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Show Tommy Burns on the left, Jack O'Brien on the right. Theso men fought at Los Angeles for the heavyweight championship of tho world and a purse of $12,000, which, by agreomont. was divided so that O'Brien got a JO per cent bonus; 75 per cent of the remainder wont to the -winner and 25 per cent to the loser, Tho betting on tho fight was the heaviest that was ever known in Los Angeles, -with O'Brien a ruling favorite, at 10 to 6. Story Published That Hackcn-schmidt Hackcn-schmidt Will Enter the Prize Ring. REPORT IS DECLARED SIMPLY RIDICULOUS Great Wrestler Knows Absolutely Abso-lutely Nothing of Boxing or of Ring Fighting. Tribune Spechil Sporting Service. LONDON, Doc. S. "Ccstus," writing writ-ing in the "Sportsman," says: "Mr, Vincent Crummclls, we arc told, used to wonder how certain things got. into papers. He would havebcen considerably more exercised on"this regard re-gard had he possessed the smallest particle par-ticle of knowledge of sporting matters and happened to have been knocking about in the present age. The rumors that get afloat now and again arc so amusing and absurd that one almost feols sorry for the uninitiated who al low tho leg to be nulled ami grasp at anything that ii likely to furnish a bit of sensational copy. "The latest is that George llackcn-schmidt, llackcn-schmidt, the champion wrestler, is going go-ing in for boxing. A weekly sheet eumo out with tho following, which has been quoted in moro than one daily: 'In tho not very remote future, George llackeuschiuidt. the world's champion wrestler, may be seen in a new role as a prize fighter. All sorts of tempting offers have been made to ' ' Hack ' ' to take up the iistic art, and a syndicate of prominent American sportsmen is prepared to put up a purse of $o0.000 if he will nrree to moot .Jeffries. I lack-onschmiflt lack-onschmiflt is u very lino boxer, indeed. in-deed. ' "There are half a dozen or so words of souse in this paragraph, but the remainder is absolute- trash. A syndicate syndi-cate might bo prepared to put up a nurse for .fclVrics and' Ilackensehmidt, because 'boomed' in the truo American stylo, and all sorts of rubbish published as to tho ability as a boxer of tho Russian, Rus-sian, tho thing might, perhaps, draw. As to Ilackensehmidt coming out ns a prize lighter, as it is put, why he has as much idea of taking to tho ring as 1 have of trying a trip to the moon, llackonschmidt has 4 had some' with tho gloves, and tho little he took brought lum very quickly to the conclusion con-clusion that boxing is not in his line. "How anyone could possibly put in print that ' Ilackensehmidt is a very lino boxer, indeed, ' is more than difti-cult difti-cult to understand, while as for Jeffries, ho is walking about in the vicinity or nineteen stone, and could never, t am told by one who should know, be again properly trained. t Not that he would require moro training to beat 'Hack' but if a burlesque of this sort came to bo arranged, why tho men would have to bo a bit lit just for appearance sake. "Whon I say that Hackonschmidt has tried his hand with tho gloves and realized that his repertoire, if L may use a term more adapted to music than athletics, does not include boxing, I know what J. am writing about. A few woeks ago a little performance was gone through in a certain town in tho North of England, which sent to the wind any ideas that Ilackensehmidt might have had ns to his fitness for tho ring. Ilackensehmidt is tremendously powerful, of course, but his museles. hard and set, hnv'o been trained for wrestling and not for the freedom of hitting. His delivery is a push, not a blow, a very strong, awkward push, but ouo that would never succeed oven opposed to a good middle-weight. "These remarks are not intended to in any way disparage or belittle Hack-ensehinidt. Hack-ensehinidt. As a wrestler he is without an equal, but boxing is not tho Hus-Hian's Hus-Hian's game, as some would like us to boliove. 1 have drawn attention to tho ridiculous paragraph because it is not fair to put such matter before the public pub-lic as genuine. I remember some years ago a certain seribo came out with a long screed about Sandow, who was going go-ing to do this and that-r-in fact, wondrous won-drous tilings in the ring. It is some eighteen yearft since the public were asked to believe this, but so' far San-dow San-dow has not taken to the manly art." |