WATCHING OF A BOXING CHAMPION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16327, 17 January 1921, Page 3

WATCHING OF A BOXING CHAMPION.

NOW A POLITE AFFAIR, COMPARISON WITH THE PAST, The following interesting article showing how methods have changed m recerwi years is taken from a Neu York paper:—■ “It was not like that in the olden day,” said an old-timer who was atthe Clnridge Hotel in New York on the dav that an agreement was reached for a tight between Deinpeey and Carpentier for the heavy-weight championship of the world. ... “In. the days of Corbett, ‘Sullivan, Fitzsimmons and Jeffrie3, 5 continued the oIH-timer, “the signing of articles for a championship battle was always attended by events that were anything but peaceful- But, what it difference when Dempsey and Carpentler met and agreed to terms for their proposed bout. As tar as their manner and that of arranging the bout were concerned, tile pair might have l>een arranging a day s outing on a golf course. How different it was in the years gone by. As T listened to this talk of a halfmillion dollar purse, of motion pictures, and bonding companies, glanced round at the fine setting provided for the meeting and at the fighters themselves, affable to each other and to each other h manager, 1 let my mind wander hack to the olden days when fighters fought because they liked to fight, when ring rivalry was much more intense than now and when lighters often came to blows outside the ring. “ Take, for instance, the time Jim Corbett was matched to fight- John L. Sullivan. That was done peaceably in u Broadway hotel, but a few nights laier Charley Mitchell, who had fought Sullivan twice and who was hounding Corbett for a march, laid for Jim in a Bowery theatre, where Jim was show ing with a. burlesque troupe. Frank P. Slavin, the Australian heavy-weight, was with Mitchell, and the moment. Corbett appealed Mitchell attacked j him. A free, fight followed in which Mitchell and Slavin were badly beaten by a. squad of cops and tossed out on the sidewalk. ” Then when Corbett was champion and Bob Fitzsimmons was seeking a bout, two impromptu fights took place before, the men finally were matched to meet in Carson City. The first brawl marked the initial getting-together of the men and their managers in the old Coleman . House at Broadway and Twenty-eight Street. Corbett bad a. lawyer with him. and the lawyer got into an altercation with Fitz, which wound up by Fitz plastering the lawyer and the fight being called off. ,e Shortly afterward, while Corbett was playing at a theatre in Philadelphia. FiiV. made a trip to that city and bearded Jim in his den, which happened at the moment to be the diningroom of Green’s Hotel. The men tvx.changed insults for a few moments, and Corbett, losing his temper, seized o water bottle and made a pass at tho Cornish man. f * In a moment a jamboree was ott. A half-dozen waiters took a hand in the affair, tables were overturned and eh in aware, smashed to pieces. ’Hie only ones who W'eren’t injurd were Corbettnnd Fitz. No match was made that day ; but one soon followed, and Fitit took the-title away from Jim. c ‘ Fitz subsequently was challenged by Jim Jeffries, and when he. got ready to grant a match to the challenger a meeting was .arranged at the Bartholdi Hotel. , Fitz appeared with Martin Julian, bis brotner-in-law and manager, as bis companion, while Jeff had a number of friends with him. Tn the course of the debate over the. conditions of tho match Julian became involved in an argument wilh one of Jeff’s friends. Julian took a swing at this fellow, who was considerably smaller than he, and the little guv hurled an ink-well at Julian’s head. The room and its occupants were spattered freely with ink, but the belligerents were kept apart. The scrap broke up the > meeting, however, and it was not. until some weeks later that the match 4 ‘ Hi is same friend of Jeff’s, who was a sure-enough gamester, tried to lick Corbett when Jeff and Corbett were brought together in the- ' Felice Gazette * office for tlie purpose of signing; artir-lo* for a. fight, and another ‘ froe-for-alj ’ ensued, though it did not result in the breaking off of negotiations. “ hitz got in+o another jam of this port when ho and Kid M’Cov met in a Broadway saloon. Fitz at " that time bring in quest o? a match with tho Kid a matoh whi«h he never got. fnrtclen’a'iy—with M’Coy at. this meeting w*- the late George Coneidine, his friend and adviser. Fitz took ».xeeption lo a remark made by Considine and swung on him. but peace was restored before any damage had been done. c ‘ Can you imagine Dempsey and Carpen tier or Kearns and Deseliainps trading punches at one of their business confabs? No; neither can T. Modern fighters develop their instinct for business as they develop their biceps o r perfect their hooks and jabs. Either Dempsey or Carpentier will tell you that anyone who takes a punch at someone else without any gate receipts in the offing is crazy -and maybe they’re right. But in the old days, it seems to me, we had better fighters and better fights.’