BOXING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8504, 7 August 1907, Page 3

BOXING.

♦ WORLD'S CHAMPIONSHIP. The following is taken from an American paper: — Nothing could be more sensational than the exposure of Jack O'Brien, the heavy-weight champion of the worldf, who some four weeks ago was defeated by Burns. With regard to the denoument at the match which resulted in O'Brien's defeat, one of the most competent of America's 'critics writes in such scathing terms that it is doubtful if. the Philadelphian will ever appear in the ring again. He states: —This is the age of the unexpected, the sensational, of topsey-turveydom, of graft, political and athletic pollution, and, no matter what depth is sounded, a greater depth remains. The deep sea line touched a new lower record in the meeting between Burns and O'Brien, whom you have had with you. Tommy Burns met O'Brien for twenty rounds at Los Angelos for a £2,000 purse, it being understood that, if no decision was reached by the twentieth round, the principals might be ordered to go on to twentyfive rounds. O'Brien was a hot favourite at 7 —lo. Never had seats sold so freely; never had so many well-known men journeyed across the Continent to see such a match, and through and under it all, the well posted men were wondering, wondering, what they were going out to see. Burns has been in 43 fights, O'Brien in 160, in which he has scored 32 knock-outs, as against 25 for Burns. Seventy of O'Brien's meetings were six-round bouts in his native city of Philadelphia. In Burns ' has only been beaten thrice, by Shreck in 1902, O'Brien in six rounds, 1904, and Jack Sullivan, 1905. O'Brien has beaten every man who ever beat him. Thus the dope was all O'Brien, except to those who looked below the skin, and, as I say, wondered and wondered. So, when the men entered the ring and I Manager McCarey publicly "called oft" all bets before the men put their hands up, without any explanation, every one sat up and took notice. They also looked at O'Brien, who was slowly turning green, yellow and grey, as he looked furtively, again and again, at Burns, who 4 was smiling like the famous Cheshire cat. The first round opened with Burns hotly aggressive after O'Brien, chasing him clean round the ring, O'Brien fending himself off the ropes as he ran, trying to hold when Burns finally caught him, and punched him heavily in the body. Burns freed his right and sent it to the kidneys, swung his left clear and started again, but O'Brien was away like a scared deer, the great crowd hooting, hissing, catcalling and .telling him to "fight." It was the most curious scene ever witnessed in this country. History was evidently being made, but none —not even those most on the "inside" —knew how, or why. In the secon d round O'Brien's nerve returned to some extent. He rushed at Burns, who neatly ducked into a clinch, Burns walloping both hands to the | body, starting O'Brien on the run again. They went into various clinches, fell to the floor, Burns uppermost, arose, O'Brien landing getaway lefts, and Burns following him ! -like a hound on scent, still with that inscrutable smile. The third round was a series of O'Brienesque clinches, Burn 3 jolting the body and mouth alternately, with O'Brien dancing j away, with his still marvellous foot- j work. In the fourth O'Brien scored -several blows, but they were light. He did not seem anxious to "get in" where they would have some power, -and his arm was scarcely straightened with a blow before his feet were moving away. In the fifth, sixth and : seventh rounds O'Brien was still run- ; ning away. Not side-stepping and j dodging, mind, but a good, clean ; sprint, Burns every once in a while j .hammering him in the back when he j ■caught up with him. In this round ; O'Brien landed a hard blow over the heart, about the heaviest he landed i during the bout, and here the round j was fairly even, all the previous ones j being Burns' by a large marg in. In I the eighth it was give and take for a i while, until Burns rushed him into a j -corner, and distinctly called to the ; Teferee to come and break O'Brien ' away from the double hold, with both hands round his (Burns') waist. This was done amid a storm of decisive laughter. In the ninth round O'Brien started "crouching," but Burns went to him like a wild man, disregarding all danger, and hammered him erect, tearing himself out of repeated clinches, and fighting more roughly than we have seen any j man in long years. It was scarce- I ~ly his fault with such an antagonist. In the tenth O'Brien ran again, and finally Burns stood still in the centre of the ring with his arms pendant by his sides, laughingly asking O'Brien to "Please give the public something for their money; 1 won't hurt you badly," at which the crowd roared with laughter. So it went along, O'Brien getting in a blow now and then, but running, running, running all through to the twentieth round, when Referee Eyton touched Burns on the shoulder and declared him the winner. Then came the expose. O'Brien had insisted that Burns should "lay down to him," otherwise he would not meet him. Burns agreed to do this, and said nothing to a soul right up to just before the fight. Then he told Manager McCarey, declaring he was going to lick O'Brien so hard he would never enter a white man's ring again. So the bets were called off, even the one Burns had made backing himself. O'Brien was fit as the proverbial fiddle, distrusting every one as usual. If Burns had not shown wonderful improvement over the last meeting, O'Brien would have won to a certainty, but Burns knew.just how much he had improved. There is not the slightest doubt but that Burns has told the truth, for O'Brien was clearly convicted by his personal appearance and actions during the first two rounds. There was no mistaking that index, and it now remains to be seen what will happen to "Jawn" O'Brien. We have not had such an expose in the memory of the fabled oldest inhabitant.