BOXING.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume VIII, Issue 414, 30 June 1898, Page 6

BOXING.

Writing from San Francisco on May 18 the correspondent of the Sydney Referee remarks : — “It has been an eventful month in pugilistic circles. In addition to Sharkey’s defeat at the hands of Jeffries, a defeat that was encompassed by too small a margin to do the victor much credit, there has been a happening no less startling than the defeat of Peter Maher by grizzly Joe Goddard. In ordinary times a person well posted; on matters pugilistic might say—why should there be anything startling about it ? But these are not ordinary times, my masters. Goddard has been giving cataleptic exhibitions lately, and has been walloped around the ropes by the Sharkeys and the Jeffries. He admitted himself that he was getting ‘ too old to fight,’ and when he went East to tackle Irish Peter a week or two ago there was a disposition to regard the match as one of convenience, or, in other words, a fight for revenue only. But he downed Maher with a backhander in the very first round, and call it an accident if you like, the decision goes on record. Another unlooked-for event in pugilistic circles was the loosening of Fitzsimmon’s tongue. Bob had been very quiet for a long time. It was remarked that he, as well as other old-time notables, had been kind o’ snowed under by Sharkey and Jeffries, the young giants of the arena, and it is just possible that Bob himself noticed that his name wasn’t on everybody’s tongue, as it used to be in the days following those troublous times at Carson. In any case, just while the aftermath of the JeffriesSharkey fight was at its height, Robert was heard from, and in such a way that we all thought he meant fight. He said that both Corbett and Kid McCoy had been taking liberties with his name ; that each. of them had talked of giving him a large sum of money if he would content to risk his two world’s championships. He was prepared to accept the extravagant offers made, and take a fall out of each man before the autumn leaves began to fall. Nothing came of it, however. M’Coy has his hands full at present, having to meet Gus Ruhlin on the 20th, and Corbett said his offer had been misconstructed purposely. Of this more anon.”