ring. but always safeguardeG
these attempts, it is true, by demand
. ing the weight which Fitzsimmon
could not and would not attempt t,
make.
Boxing. like almost everything else
= travels in cycles, and right now Their
, are a great many slapping, point get
ting opponents Of the manly art in
stead of the old John L. slambang br
gadc Of thirty years ago. In compar
lot of prestige, for they give a NOR
/ finished exhibition and usually do a
( much damage each to the other. Figh
ers Of the smuggling, give and tax
( brand like Sullivan's would be out q
1 place in the ring today with the MOI
l ern, heady, jabbing. dancing boxer VIII
knows more about defense than offens
And there are only few who woul
care to see the Sullivan type com
4 back.
Champions Here Today.
Gibbons and Ahearn are both exec
tionally clever defenders of their ow
health. They take few chances an
have learned the art of hitting on
~ when the opportunity is ripe to let {
- without mourning danger to theI
FL selves. They are past masters of bo
II ing and certainly are to be classt
Il with the best. Probably they may n
be champions, but they resemble TIL
II kind of animal