The Connecticut labor news., 1921-11-04
LOSING CHAMPIONS ARE ALWAYS THERE
 WITH QUICK ALlBl
Aftermath of Nearly Every Big Ring Fight Filled With
 Excuses.

In nearly every big ring fight where championship titles have depended, the loser has been able to give per fectly good, and to, himself, sufficient reason for his defeat. As a general proposition, his opponent who beat him down, seldom had anything to do with it, except when a "lucky' punch ended battle From Jim Corbett right down the line they were either "fillin' in for a round" or the count was short or long, or something. At times some one slipped them some dope in their tea, or slipped horse shoe in the gloves of their rivals
 James J. Jeffries, who went down under the crushing blows of Jack Johnson, the negro heavyweight, was one champion who accepted defeat in stoic silence Some of his friends conceived the brilliant idea that some person or. persons unknown doped Jeffs' tea the night beofre the fight. Jeff was doped when Johnson's wal loping right punches thudded home.
 John L. Sullivan, the picturesque champion of the long ago, bowed to the skill of Jim Corbett, and munbled thickly through cut and bleeding lips that he was glad an American won the title He said that perhaps he had passed his prime, but offered no excuses. Five years later in the ring at Carson City, John L, climbed through the ropes and challenged the winner of the Corbett- t-Fitzsimmons contest.
 It is fact that on those occasions when the police deemed it expedient to stop ring fights the man who was saved from the beating always de- ~I0 hot he 11T hau n fight, and that in a couple more rounds he would have won by a knockout When Sullivan fought Mitchell i'll Chantilly, France, nearly 35 years ago, 1t was a rainy, raw day. Some Americans insisted that the rain prevented Sullivan from fighting at his best; to which a Briton answered You didn't notice any one holding an umbrella over Mitchell"
 The excuses and recrimination that followed the Corbett-Fitzsimmo battle were many and bitter. The alibis of Corbett and his packers could not be substantiated. As for the names he hurled at Fitz, the Cor nishman went him one better, just as he had in the ring. Immediately after the fight Corbett declared that he had not been knocked out by the
  ed to start new fight.
 But shortly after that he discov- cred that he had ben fouled and hit below the belt rather than six or seven inches above it. Corbctt reck- oned without the motion pictures, however, When the films of the bat tie were shown on the screen there was no evidence of the foul that Cor bett claimed. Rather the camera recorded the shift of Fitz, the smash ing left hand blow to the wind, and Corbett went grovelling to the mat in the pictures just as he had under the clear blue skies of Nevada. The movies firmly established Fitz, and Corbett's excuses were ignored by the sporting fraternity.
 Failing to establish his claims of foul, Corbett again shifted his ground. He said: "I was careless. l did not follow the advice of my seconds, be- cause 1 thought 1 could lick Fitzsim- mons in any round 1 wanted"
 For two years after his Carson City triumph Fitzsmmons ruled the pu- gilistic roost, beating all corners. He was then matched with the giant of the west, Jim Jeffries. Jeff was re- garded as something of a sctup and Fitz was lax about his training. He failed to stop Jeff as he planned and he was himself knocked out in II bit ter rounds.
 When the battle was over, Fitz de clarcd that he would like another chance. He declared that he had en- tered the ring in poor condition, and thought that in another fight he would win.