1905-04-03 Young Corbett II ND6 Young Erne [Washington Sporting Club, Philadelphia, PA, USA]

1905-04-04 The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA) (page 10)

YOUNG ERNE PUTS UP A GOOD BOUT
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Young Corbett Is Outpointed by the Local Boy in the Early Rounds of the Go
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But Later on, After Being Stung He Held On Often Enough to Have Lost the Decision
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Young Erne just escaped the distinction of having bested Young Corbett in the wind-up at the Washington Sporting Club last night. After having outpointed the former champion in the first two rounds, something went wrong with him, and from the ringside it looked like a case of falling of the heart.

Corbett stung him good and hard in the early part of the third round, and from that on to the finish he devoted the bulk of his energies to holding. Now and then he had lapses, and for brief intervals showed up brilliantly with his left hand jabs. They landed all right, but they had no visible effect upon Corbett.

Taking the bout from end to end there was very little difference in the number of clean blows that were landed, but those that Corbett got in had more steam behind them, and that taken in conjunction with Erne's stalling tactics, entitled Corbett to the verdict, were verdicts permitted here.

* * *

Corbett looked high in flesh and probably had seven or eight pounds the better of Erne, but every pound over was that much excess baggage. Erne looked good and strong, and showed a confidence at the start of the action that was lacking on the occasion of his former meeting with Corbett.

Corbett took the initiative at the start, and kept up his aggressive tactics to the finish. Corbett led off with a solid right to the body, and Erne got back with a left on the chops, he went to a clinch, after which Corbett again got in with a right to the body. Erne jabbed Corbett with straight lefts four times in succession, and then brought his right around on the jaw. Corbett boxed back wildly, and Erne got in another light right as the bell rang.

* * *

Corbett started the second round with a rush, but when into a clinch, during which he hammered Erne about the body. In the breakaway Erne landed three lefts straight, after which there was a lively mix-up, both boys shooting out at random.

The tide began to turn in Corbett's favor in the third. He caught Erne over the eye with a short-swinging left, and there followed a lively mix-up, with the honors in favor of Corbett. Erne was evidently stung good and hard, for he persisted in holding and ignored the advice of his seconds to "keep a hitting."

The fourth round was very like the third, although there was a lively mix-up at the finish. In the fifth round they were locked almost for a minute, Corbett gaining whatever advantage there was in the short-arm punching. When they were finally separated, Corbett again got back with his left while Corbett swung his right hard into the body. There was another lively finish to the round, during which neither seemed to hear the bell.

Erne started the sixth round evidently bent on trying to make up the ground that he had lost in the three preceding rounds. He started out fast enough, and at long range had the better of the exchanging, but his punches lacked the requisite steam. Once he caught Corbett with a full right-hander, but that did not deter Corbett from boring in. There was another bunch of punches exchanged at short range, and again Corbett showed that he had several points on Erne at that style of boxing. Erne was pretty tired at the finish, and Corbett himself was in no condition for a waltz. In making his matches hereafter it would be well for Young Erne to insist on the Philadelphia interpretation of the Queensberry code--to box until ordered to break, and then break clean.


1905-04-04 The Philadelphia Record (Philadelphia, PA) (page 10)

CORBETT TOO FAT TO BOX
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Went Six Rounds to a Draw With Young Erne of This City.
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NOT A KNOCKDOWN SCORED
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Bob Fitzsimmons Wants a Match With Marvin Hart--Jack O'Brien and "Kid" McCoy to Come Together Once More.
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Judging by his exhibition at the Washington Sporting Club last night, Young Corbett's days as a fighter are over. He was hog fat, and had his opponent, Young Erne, had a little more sand he would have beaten the Denver lad. As it was, Erne was entitled to a draw, and many of the spectators thought that he was entitled to a little the best of it. In the number of clean blows landed Erne did much the best work, but he marred this by holding when there was no necessity of it, and when he should have stood off and jabbed Corbett, as he could easily do whenever he tried.

The conditions of the match gave Corbett all the best of it. Erne was to weigh in at 132 pounds at 8 o'clock, but Corbett was to box at catch-weights. When the time arrived none of the Corbett party were on hand and neither man weighed, although Erne was on hand, ready to go on the scales. The men boxed under the rough-and-tumble rules which Corbett insisted on, each man being made to take care of himself in the clinches and at all other times. This gave Corbett a tremendous advantage, and he put his weight on Erne at every opportunity. This rough-and-tumble style of boxing made the bout very tiresome at times, for the men wrestled, pushed and shoved each other around the ring instead of boxing, often for half a minute at a time. In addition to his fat paunch, Corbett's face looked bloated.

Erne opened the first round with a jab to Corbett's nose. Corbett seemed surprised at the speed shown by the local boxer and set himself for a hard punch. He smashed Erne in the stomach and then Yi-Yi stabbed him on the nose for his trouble. Corbett stepped back and set himself to deliver a hard punch, when Erne jabbed him four times on the nose without a return. Corbett seemed to have trouble in breathing and Erne's jabs made it worse. He came to a clinch and while Erne was holding him Corbett pounded Erne's kidneys. Erne jabbed Corbett with his left and then, sending his right over, rocked Corbett with a punch on the jaw.

In the second Erne went to Corbett and planted his left to the latter's nose twice without a return. Corbett got in some hard blows on Erne's kidneys and then Erne jabbed him a couple of times in the nose. Corbett sent a hard right to Erne's body and "Yi-Yi" came to a clinch. When they separated Erne got loose and he jabbed Corbett three times. The blows were light and Corbett laughed. The balance of the round was spent in wrestling. There was considerable wrestling in the third. Erne was holding most of the time. Then he would make a rally and get two or three jabs. In a hard mix-up in the middle of the ring Corbett cut Erne's eye with a punch aimed at his jaw but which went to high. Later he got to Erne's jaw and the downtowner came to a clinch.

Corbett forced the boxing in the fourth round. He got in a couple of left hooks, but the blows lacked steam. Erne jabbed Corbett several times and the Denver lad got wild and swung several times, missing Erne by a foot.

The fifth was the best of the contest. It opened with a rush. Erne got a hard uppercut to Corbett's stomach. Corbett did not like it and crouched back and doubled over to escape punishment. Meantime he was trying his best to get in hard punches to Erne's body. Then Erne broke loose and went at Corbett for keeps. He landed six jabs on Corbett's face and got away without a return. Erne then went to Corbett's body and punched him so hard that Corbett was forced to hold. Corbett tried to make a rally and they were mixing it up hard. The crowd was excited and yelling so loud that the men were unable to hear the bell and they boxed for several seconds after it had rang.

Erne started to force the boxing in the last round, but the men soon came to a clinch. Corbett rushed Erne through the ropes, but he managed to stay on the platform. Then Erne rocked Corbett's head with a right. One of Erne's jabs started the blood from Corbett's mouth. Corbett got a left to Erne's jaw and the men were in a clinch when the bell rang.

In the semi-wind-up Harry Decker defeated Nick Hollywood in a fast contest. At first it looked as if Hollywood would prove too much for the local boxer, but Decker turned the tables in the third round and after doing some good boxing he took the lead and kept it to the end, having Hollywood in pretty bad shape when the bell rang at the end of the bout.