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NO HEAVY CHAMPION FIGHTER Who is the heavyweight champion glove fighter of America 1 At first sight the answer looks easy but is1 not The more a man knows about fighters the less ho knows about this Robert Fitzsimmons claims it by virtue of whip ¬ ping Maher and for that matter claims every class honor from 150 pounds up but so far as the heavyweight distinction goes he can not own it till he has def rated a bona fide heavy ¬ weight champion Peter Maher was not such a one I have no personal predjudice prejudice in the mat ¬ ter tear Had Maher won over Fitzsimmons the same story would apply to him arid indeed Peter iaisolf liaison regarded it that way He was in Chicag Chicago a short time before goiug going i Texas to take up i i irjiTiiu iridium for Fitz Fritz and on that occa Boca ¬ sion scion I isKd disked hitu hit if lie conidiied conidia iiuiHfif Tin champion because Corbett Corvette had pronounced him so at the time of his knockout of Steve ODon Odeon nell nellI ellI I do not replied he No boxer can give such a title away I want to fight Fitzsimmons because he won ovor over me once and if I can get back at him in this meeting my idea is to chal chalk ¬ lenge Lange Jim Corbett Corvette for the honor if then Cor Cora ¬ bett betty refuses to meet me I will claim and con ¬ sider slider myself the heavjweight heavyweight champion through default from him and bo ready to meet any eian ian in the world to defend it itThus isthmus Thus in whipping Maher Fitz Fritz won from a man who did not claim to be rightful heavy ¬ weight champion but only an aspirant for the title to reach which he desired to meet Fitz Fritz in order to try to wipe out an old defeat and then Jim Corbett Corvette This is not saying however that Corbett Corvette is still the champion clearly he is not Upon the defeat of his former sparring partner Store ODonnell O'Donnell by Peter Mahor Maher ho i enounced denounced all claim to it putting himself on record that he had permanently retired One has a right to retire from anything but when it comes to ap ¬ pointing a successor particularly in such a matter as this tho thou big public is the one to pass on it Now the public it will bo recalled at the time of the gift by Corbett Corvette to Maher did not fall into line they scoffed In my opinion in the present state of affairs there is no heavyweight champion the crown hovering between Fitz Fritz immoup Imo and Corbett Corvette and no one can say who is right ful foul owner till they have met aud Maud finished The public always the judges in these matter vis Avis hungered to seo sego a go between Corbett Corvette am 1 jiimmons jimson ever since Peter Jackson has dissipated out of pugil pugilism ism At first it looked as though Corbett Corvette was to blame for no meeting between them but the Caiifornian Californian was making lots of money when the go was first broached and he claimed to know that Fitz Fritz would back out at the last moment this however wild it appeared at first proved to be the case when Fitz Fritz ran into the hands of the sheriff on bis bias journey to Hot Springs where Corbett Corvette was waiting for him in biding bidingFitz bidding Fitz Fritz appears to have been as much afraid of Jim as he was once afraid of Peter Jackson and Paddy Slavin Slaving and if he makes much further show of this and refuses to tign ting for a meeting with Corbett Corvette tlie lie latter will soon be looked on as the champion of the heavy we ights bights once again
