The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-05-24
Johnny Morrissey And Jack Heenan Fought
 Sixty=Two Years Ago

Iady's Maid and Fighter" and did not expect him to last long before a slugger like Neat Within few min utes the marvellous science of Spring had broken the fighting spirit Of Bill Neat. The latter had won all his former fights by bull-like rushes, but he soon tired of wading into Springs blows, and became cautious. For all that he fought gamely and bravely. and the bout was full of action and wildly exciting until the eighth round, when Neat, having broken his right arm, gave up the struggle. ' T WILL he eighteen years today since Matty Matthews faced Rube Ferns in battle for the well terweight championship at Toronto. Matthews had held the title d little more than a year when he met Ferns - in the Ontario metropolis and, after taking a terrible beating, was knock ed out in the tenth round. The bat tie was the big sporting feature of the Victoria Day celebration in To- ronto and attracted a big crowd. Earns lost his title in the following December, when Joe Walcott the Black Demon of Barbados" knocked him out in the fifteenth round.
 
 ada, at Fort Erie. Walcott held the title until 1903, when he accidently shot himself through the hand, and soon lost the title to Dixie Kid, an- other co1ored fighter. Dixie man. aged to hold on to the honor until 1908. It is a curious fact that for many years thereafter there was an almost total absence of welterweigh1 material. When that class was creat- ed in the early 'sOs the woods were full of good men of this weight. There were four great Australian welters in the ring, Shadow Kabor. Tom Williams, Tom Tracy and George Dawson, and Doc O'Connell, Tommy West, Danny Needhan,, and others. helped to make things in teresdng for the champions.
 Tommy Ryan, Mysterious Billy Smith and Danny Needham all claim ed the championship in 1891. In that year Ryan defeated Needhan, and Smith turned the same trick in 1892. In 1894 Ryan gained a clear title by whipping Smith, and the following year Ryan and Smith fought a draw. In 1896 Kid Mccoy whipped both Ryan and Smith, but the Hoosier inn 1 mediately went into the mtddleweight division, as did Ryan at about this time, and Mysterious Billy became king of the welters. In 1897 Smith was defeated by California Boxer. George Green, the original Young Corbett," but within a year Green lost his title in a return match with Smith. Mysterious Billy hung on to the welterweight belt until 1900, when Matty Matthews took it away from him.
 The Ferns-Matthews bout in, To-. ronto on May "A, 1901, marked the beginning of the end of the golden age'' of the welterweisht division n the decade between 1892 and 1902 the welterweight division included many of the best boxers in the game that has ever kown-
 " OLEDO is today the boxing cen.
 A ter of the country, not to say of the universe, and all the world is waiting for the big show which will be staged there on July between Willard and Dempsey. The last championship boxing match to be bane-George Chaney bout for the featherweight title. This bout was staged at Cedar Point on Sept. 4, 1916. It terminated in the third round, when KiIbane rocked Chaney to sleep with a right hook to the jaw.
 ICK BURGE defeated Tom Car O ney in eleven rounds at London on this date in 1891. This contest was for the British lightweight champion ship. Carney was considered by many fans to have been the best man of his weight in the world. In 1887 he came to America and fought ol- hfoA Ax,H e. 1;xI. weight title at Revere, Mass. He gave Williamsburg Jack a terrific drubbing for seventy four rounds, when the ring was invaded by men who had wagered their coin on the Irish-Amertcan-
 Carney had the best of 1t at the time of the interference. and thet crowd cheated him out of his vic-. ADD JOHN MORRISSEY B. tory. Dick Burge hadn't much of a reputation up to the time he whipped Carney. He held on to the title until 1896, when Kid Lavigne, the Burge in London and knocked h'-l out in the seventeenth round. Bu-se was then a middlewetght, but the Saginaw Kid" proved to be his mas ter after a hard combat BurEe be- came a boxing promoter in Lon don. TT WAS on this date way back in 4 1886 that Bendigo defeated Bras sey in ffty-two rounds at Deepcar, England This battle, although be- tween two top-notchers who were : aspirants for the championship, waa.- for only $125 a side. Bendigo's real name was William Thompson and ? Brassey was John Leechman, but both were universally known by their9v ntcknames. More than 5000 people, assembled on the village commonr to see the battle. From the nrst go z Bendigo proved that he was . marvel of ring science. and Brassey didn't. stand a chance. s~tt
 Bendy fought with h5k brains aa | -ixhN aufR all !