Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-11-12
Master Meets Pupil.

OQoWn at ST. Paul On Friday night
November Fl, it will be a case of
master against pupil. A few years
ago Gibbons conducted a school
and gymnasium in St. Paul's and
one of his patrons at the time was
Mike O'Dowd. The latter was a
lightweight then, and boxed with
mediocre success. Outgrowing the
lightweight class, O'Dowd entered
the welters and made bid for the
title in that division, boxing the
writer for the title in 10-round
bout at St. Paul.
When he could no longer make
the weller limit, Mike graduated
into the middleweight class and
made a trip east, meeting some OF
the leading l58-pounders. He final
ly placed himself under the direc-
ton of Paddy Mullins of Brooklyn,
N. Y, an astute handler of boxers,
and from that time his success was
assured. Shortly before the out
break of the world conflict abroad,
O'Dowd secured a match with Al
Mccoy for the niddleweight cham
pionship. .....
A decisive knockout over McCoy
gave O'Dowd the championship,
which he defended a few times sue
cessfully before entering the serv-,
ice of Uncle Sam and going abroad
to do battle with gun against the
hated Hun. While in France
O'Dowd performed in bouts for the
benefit of his comrades, always
winning and placing himself in line
for bouts with the leaders in his
division abroad, and even being
given some consideration when 4
match with some of the French and
English heavyweights was spok-
en- of.
Beat Mccoy Again.
Upon his return to Gods country
Mike again began series of WIG
tories, giving Mccoy another
chance at the title and again slam
ming Mccoy into sunderland.
Finally, the only middlewight of any
consequence left was his old tutor,
Mike Gibbons, who had long sought
an opportunity to box for the title.
Promoter Jack Reddy of St. Paul,
made the men tempting offer and
the match was arranged, the men
to meet November q.
The championship will not
change hands, even though Gibbons
beats O'Dowd by a wide margin, if
the bout goes the limit Mike must
knock Mike out, for the title to be
transferred. Gibbons may succeed
in putting over a K. o., but it is
not likely, in a l0-round bout, for
the champion is rough, tough GUS
toner, as I have had occasion to
observe. He can take whale of
licking and still keep coming in for
more. He will undoubtedly take
such a licking on the 2lst, but he
will probably be right there when
the final bell rings.
In picking Gibbons to win this
bout, / have an edge over the ma
jority of writer's, in that | have met
both boxers in actual combat. On
the night of February l6. 1914, |
met Gibbons in a six-round, no de-
cision contest at Philadelphia. For
two rounds ] shaded Gibbons slight
1y. The next two were fairly even,
with Gibbons perhaps, having very
slight shade, but O, mommer! the
last two rounds were the toughest
sessions | ever endured. Mike hit
me with everything but the stool
and the bucket, though he was un-
able to floor me. He gave me
right royal trimming in those last
two rounds and was surely entitled
to the newspaper verdict, which he
received.
Conceded Weight.
I had conceded several pounds
in weight to Gibbons. in order to
get the bout and my title of welter-
weight champion was not endan-
gered, even had Mike knocked me
out. With the weller crown still in
my possession. met Mike O'Dowd
in 10-round bout in his home city,
St. Paul, on December q. 1915. The
day following the contest, every pa
per in St. Paul and Minneapolis,
gave me a decision over the intrep-
id Mike. O'Dowd took good
lacing that night, but he was always
coming right back for more. /
could not discourage him, even
though knocking him half way
across the ring, though there were
no knockdowns.
Basing my opinion on the show
ing of the two men against me on
those occasions, I am fairly certain
that Gibbons will win. True,
O'Dowd has improved greatly since
hat TINA h.1f Il is dauhtf1l IL be