The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1919-11-22
= - =. !.
Both Fighters Start Out for
Business But Gibbons
Passes His Day =;
IS
=
EFFORTS TO OUTSLUG
CHAMPION NO AVAIL
~
Referee and Associates All
Agree Upon the Same :
Decision ~

st. Paul, Nov. 22.-Mike O'Dowd,
middleweight champion, and Mike
Bibbons, the St. Paul Phantom,
fought terrific, bloody ten?round
here last night. The fight was vic
torious and close all the way, and al
though several of the ringside experts
called the bout draw, the majority
gave O'Dowd slight shade.
The greatest money crowd" that
ever gathered in the St. Paul audi
torium filled the spacious building to
watch Mike O'Dowd, the title-hOlder,
and Mike Gibbons, the Phantom
both of St. Paul-clash in ten
round battle for the middleweight
championship Of the world. '
When Gibbons entered the ring at
9:35 o'clock it was estimated that
the receipts were about $4,000.
O'Dowd followed at 9:37. Both
fighters were given tremendous Jap
plause. ::
A food of light for the motion pic
lures was turned on as the two fight
ers examined each others bandages
in the middle of the ring: It was an
nounced that both fighters were UNI
der stipulated weight of >158
pounds. = ....~ -~
Ulrich Referee.
Curly Ulrich of St. Paul was intro
duced as official referee, while Geo
rye Barton of Minneapolis and Ed. L.
Shave of St. Paul, sport writer's, who
were selected as judges, occupied
seats at the ringside.
Pack Mcfarland of Chicago was
the only ring notable who was intro
duced beside the principals McFar-
eide to "stay fat, because he feared
if he attempted to fight again he
would lose the little brains he had
left"
The fighters were called to the
middle of the ring by the referee at
9:48
The fight was so close that anyone
seemed entitled to his opinion.
O'dowd out-slugged, Gibbons when
the Phantom threw caution to the
winds and fought the champion.
When Gibbons resorted now and then
to his famous boxing tactics he made
O'DOwd miss again and again.
Both Determined.
From the opening song it was evil
dent that the two st. Paul fighters
were determined to settle their long
standing feud by a knockout if pos
sible. Gibbons at times amazed his
followers by deliberately taking stiff
punches from O'Dowd in an effort to
land his dreaded right across.
Early in the fight O'Dowds right
opened a deep cut over Gibbons eye
and from then on Gibbons fought un-
der handicap.
Gibbons had a slight shade at the
start of the sixth round but in the
opinion of some sport writer's he lost
this lead when he tried to out-slug
the champion. O'Dowd seemed the
stronger when the fight was over.
The crowd gave O'Dowd the warmer
reception.
Promoter j. E. Reddy estimated
the total receipts to be slightly more
than $4,000. Gibbons received 80
per cent of the gross receipts out of
which he paid O'Dowd $4,000. Glib
bons also had the motion picture con-
cession and agreed to give O'Dowd rs
per cent of the film receipts.
Examination Of Gibbons right
hand showed that it was badly
bruised and that possibly small bones
were broken. Gibbons said he hurt
it in the sixth round and put it out
of commission in the eighth. Geo.
Barton, Minneapolis, and Ed. l..
Shave st. Paul sport writer's who
acted as secondary referees, both
gave the fight to O'Dowd. Sport writ
ers were agreed on one tfiing-that
Gibbons is far from the fighter he
was three years ago.