FEMALE PRIZE FIGHT—ONE

Westport Times, Volume VI, Issue 1005, 17 September 1872, Page 3

FEMALE PRIZE FIGHT—ONE

THOUSAND DOLLARS A-SIDE. women's bights extraordinary.

[From ' Stark Country (Ohio) Democrat.'] About thirty days ago there landed at Akron, by the way of the Erie railway, a party of eight, six males and two females, and at the depot were met by two men evidently of the party. Carriages were quickly provided, and the party with their baggage mysteriously moved for some point in the country, in a southward direction. A few days ago our reporter heard of the party, and succeeded in getting an interview with them. They are sports from New York city, and are engaged in training the two young ladies for a genuine prize-fight for a thousand dollars a side, and which will shortly take place, they think, at some point easy of access in Canada. The young ladies are of foreign nationality, having arrived in this country at an early age, and are noted for their cleaning-out propensities, having thrashed everything in tneir immediate neighborhood for years; and both being a little jealous of their laurels, have agreed to meet within the prize-ring and be governed by the rules which have made that time-honored institution so famous, and have a square knock down for the championship of America, and at the same time prepare themselves for the approaching season when tho weaker sex will enjoy that sacred privilege of suffrage and ballot-box stuffing. The ladies are in the hands of experienced trainers, and the following is the order of their exercises : —ln the morning at six o'clock they get up and drink a cup of tea and eat a piece -of brown bread, then get on their bloomer costumes, heavy-soled shoes, and dog-trot with the trainer for five miles. They then bathe, and are rubbed down in the most approved sty'e, and are permitted to rest in bed one bxur. At nine o'clock they breakfast, usually on mutton chops, brown bread, bak».d potatoes, and coffee. No butter is allowed them. At eleven they drink a glass of porter, and then t;o to sparring or striking the sandbags, This exercise last about: thirty minutes, when the trainer steps up and they have two hours of boxing. Then a bath and the usual rubbing down, and then their dinner, which is pretty much the sane as breakfast, a beefsteak or mutton chop, potatoes, and coffee, Then a rest of thirty minutes, and a walk or dog-trot with their trainers of a mile and repeat. Then a half-hour's exercise with the sand-bags—that is, striking from the shoulder a bag of sand suspended about the height of their breasts, and weighing 175 pounds. This, we believe, is done to harden their fists, or " dukes," as the trainer calls them. After this exercise a cup of tea without the lacteal fluid or saccharine matter and a piece of dry toast is given them for supper. The evening, until about 8.30, when they retire punctually to rest, is spent in talking over the approaching fight, making small bets on who gets the first blood, and the feminine who goes first to grass. Tobacco and strong drink are strictly prohibited. These female pugilists are in good trim, and have almost reached their fighting weight. One has been reduced from 200 to 172, and the other from 185 to 156. Their ages are respectively 19 and 22. The smallest of these plucky creatures is very confident that the sponge will be tossed up in her opponent's corner before the twentieth round. She intends adopting Joe Coburn's plan of forcing the fight. During this friendly encounter in the prize-ring these females will appear in the most approved costumes of the Black Crookists. These interesting young ladies are powerfully put up, having light hair cut short, fighting style, grey eyes, a devil-may-care look, with the free-and-easy stylo of a Philadelphia butcher or a New York Bowery Boy. Some heavy bets are being made as to the result.