J. J. CORBETT.

NZ Truth, Issue 509, 20 March 1915, Page 10

J. J. CORBETT.

Ex-World's Champion m Sydney. Jim Corbett, the brilliant American boxer, by defeating whom New Zealander Bob Fitzsimmons became the first heavyweight champion glove fighter of the world, on March 17, 1897, just eighteen years ago, has at last achieved the desire of over a quarter of a -century, and arrived m Sydney (says "Boxer-Major" m the "Sydney Sportsman"). I had the pleasure of a chat with Mr. .Tames J. Corbett, the world-famous monologueist of to-day, at the Tivoli Theatre office on Tuesday morning. He was just off , the Sonoma, after a perfect trip from San Francisco, "till last night," said he, "when nearly home, we ran into a big blow, and my! but didn't we get it!" "That was our good old southerly buster. You ought to thank your stars you. didn't beat it to Sydney, or you'd have been grilled by the hottest for the season: one hundred point seven m the shade, and simply hell on the hot, hot streets," said I. , . "Then I'm glad I did get that—Wi.atdo you call it, yes, buster," said Jim. James J. Corbett was born m San Francisco, September 1, 1866, so anyone can figure out for themselves that he has. seen his twenty-ninth birthday. He is 6ft. lin. high and is still a finelooking man, and one with not a sug gestion of the fighting man about him. The kind of boxer he was is shown by the fact that he has no thick ear and no bent proboscis. He's just a quiet, rather distinguished-looking middleaged vaudeville artist, with a gentle voice and the sad eye that is an attribute of all the American variety folk. It is the result of twice a day and seven days a week, and the short seasons and long jumps. An American vaudeville artist who has made enough . dough to live on is wise, to get out and come to Australia, where he at least gets Sunday oft* and has sometimes months m the one shop. As Corbejtt and his career are as well known m Australia as Dave Smith and his, It would be waste of space to cheke my readers with it. They wouldn't thank me. Everybody knows that he was the cleverest American heavyweight ever known. What is Interest- 1 ing is his own remark that he fought two generations of fighters, so to speak; beginning with Joe Choynski m 18S9 and finishing with Jim Jeffries m 1903; so that he was prominent m the game for fourteen years. Ho confesses to a yearning to visit Australia that dates back to the time

Ned Hanlon, who was his boyhood's hero, and by all over that side thought invincible, came ■ down . here to get a cargo of Australian gold and got badly licked by Bill Beach. I' myself remember Jim writing to Sydney, expressing that longing, as far back as IS9O. "When that little fellow Billy Murphy — what a wicked little fighter! — came over to San Francisco and swept the board, I again began to wonder what kind of place this Australia must be. Up till then it had seemed so very far away, and we had thought of it ?s a sort of wild, inaccessible place. Then came Peter Jackson, Fitzsimmons, George Dawson, and finally Griffo; till it seemed that no- matter how- good a man we had, Australia always had one to HCk him. "The man I learned niost about your country from, however, was the late Bill Naughton. When he came over there and got on the press I was a bank clerk, a slip of a lad, and used to box with him; arid I may say that I was amazed at his knowledge of the grme, practically and theoretically, and the way he could write it up." It was the same to , the end. No matter what the other papers said about a scrap, we always'waited to see what 'Father Bill' had to say about it. That always went. "The last i saw the dear old fellow was at a- dinner given to me by the Press Club m San Francisco, when he was both president and toastmaster. That was not long before his death. "Let me tell you that I consider that Peter Jackson was the greatest fighter you ever sent across or was ever seen In America; and Griffo was the cleverest. "Goddard? Now, there was some rough fighter for you! A good man to side-step! If he hadn't got diseased he would have been champion of the world. He was after me when he came over,

; (President Wanganui Boxing Association). He's a man that's known to each boxer, And soda he takes with his hock, sir; By his cut-away coat, And the tie round his throat, You'd guess there's no holes m his sox, sir.

and he came and asked me to fight him. I knew he had beaten up Joe Choynski m four rounds, and I confess. 1 didn't like the look of him anyway, so I spoke sort of soothingly. I said — making a geaturo as -though smoothing down a man's coat sleeve — 'Now, you run along and fix up with somebody else. There are several men with much bigger reputations and much easier to beat, that'll do me.' " Regarding Tom Cowler, the big Englishman whom Corbett was responsible for bringing down by tho . Sonoma, James J. says he Is lh.no way what he has been called here: "Corbett's White Hope." •' 'l" only met him :i month before I came away; when he came to the stage door and asked me, as 1 was going to Australia, If I thought he could do nny good here nnd how could ho get here. 1 had a'., spar with him and found that he had considerable idea,, and when I found that he had no moans of getting here, I said I'd fix up that part for him, and ho could pay me back or not, just as Fortune favored him. That's all 1 have to do with Cowler. lfo.'s a fine, big fellow, standing Oft. 1-ln., and scales 2061 b, Ho looks pretty good to me; but has a good deal to learn yet. We hud several spars on the boat coming down. That's what I'm going on. Mut ho's here quite 'on his own.' as you folks say." Mr. Corbett is under a two years' contract, with Hugh D. Mclnto.sh to play the Tivoll circuit, and is freely acknowledged, by both England unrt America, j to be one of the very best monologue i entertainers on the stage. Ho is nc- ! companlcd by his very charming wife.