KID LEWIS GIVEN THE DECISION
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WONDERFUL EXHIBITION
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Main Bout at Atlas A. A. Develops Quickly Into Hot, Vicious Battle.
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WONDERFUL EXHIBITION
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Main Bout at Atlas A. A. Develops Quickly Into Hot, Vicious Battle.
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By Jack Malaney.
A most wonderful exhibition of boxing, clever boxing, hard boxing, yes, and vicious boxing, as perhaps a Boston crowd has ever been fortunate enough to see was witnessed last night in the main bout at the Atlas A. A.
Ted "Kid" Lewis, the Englishman, and Jack Britton of Chicago supplied the pyrotechnics, and, to the upset of dope and betting, Patsey Haley decided at the end of 12 gruelling rounds that Lewis had been the leading point scorer and therefore worthy of the decision.
Boston has been the battleground of many hard and close battles, but the old-timers, who gathered and discussed last night's bout, were quick to declare that few, if any, lightweight battles held in this city have had anything on the one seen last night for earnestness and viciousness.
Real Estrangement at Start
It wasn't so much that the men were bitter rivals. There was a slight bit of animosity mixed in before they reached this city, but the real estrangement was brought about just as the battle started.
When the men came from their dressing rooms and got seated in the ring there was a scramble, and then many arguments about the gloves. It was fully 10 minutes before this was straightened out, and finally the bout was started.
Nothing was said about weights all the while, for Britton had failed to weigh in as per agreement in the afternoon, while Lewis had stepped on the scales and tipped the beam at 135 pounds, the weight agreed upon.
Begin in Rugged Fashion
They started off in rugged fashion and had been boxing about a minute when Britton stepped away and told Referee Haley that he protested against the rubber mouthpiece which Lewis places over his teeth to protect them. The bout was stopped. Haley wasn't sure what action should be taken, as there is no direct rule against the use of such an appliance.
In the 15 minutes immediately following, there were scored and scores of bitter arguments between the boxers, the managers, the club officials and about everybody else who cared to mix in. For a while it looked like a deadlock, but finally Lewis took out the mouthpiece in disgust and once again they were sent on their way.
Like Two Enraged Bulls
A pair of enraged bulls couldn't have fought any fiercer than they did in the opening round. From their actions it seemed that there was only one thought in each mind--to score a knockout. Britton, usually as calm and collected as they make them, completely lost himself and whaled in, and Lewis was even a bit more excited.
In that, the official opening round, and in the next three following, Lewis dealt out as wonderful an exhibition of all-round boxing as could be desired. He jabbed Britton almost as much as he pleased, hooked, crossed and countered, and there was plenty of sting to his wallops.
What made it look the more impressive was the fact that this work was so puzzling and dazzling to Britton that he was missing continually and altogether looking bad for him.
1915-09-01 The Boston Daily Globe (Boston, MA) (page 6)
TED LEWIS IS AWARDED BOUT
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Some Think Britton Had the Best of It.
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Protection Worn by Englishman Cause of Wrangling.
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Pair Start Off Furiously at the Atlas A. A.
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In a fast 12-round bout, in which there was a lot of wrangling and considerable excitement, Ted Lewis, the English lightweight, was awarded the decision over Jack Britton of Chicago at the Atlas A. A. last night.The decision, rendered by Patsy Haley of New York, caused considerable difference of opinion. Many figure that the worst Britton should have received was a draw, while others could only see Britton as deserving of the award.
That Danny Morgan, manager of Britton, was displeased over Haley's ruling was evident from the heated discussion they had after the contest, but wise judges deemed the decision fair. The men had agreed to weigh 135 pounds at 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon, but Britton did not show up. Lewis tipped the beam at that time at 134 pounds. When they got in the ring Britton looked to be nearly 10 pounds heavier than the English boxer.
In all his bouts Lewis has worn a rubber protection over his teeth and he started to do so last night. The men had been boxing about half a minute when Britton discovered the rubber and stopped boxing and ordered the referee to make Lewis take it out of his mouth.
Britton claimed that it prevented the jaw from being jarred by a punch. Lewis refused to comply with the orders of the referee and then followed a wrangle which lasted more than 15 minutes.
The referee ruled that the rubber was not permitted by the rules. Finally Lewis pulled the rubber out of his mouth and started to give it to one of his seconds, when Morgan made a grab for it. The second and Morgan tugged at each other for the possession of the rubber, and finally the second was coaxed to let Morgan have it. He threw it among the fans so that the seconds of Lewis could not get it.
When Bill LeClair ordered the men to start a second time they jumped at each other like a couple of angry lads. Going into a clinch, they banged away at each other for several minutes.
When they were separated they began to box in a cooler manner. Lewis was as speedy as ever and he was continually stabbing Britton in the face with his left and often crossed the right to the jaw and neck. For 4½ rounds Lewis made Britton look bad.
Many of Lewis' punches were with the open hand and so light that Britton did not appear to be feazed by them. Britton countered a number of times with the left to the face and right to the body and stung hard.
Near the close of the fifth round Britton caught Lewis a hard right punch to the wind and Lewis wilted a bit under it. During these rounds Britton did not seem to be able to fathom Lewis' style and some of his punches went wild or were blocked. In the sixth, however, Britton appeared to get a line on the Englishman and from then on did good work.
Although both fought at an unusually fast pace and took some hard punches, there was no showing up to any great extent. Britton seldom let a chance go by to send in stiff rights to the body when at close range and the punches hurt Lewis. It was the general opinion that in a 20-round bout Britton would have stopped the Englishman.
Lewis got into trouble as soon as he landed in Boston yesterday. Freeman Bernstein, manager of Jim Johnson, the colored heavyweight, formerly Lewis' manager, had a civil writ served on the Englishman, claiming that Lewis owed him $2000.
