The Washington herald., 1918-12-25

lon rushing around like a mad bull.
In the sixth session he managed to
hit Gibbons with a straight left
hand. but when it reached there Glib
bons was going away. The leather
or the glove glanced the pupil of
Mikes right eye and blurred the
sight. He rubbed the eye on Dill
Ions shoulder. but that did no good,
so decided he would get along the
best he could with one eye. From
then until the tenth round it was
all Gibbons. when DiIIon's left glove
glanced the other eyebalI Not a
punch that would leave a mark and
not hard. but as in the other case
it caused the sight to blur and Glib
bons was standing in the center of the
ring practically blind
Had Dillon known that he might
have won right there. Gibbons
, lowered his head and stood fat
footed as an invitation to slug
which Jack liked fine. After get
ting head to head Dillon hit Glib
bones one punch with the right hand.
1t was a good clean punch and
Mike figured that a left would fol-
low, so he dropped his right hand.
knocking off the left hand AMI
countered with his own left the
same moment. later with the right.
and for the last minute of the round
Gibbons blocked every punch
started by Dillon. countering him
self. and he was unable to see.
That was a masters work; moth
ing like it has ever been done in
pugilistic history. After leaving the
ring Dillon said They call that
fellow a phantom and they are right
for you can't hit him, but they
should put something about n
wasp in that title for he sure can
sting"
His rise from working in the
Great Northern car shops in st.
Paul to his present position reads
like fairy story kids like to hear.
When he was married he was draw
ing the princely salary of s65 per
month. with hopes that some day
he would be getting as much as
500 as a boss worker in the shops.
He boxed a little on occasions when
he was offered s75 or 500. In
telling of it now he claims that
every time he won he considered
himself lucky and felt satisfied that
he could get another hundred or so
on the strength of his victory.
The only time he ever lost a deci-
sion was to Jimmy Clabby, who, in
his day, was a remarkable fighter.
Jimmy gave Mike a fine lacing right
in his home town. At that time Mike
was a novice. but he claims to have
learned more in that ten rounds than
he did in the rest of his career.
Clabby, when speaking of the fight
a few years later, remarked that in
the first round he pulled tricks on
Gibbons and was surprised to find
Gibbons pulling the same ones on him
before the last round was over. He
got s75 for boxing Clabby, then welter-
weight champion, fifteen hard rounds
in Winnipeg the next time they boxed,
and was given a draw which Gibbons
claims was a surprise to him. as he
thought Clabby entitled to the deci-
sion. In their last meeting Gibbons
beat Clabby in every round of the
ten in the greatest exhibition of box
ing ever seen i'm the Middle West.
Not long after the Winnipeg bout
with Clabby. Gibbons went to New
York as CIabby advised, telling him
he could beat any welter-weight liv-
ing. Mike went but after six weeks
there he wanted to get home to his
wife and baby. He could not get a
chance to show. 1t was up to him
to wire home for car fare or take a
fight in some small club to raise the
money He finally got on at the Polo
A. C. with boy called Sherman, who
was considered fairly good boxer.
Gibbons knocked him out and got
$50 for doing so, but the fight made
him. b"
Matchmakers from seven clubs
wanted to sign him up for a bout. He
accepted an offer from Billy Gibson to
box Willie Lewis. The betting was all
Lewis but Mike beat him. Thinking
it was fluke they rematched the pair
and this time Mike knocked Lewis
out For these, two fights he got
around $3.50. which was more money
than he ever saw. From that time on
things got better and today, just about
seven years after his first showing in
New York. he is independent
In st. Paul the Gibbons brothers
are not looked on as boxers are in
other cities. Both are very bright
and number among their friends the
best citizens of the city. Mike has
large real estate holdings and is also
vice-president of the TwinJCity Plate
Glass Company. which is the largest
glass company in the northwest. He
is at the present time studying law
or rather was until he reported to