Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1923-07-05
DEMPSEY GIVEN
DECISION over
ST. PAUL BOXER
Sport Writers Assert Glib
bons Won Moral Victory
by Staying With the Cham
pion for Limit Of the Bout

SHELBY. Mont. July 5.-The whole
! sporting world was wrong with the
exception of that courteous smiling in
dividual. Tommy Gibbons. OF ST. Paul
The challenger. To- the astoniShmcnt
of the 2J.O00 spectators in the sun
baked arena on the edge Of this oil
boom town. was on his feet. still fight
ing at the end Of his scheduled II
round heavyweight championship battle
yesterday with Jack Dempsey when NJ
most everybody expected him 10 be
Knocked out. in six or seven rounds.
Dempsey. the champion. was in over
whelmng favoritc H. win by knock
out early in the battle.
Referee Jimmy Dougherty. Of St
Paul. awarded Dempsey the decision
when the gong changed. ending the fif-
te,nth round. but Gibbons. who did not
get cent for fighting the champion
left the ring with a moral victory.
II was the first time that any fighter
had managed to face Dempsey and still
hc ON his feet at the finish since Dcmp-
Sey became champion.
Gibbons has a reputation made ia 81
fights of having never been Knocked off
hia feet That reputation l. still good
Dempsey had him dizzy and weary.
probably half dozen times. bur
failed % knock him out
The fight had au entirely different
ending than any of the spectators cx-
pectcd. Eevn the enthusiastic Gibbons
protagonis,s shouting encouragement to
their fighter had not the slightest idea
hr would last more than seven or eight
rounds In fact. i was the conccnSuS
~ opinion that four or five rounds would
find Tommy on the floor knocked out
Tommy. master boxer. and con
stantly ON the lookout for the knockout
blow. danced aud hop stopped around
the ring. occasionally slapping' right
or left to DempSey'S face and then elud
ing danger BY clinching. or stepping
backward
Toward the last t;ibI~ns seemed 10
be fading fast and rrk1ntedly went into
clinchc~ wit hthe champion. In the last
ronnd il appeared that his dcfcnscS were
falling. and many expected Dcmps,,,
Ia administer the expected knockout
The champion. seeing fhe condition of
the challenger. furiously slashed AT his
head and body but Tommy hung on and
clinchcd and side STEPPED until the saw
ing grace of the final bell
Dempsey was never IN danger in a
round of the fight although Gibbons cut
and slightly blackened the champions
right eve in the opcning round and
Dempsey brought blood once or twice
from the challenger. neither was marked
4. L.. 4
Of the newspaper experts M the ring
side gave Gibbons shade in the fifth.
eleventh and thirteenth rounds. the re-
naming twelve being accorded Dempsey
without argument Neither the cham
pion or the challenger were ever off
their feet. although once Gibbons nearly
fell through the ropes and was helped
back by Dempsey.
Although Gibbons WAS the fnvorite
of the crowd. not word Of dissension
was heard over Referee Doughcrty's de-
riSion. II had previously been rumnr.d
about that II hy any chance. the fight
went the limit. there would be a riot
If the decision went to Dempsey. State
and local police and many deputy sheriffs
were on hand. but there was no dis
turbance at any time.
While there were barely 5000 per-
sons in the arena at the beginning Of
the championship battle. il was hut
few minutes until approximately 5000
were crowded ~ near a. they could grt
10 the ringsidc. The reason was that
the spectators would not pay the prices
asked and just before the fight kcarns
decided Ia cut the prices of the best
seats more than fifty per cent.
The crowd on the outside of the
fence rhecred the announcement and
Immediately began handing i'm so bills
through the wires for the higher priced
tickets were sold M much less than half
price and when the fight was well
started the crowd. apparently money
less. crashed the gate" and rushed
into the vacant seats of the arena.
nv The Associatcd prpssl