LANG V. FITZSIMMONS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIV, Issue 4, 6 January 1910, Page 3

LANG V. FITZSIMMONS.

THE RECENT BOXING CONTEST

.-,;.•■ In ail:, account of the fight between *M$T. Lang and i3^. Fitsrinmdtis "at S^d- .. iiey on: Boxing. Day, the Bulletin; : c says:-~-As a. boxer thjere.was no comiparisdn between Lang ..and Fitzsimmons, but-as a fighter the aged pug had no hope against the youthful and ; somewhat ungenerous Australian. As Lang bored in and rpughed, leaning his weight upon him in clinches, the • old man's legs ' trembled. When Lang showered blows, lyil^d swipes, wrist and elbow bashes, ;aiid jabbed and wrenched and played the wild . ; animal generally, the old man bowed himself almost double to get out of the track of the blizzard, and when : in the twelfth round he was caught in the very vortex of the cyclone, he was dazed, helpless, and unable to ■ see sufficiently to even duck out of

the way of the wild,'aimless swipes. It Avas apparent after the fourth round that Fitz's strength had gone. He shook ominously when the . younger man occasionally ; landed. Then there would be flashes of the ■ bygone "Freckled Freak," and Lang would "be slapped and bashed in a way that made him look a perfect novice. Clean, through his giiard the ? L uick, sudden jabs stung into his ace, his head was banged from side "to side, drives caught him in the . stomach, and short-arm jolts on the .'jaw made him rock and hang on for .>safety. Then he would back away,

to come again with wild rushes which, in Fitz's heyday, would have caused Lang's head" to be knocked into the

middle of the fourth row of seats. But the flashes of the ancient Fitz were short-lived. He would suddenly tire, and the venerable face would become drawn and wearied, and as

the mass of youthful muscle came ■ down on to him his legs would totter pitifully. He had shot his bolt. ~ - . Right lip to the end of- the eleventh round Fitzsimmons seemed to hold his. own. on points. Truly, he hadi been knocked down twice, and once .would have gone clean through the ropes on to the ground, but that Lang caught him by the arjn and pulled him back. But,, somehow, his* .' wonderful skill, and the way he

WQiild:m'ake play all over/Lang for a few. momentSj would make him level

again on poiiits. -Eventually, Lang was so excited he didn't, know what do, and automatically", the tottering veteran evaded, and they skirled away round the ring till, at the opposite corner, Lang again got him on the ropes and bashed him with right and left. Fitz fell back against the ■ ropes,. and as they tightened tottered forward and went down to be counted out. There is no^ doubt that Lang has improved enormously, but the■ Bulle- , tin fails to see any signs of a coming world-beater about him. Unusually

strong, fresh from much practice with

Johnson, better and stronger in every way, it took him twelve rounds of

frantic effort and much battering to knock out an old man of 52. The writer doesn't believe the yarn le Fitz being only 46 or so. The man

is over 50. As Lang said_ afterwards, Fitz is a hard man to hit, yet -with the tactics he adopted, Lang, had there been in him any of the stuff of which real world-champioris are made, would have flattened out the ancient inside four rounds. But, as the matter stands, Fit?: as a boxer is still fat ahead of him. It was sheer exhaustion on Fitz's part that gayo Lang the victory. Never, before in Sydney Stadium has there been such a splendid exhibition of skill, of graceful glove work, of rapid evasr ion ,and quiet, confident ducking as - that put up by Robert Fitzsimmons,, the hero 0f~320 fights, who had come back to the scene of his first successes to bury his fame. Probably he would have lasted even longer but for the heat, which half roasted the writer in his place" at the ringside. It was like fighting in a Turkish bath; and the old man dripped as he moved about the ring. One could not help comparing the downfall of'Fitzsimmons with that of Burns in the same ring exactly one . year before. In the latest fight ,there was rioti-one -. word spoken by rthe two men after the contest started. 7They came out and fought in absolute silence. When Fitz was outed, I Lang, immediately the-result was declared, waved his gloved fist in the t air, shouted his triumph, and then rushed over to .see how; it fared with his opponent: When, he found hewas all right he went away quietly to his dressing-room, called on Fitz in'his. and -afterwards asked him to join in a glass of champagne. "Which Fitz did! Apparently the only man m .the Stadium who was not* displeased with Lang was Fitz himself. He said afterwards for publication that Lang fought a most gentlemanly light, and that the referee had nothing to do but count him out. Which was generous of Fitz, for the referee had a lot of mighty hard work to make Lang break properly. The knock-out was, according to one professional on the spot, "most artistic." Just enough to place the matter bejond all doubt, and yet do the victim no injury. Fitz described the sensations in his quiet way. "I wasn't exactly unconscious. I could se.e them all, and hear Mr Scott counting; but for the life of me I •couldn't get up. I tried to—no hope. Something seemed to shout to me that time was running out, and I would be outed, but I couldn't get ; up, and found that I had been a beaten man for the best part of two .■minutes. It was wonderful. Apparently it was the first time the old man had been really knocked out, and he had found as a new experience what the average novice learns at the very beginning of the game.

The Wellington correspondent of ™8 fytteltoii Times states that though the flotsam washed ashore at the Chatham Islands has satisfied the general public that the steamer Du^o will not be seen again, the relatives of the missing men cling to the hope that some may' have found refuge on lonely islands off the main group of the Chathams. Mr M'Laron, M.P., has received a number of letters from wives and relatives of the miss-- . ing mariners pleading that a careful . search should be made in the vicinity ,of the Chathams. It is submitted -that the latest evidence shows that the steamers which zig-zagged to the ■ east some weeks ago weni in the wrong direction for the Chathams, and it is,urged by the wives of officers and members pf the Duco's crew that arrangements' could be made by the ■ Marine Department at no great cost, with, the owners of the Ripple/ which leaves lyttelton this week, for a conclusive investigation to remove the burden of painful suspense that is oppressing those who are awaiting definite tidings. Mr M'Laren is communicating with the Hon. J. A. Millar in an endeavour to persuade him to favourably listen to the petitioners' pica.