LANG WINS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 700, 28 December 1909, Page 5

LANG WINS.

FITZSIMMONS, KNOCKED OUT IN TWELFTH ROUND, YOUTH WILL BE SERVED. ' . By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. Sydney, December 27. ; lln tho match for. the heavy-weight boxing championship of Australia, Lang (tho champion) knocked Fitzsimmona out in the twelfth round. • .: . In , tho opening rounds Lang had the best of it; Fitzsimmons . got: to', work ■ early-, in . tho third, round,' ;- swinging,: a terrific left on .to tho Viotorjan's face. Tho : impact was', 'so soypre T ; that tho veteran ■ fell on - his- knees. :;Fitzsinmphs rising, rushed Lang, getting his loft on to the jaffi- Tho rest of tho round was quiet, Fitzsimmons giving a good 6oidntiiio display. : ' Victorian Has An Advantage. • In the fourth round tho Victorian followed up his advantago,: but his leads with t his left wore not successful. ■, Fitzsimmons was evidently' resting, only at-, tempting, an . occasional punch.,: \ Lang livened up, but the round ended slightly in Fitzsimmons's favour. The latter's ;evasive, work was pretty to watoh. _In tho next round, Lang bustled Fitzsimmons badly, but ;the veteran always had hi 3i safe, taking matters easily. Laiig iforccd the fighting, and Fitzisimmdns bogan to show signs of distress, iang landing a stiff blow on tho face as the gong sounded.. • Fitzsimmons spent-the next ;round>'a good deal in dodging, Lang getting home with a few. good punches.- In the eighth Fitzsimmons got the Victorian-a jolt on tho jaw which rattled km badly. A lot of , clinching followed, honours being oven. . r .. . .. , -,| ■ ■: Fltzsimmoni: Weakens. "Fitz" began to grow- weak in the ninth round, although he mado a grand recovery towards the- close. The tenth v was tame, 1 but the ond was in sight. Tho t eleventh was all in the Victorian's'favour, ■ Fitzsimmons showing some elovor sidci stopping. > Early in tho twelfth Lang caught the voteran on tho -jaw with his right, • md sent him .doivn : ; fbr. : , flVo . seconds.' i 'Fitz-; simmoM was yory. groggy, and Lang, with a right, uppor-out, ■ knocked him out, The police stopped the proceedings: at this stage. ' . THE VETERAN'S AFTER-WORD. . (Roc. December 27, 7.15 p.m.)' . , . . ' ; Sydney, December 27. ' , About,lo,ooo peoplo witnessed tho fight. . Fitzsimmons after tho contest said , "Youth must prevail. lam an old man, Lang is young. The fight was an absolutely fair one." " >•" , THE HANDICAP,OF' YEARS. '' ' The defeat, of Fitzsimmons,: e,t AT years ' P f age. hy -Lang,. aged 28. really ■; does Dot call for, any explaining; . Australian' , on tics professed-a readiness to discount I tho ljandioap of : years o:i aocoiint. of ritzsltamons's skill, his punch, his "per- ; ennial youth," and other things, bnt' | ..whiletho critics ■: no; doubt convinccd ■ m.ony of. the; publio that the veteran- ' oouW-win, 'it is;to)be doubted'.whether! thej. conyinocd' themsdvcs. But the book- : ing was splendid, -jv } .After Burns , 6 bout with Fitzsimmons, Burns., was..,aSkodit.what.lhe<.thoughlib , f , Fitzsimmons's prospeots with Lang. "I 5 lioiiestl> look ior a* good, oven battle," i ii? u f n6 t ivj oould oot say< and Bpeak 1 ) > a f' ftLT ' Qß . judgment goeß. 1 that cither had a better* ohan6o of> 6uc» > j than tho other, : .They. aro different fighters in; of getting to ■ ■ ivP r - and r while Fitzsimmonsi! is.'.-olderS > ; ,lall . he, hfls.gtetiter exp'frienco. in , Ins favour, arid is in «ry much heller J shape than I,thought it possible ic hiffi'i i reach. . I have faced:both.ifandihave | ft, olear.;recollection?..of - can do. Right through i«y.-6pa? with - Bob I I I.essayed, several methods\'of-.!attack.'i!al-, , culated to expose weak spots,' and Fitz. I ' proved- himself good"-general,f-.Boh I : Willvundoubtedly need; to be 'Wary I •. all tho time, and lor that matter -so i will Lang," ; .; Pitzsimmohs. l :tpracticaliiy^''!flmshed ; ..; ! hiß , eareer- four .years, ho : and i "Jack"; O'Brien oontendei for tho championship of the world, w uch had reverted to Fitzsimmons throilgh Jeffries.-, retiring. O'Brien won, bull it is explained that he met a very much ;brokcn-up' man, i who had a little before received suoh- a sovero shock .that only tho possessor * of , the heart of a lion could have suffered I it, and entered the arenj. Smco then i Fitzsimmons.hafi—whon not on the stage , gathering additional .grist—spent a good . deal Of time on his OAtensive American . farm,- but never,, it- xs- said,. did he let : himself go so far baok in condition'as • to renaer it impossible to got fit for an t exacting ordeal ■ within reasonable tirao, . as evidence tho famous. boxerV'. physical i state-at'-tho'present. which Drr i, Maitland the other day pronounced rei markable. ; - : -i.;■ : . •; -, i "John L. Sullivan . (says ' the Sydnoy i "R«fereo") was .out of the game fulls f three years when.he;:met' his;viVaterloo at i tho, hands of ; Jnn Corbetl, and Charlie Mitoheir had .eiijoyed; a.' similarly, long ■■ 'spell-, before he went. up. to defeat at tho i hands''of ' tho . iaan'. .who ; kno'oked John L.'s,; reputation, end ways.' v Both .Sullivan • and .Mitchell- were men; who partook of ' th«i ■ alleged. good' .things;-'of .lite .to ; the ' full, ana had -a great time rene'rally. 1 John-L., from being as rotund as the ■ proverbial alderman, made himself slabsided- and flat-fronted—suoh a- wholesale . shedding of weight did he go in for—and what/ was -(he result?, Not a vestige of tho fighting forco or speed' whlchv mado lum, famous did' he display j ho had nei- . thcr fire nor-energy. 51,.!s 1 ,. ! ' : '- "It-was tho samo with Mitchell; his first thought when he begin' training .was to tear away excess woight at any-cost, and he got .there, so far as throwing off :. the stuff which had obliterated • his fighting lines was concerned, and remarked as he entered the ring: .'I look a 1 scrapper again, anyhow,, oven' though I - may not bo ablo to operate liko one. - Af- ■ terivards, Mitohell, in a burst of confi- . donee, said: 'Taking off woight is lliurj der. You can't gauge the thing,'and-you can't stop reducing when you;want to. Why, I was as weak as >. a tabby cat.' That is what has killed a good;'many ; who. have come' back to- active oompoti- . tion after a long: 5pe11.... | "Bob Fitzsinmonß is quite tho oppo. site.';No.athlete-that existed took greater . care 'of himself. Even when his star , was at its brightest, Bob lived-the life I of . the scrupulously abstemious-: indivii dual, determined that, as far a 9 ho-could . -manago' it his days npon this earth should be long and his health suoji that he might, enjoy them to tho .last; It're. quired no great effort for. Fitzsimmons to do thisj.it enmo as second nature—he liad known, no other way; of living,/and was. sensible enough to note '.what' a do-. - parturt- from / legitimate: lines ■ had jono •for others and to profit thereby,"