Evening star., 1916-12-26
MIKE GIBBONS WISE
Figures Big Matches Are Bet
ter Than Small Ones.
MAY FIGHT CARPENTER
BY T. s. ANDREWS.

Special Dispatch TO The star.
MILWAUKEE,. December 25.-Mike
Gibbons. the st. Paul phantom, has fol-
lowed in the footsteps Of Packey Nc
Farland to a great extent, as far as
few big matches are as good as. IL
not better than. a bunch Of small ones
that is. he gets more money and does
less work. which is not bad way of
figuring at that. It was a shame.
though, for Mike to consider the
match with Young Ahearn as real
battle. for it did not last moro than a
couple of minutes all told. and should
have been wiped off the slate.
Following his match with Jack Dill
lon some weeks ago. Mike was offered
several good bouts, and they would
have netted him quite bunch of kale.
but Mike could not see it for a moment.
He preferred to take life easy on the
farm for while, and then took to the
road. giving exhibitions with Brother
Tommy. Mike also tired of being man
ager for himself and Brother Tommy.
so he engaged Eddie Kane to handle
the affairs Of the two 1t is likely that
the trio will make a tour to the Pacific
coast, giving exhibitions and possibly
taking on q few small matches. just to
make matters interesting. This will
possible then that Mike will agree to a
match with some good man, but he
prefers to send his brother Tommy
against Jack Dillon at New Orleans for
a twenty round scrap. If the club will
agree to such battle and Jack Dillon
can be induced. as Manager Kane says,
to meet Tommy, the match can be ar
ranged.
Mike has bigger things in mind. The
Phantom wants to meet Georges Car
pentier. the French champion. and
offers to take Jess Willard's place
against him If the deal falls through to
bring the heavyweight champion and
the Frenchman together for the war
fund benefit in New York. Mike says
he Will make terms for Carpenter
match that the promoters cannot de-
cline. Such match would attract at
tention all over the country. and 1t
that have been suggested for the big
event. Carpenter Is not a heavy
weight, but a "cruiserweight," about
175 pounds. and would no doubt fight
at about 10. Gibbons would be around
15S, SO there would not be such a big
difference as some might imagine.
Mike was offered a match with jeff
Smith. but he declined for the present
on the ground that he defeated him
some time ago at st. Paul In ten
claim to a swing at the title he will
meet him later on. In the meantime
Mike will continue to teach Brother
Tommy all the tricks of the trade and
keep in condition with his exhibition
bouts. for some of the big things to
develop later.
Australia has produced numerous
fighters in the various classes who
have been remarkable in a boxing way.
Young Griffo was considered the clev-
crest of them all: Bob Fitzsimmons
was the greatest fighter and hitter Of
his weight: Peter Jackson WAS credited
with being not only wonderful
fighter. but great boxer. George
Dawson also was remarkable boxer;
while Jim Burge was rated as the orig
inal Iron Man." Les Darcy is an
other Australian product Of the won
who has jumped from the lightweight
to the middleweight class within the
past two years and is considered a
real kangaroo" boxer. combining all
awkward style and initiating the late
| Ike Weir. famous belfast spider" to
a certain extent. Kay has been called
Il jumpingjack. la Johnny Dundee. q
kangaroo and various other names. be-
cause Of his peculiar style, but he has
fought the best lightweights and well
terweights with success. and only re-
Gently won a twenty-round decision
over Jimmy abby at Sydney. Clabby
has passed that stage where he Is any
longer a contender for the middle
weight championship. but it will take a
near-champion to defeat him. ". F.
Corbett. the Australian boxing critic.
in writing of Kay. says: ut was a
left-handed man and tricks Of hands
and feet that fooled Claboy. Kay s
right, used as other boxers use their
lefts, stretched out like semaphOre
from a tall pole and spread itself over
a space that sadly puzzled Clabby.
Kay's weapon was not damaging, but
It was most annoying.
This boxers methods may not be ap-
proved by some people. Indeed. know
they are not, but no well grounded ex-
ception could be taken to them. They
are all boxing, although a good deal
unorthdox. His tricky work Is SO un-
usual and so much trick as compared
with what Is generally accepted as box
| ing that the term jugglery suggested
| itself to me as the one word which
might fttingly be introduced to de-
scribe his way of battling. The club
sw niger who does those tricky little
| things with his implements is referred
to as Il club 5uggler. They are distinct
from the straight-out swings and sweeps
of the legitimate business. Kay GER
tainly boxes with his man If he does
not fight with him. 1t is the business
of the boxer to box, not to fight Box
| ing is taught and learned SO that fight
erS, pure ana Slmple, NlSnt De ueIedt-
ed by the science of O. less strongly
built and less combative person than
himself. Boxing also is taught and ac-
quired for purposes of exercise, and
because of the skill there Is in it,
where no idea at all of fighting is en-
tertained The original Marquis Of
iQueensbury rules were framed for con-
tests of skill only. Fighting was never
contemplated by their author"
Hughie Michigan, the former light
weight and welterweight champion Of
Australia, like many other fighters,
went into the arena once too often
IIuehie WAS chamnion for a mum her Of