Bonds were furnished for Lewis, who says that he will be in court here Sept 11 to fight the case.
The curtain raiser, which was between Teddy Murphy of Boston and Young Cooper of Providence, was a good bout. The little bantams boxed fast through six rounds to a draw.
Mike Crowley, National amateur champion lightweight, made a fine showing in his professional debut in the second preliminary. He met Charley Sheppard of New York, easily outpointing him and earning the decision.
Walter Butler of Revere met a tarter in Al Thomas of New York. The latter boxed in the K. O. Brown style and was a puzzle to Butler. Thomas got the decision at the end of the eight rounds.
Harry Wills of New Orleans and Sam McVea, colored giants, will appear in the feature bout at the club next Tuesday night. In the semifinal Terry Brooks will meet Charley Byers. Sammy Stone will box Young Fitzsimmons, and Duke Fuller and Al Terry, colored heavies, will box in the preliminaries.
1915-09-01 The Boston Herald (Boston, MA) (page 8)
LEWIS BESTS JACK BRITTON
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Lot of Wrangling Over the Bout, but It Is Peach of a Battle.
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Jack Britton will think for some time of the pasting he received at the hands of Ted (Kid) Lewis in a 12-round bout at the Atlas A. A. last night, for Britton was on the receiving end of one of the neatest defeats ever handed out to a fighter in a Boston ring.There was fighting on all sides. Not only did the boxers fight their very best every second of the 12 rounds but an extra period was required something fight fans of Boston have seldom seen.
The reason of the extra round came about in this way. Britton objected to Lewis wearing a rubber mouth protector, used to guard his teeth, and in the middle of the first round, or what afterwards proved the bargain round, quit cold and walked to his corner refusing to continue the fight until Lewis removed the mouth piece. The incident came near inciting a riot between managers of the boxers and the fans who took a hand in siding in with Lewis. Graphophone Dan Morgan, manager of Britton, insisted on having things the way he wanted them and he won his point not alone in the protector incident, but in various other ways that the fans were not let in on.
When the match was made the principals agreed to weigh 135 pounds at 3 o'clock. Lewis weighed in all right, but Britton was no where to be found. There were arguments before Britton entered the ring, in the ring and after he stepped out of the ring. His manager took exception to everything and even though he won his points he gained little prestige in Boston for sportsmanship. Technically, Britton could have been disqualified in the bargain round for quitting after starting boxing.
It was a great battle with Lewis outscoring the hard-hitting Britton eight out of the 12 rounds.
After Teddy Murphy and Young Cooper boxed their six-round draw, Mike Crowley came out with Charley Sheppard and added interest to the bouts by winning over the New Yorker in a spirited six-round battle. It was Michael's first professional fight and he got away to what is known as a perfect start.
Followed Walter Butler of Revere and Al Thomas of New York in an eight rounder that was jammed full of action. Thomas was a puzzle and at the conclusion of the eight frames the Gothamite had the win sewed up.
Harry Wills, who meets Sam McVea in next week's 12-round bout, was presented to the fans and his appearance makes him a rather likely looking chap to oppose the California colored heavyweight.
1915-09-01 The Boston Post (Boston, MA) (page 11)
BRITTON LOSES TO KID LEWIS
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Former's Tactics Get Crowd Sore at Him.
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BY DOC ALMY
Ted Kid Lewis of England won the decision over Jack Britton of Chicago at the Atlas A. A. last night after 12 rounds of the most sensational battling seen in this city for years.
It was a case of two of the cleverest light welters in the world, worthy representatives of the ring of their respective countries, going to it for 36 minutes of actual fighting with a vim, energy, streaks of viciousness and speed such as is seldom seen within ropes.
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BRITTON BETTER BOXER
While to the minds of many Britton was entitled to a draw from the fact that he was certainly the better boxer of the pair, hardest hitter and aggressor much of the distance, there were few of the more than 4000 fans inclined to shed any tears because Referee Patsey Haley happened to point to the Englishman's corner.
In the first round Britton clearly lost the fight by striking Lewis when he was down, while in that session in particular, and at other times during the battle, he did not hesitate to butt with his head, use arms and elbows and also mug his opponent with his gloves.
His tactics drew a howl from the fans, and whereas Britton, just before the bell clanged for the opening round, ruled a favorite with the fistic followers, he was hissed and booed repeatedly throughout the contest.
Opens With Wrangle
The battle opened with a wrangle before the men had been called to the scratch. First there was a fuss about the gloves and this being settled and the ring cleared for action the men had no sooner started to box when Britton discovered that Lewis had a rubber dam in his mouth. The Chicagoan refused to continue and went to his corner, forfeiting the scrap, had anyone cared to take it up.
When the conversational muss was at its height, Lewis ended the controversy by pulling out the dam and tossing it aside. The ring was again cleared, the bell sounded, and a fight was on such as few fistic fans ever before witnessed.
The wrangle over the mouth dam, instead of bothering Lewis, as might have been the intention of the opposition, sent him tearing out of his corner like a whirlwind. He crashed a straight left to Britton's mouth that rocked the Chicagoan, and the crowd howled with delight. In a clinch Britton butted the Englishman savagely and on breaking put his left to the jaw, though but a few minutes before they had agreed to break clean. There was a rough mix-up, with both men fighting tooth and nail, and Lewis let go a swing that missed, and down he went to his knees from the force of the blow.
While in this position Britton swung his right to his ribs. It was not a hard blow and did no damage, but it was, nevertheless, an open breach of the rules that was seen by thousands. No action was taken, though there was a yelp from Lewis' corner, while the fans jumped to their feet and bawled "Foul!" "Throw him out!" and pet names at the offender.
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