THE RING.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9594, 8 December 1896, Page 6

THE RING.

" Weekly Press and Referee."

[By Starlight.] Pedlar Palmer, of London, and Johnny Murphy, of Brooklyn, U.S.A., met at the National Sporting Club, London, on October 12th, to box the best of twenty rounds for a purse of £500. Murphy weighed Bst 31b and his opponent was a few ounces less. The Englishman had the advantage in age, being barely twenty yeai*s old, while the American is a veteran of thirty-three, and once more youth was served, as although the American stayed out the twenty rounds Palmer easily won on points. Commenting on the fight a London writer says : —Although anything but a good boxer Murphy is in every other respect all his friends have painted him. A gamer man never took the ring, and the way he plodded along and fought a terribly uphill battle gained for him the good opinion of every one of the fifteen hundred who witnessed his display. Of science Murphy has none, and in the hands of Palmer he was for a long time little more than a toy. The visitor was slow to a degree. Against an ordinary boxer he would, as regards points, have made anything but a creditable show. In front of Palmer his boxing was feeble in the extreme, and it was his remarkable capacity for receiving punishment that enabled him to save himself from utter disgrace. At the finish he was, as stated, nearly as strong on his legs as the Englishman. At the same time it must be remembered that for an hour and nineteen minutes Palmer did all the work. He was the aggressor from start to finish, and naturally felt the effects of his exertion. Early in the contest, in fact, before the second round was over, Palmer had the measure of his rival. The spectators were amused at the way in which he fiddled his rival about, and even Murphy could not help smiling at the tricky tactics of his opponent. Round after round Palmer piled up points. So fast indeed did he score that barring a knock out it was a hundred to one against the American by the time the contest was half over. Murphy stood up, and took his punishment like a man accustomed to it. For three-parts of the battle he had no chance of leading. Before he made up his mind to do so Palmer was there with a ltft and right, and it took Johnny all his time to corae back for more. And yet he never shirked his work. An everlasting target for the Englishman's deliveries, Murphy gained round after round of applause for his brave stand. For twelve rounds Palmer hit and bit without making much impression on his adversary. In the twelfth Murphy had a terribly bad time, and once he looked like going to pieces. The heavy strain, however, told its tale on Pedlar, and Murphy's recovery was almost as rapid as his collapse. The actual result, however, was never in doubt, for at no time did the American appear to possess anything in the shape of a knock-out blow. Palmer dodged his leads at will, and held the trump card throughout. Pedlar's win, indeed, was too easy to admit of his display bearing criticism. Many present were surprised that he did not put Murphy out. Others, good judges, too were astonished to see him fight so fast and finish so fresh. A New York cable to a London paper, dated October 9th, says :—The ten-round contest between Tom Tracey and Soung Corbett (George Green) took place in San Francisco last night. Young Corbett was given the decision at the end of the ten rounds. Tracey was knocked down and almost out three times. Young Mitchell, the ex-middle-weight champion, was referee. Tom Tracey has accepted Dick Buvge's challenge to box, catch-weights, for £500 a-side and the best purse offered. After retaining the championship for so long, and being obliged to fi>ht much below his proper weight with Kid Lavigne, Burge does not care to wind up his career a loser. To Lavigne he offered the most reasonable terms, but failed in his endeavours to induce him to meet him again. Burge challenged Tracey in the hope of getting at least one more fight before he retired.