THE RING

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1514, 7 March 1901, Page 44

THE RING

OTTO CRIBB IN AMERICA. HIS SECOND BATTLE. Woodward’s Pavilion was packed to the gallery windows last night with a crowd of eager, fight-thirsty, shouting enthusiasts, who did not shout in vain (says the 'San Francisco “Call” of Jan. 19). They saw' a fierce and furious 20round bout between Otto Cribb, of Australia, and! Charles Thurston, of San Francisco, that ended; in a draw. After that they saw a nine-round fistic affair, more scientific but less tumultuous, that ended in a complete victory for “Jack” Root and a knock-out for George Byers, of Boston. It is safe to say that no such fight as that of Cribb and Thurston was ever seen in this city before. For fierce onslaughts, terrific ; batterings, unquestioned and physically heroic gameness Thurston has no equal in the business. And Cribb proved his mettle by accepting no small meed of punishment. In the sixteenth round, when the sailing was fair and the fight looked Cribb all over, Thurston crossed his right full smack upon the Australian’s jaw. The Antipodean went down, hut not out, as was first thought. Many anothex* —and hardy fighters at that —would have coveted the ring floor for 10 seconds on such a jpunch, but not Cribb. He got up dazed and bewildered, fought his round out under the most fearful odds, and came back for the next round strong enough ■to hold on. At the end of the twen-

fcieth round: Cribb was fighting stronger than, bis sturdy opponent. Referee / ‘‘Jack" Welch called it a draw. The decision was eminently satisfactory to all.

From the start to the finish the fight was a fistic whirlwind. “This can’t last five rounds;” was heard all over the building at the end of the second threeminute spasm. It lasted five and five more and five after that before anythng like a cessation of the pugilistic storm showed on .the horizon. Then came the eventful sixteenth,; when the first brake was put on. Two rounds of comparatively Subdued fighting followed, and then they lashed at one another again. How long they would havq continued is conjectural, the limit of human .endurance seeming to have no place in the forecast of a fight between Cribb and Thurston,

Thurston and Cribb furnished a twen-ty-course dinner of heavy dishes, any one of which woxdd have satisfied the average ring-goer. Were it not for the

sixteenth round, Cribb would have proved himself the winner. Once in a while Cribb would be knocked down, not by

telling blows, but when he was off his balance. In the thirteenth round Cribb clearly showed a superiority in hitting ability and ling comportment. After that Thuyston was on the defensive, though strong, active, and eager when the two men mixed. So the fight went until the sixteenth. This furnished enough heart excitement for the crowd to last a month. By a swift and sure right cross Thurston caught his antagonist on the proper spot. Cribb went down and then scrambled to his feet when eight seconds had been called on him. Then he showed how a fighter could save himself by duckling and clinching. . Five times lie; went down on the floor, but managed to stand the rotuid and the fight. The seventeenth and eighteenth rounds found Cribb a bit weak, but in the nineteenth and twentieth he was the aggressor and the stronger of the pair. While the fight was not of the scientific order, it was supercharged with exciting situations. Cribb was waiting all the time to shoot his right on Thur--'•stoil’s chill. He never connected just as he planned, but Thurston did. The fight was a wild, roaring hurricane, with never'a stop. The crowd was on edge, expecting any time to see a wind-up of hostilities. With all the beating Thurston received all there was to show ior it was a cut on the left cheek, received in the eighteenth round.