BRITTON WINS FROM TED LEWIS IN FAST BOUT
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Jabs to the End of the Nose Are Factors in the Victory.
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Jabs to the End of the Nose Are Factors in the Victory.
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Jack Britton made "slashing, dashing" Ted Kid Lewis back up last night in their bout at the Broadway Sporting Club, of Brooklyn. The English boxer was never in danger of extinction and fought a good fight, but he could not block Britton's jabs.Jack was constantly the aggressor and landed any number of straight lefts. Not one of these blows carried any great amount of power, but so many landed on the end of Lewis's nose that by and by the blood began to flow. The fighting was fast and there was plenty of action, although Lewis showed a tendency now and again to hang on when the battling seemed to be going against him.
Britton began aggressively and jabbed Lewis continually in the first round. The Englishman fought a good defensive battle in the second round, and made Britton take several hard counters in return for his leads. Lewis had a shade the better of this round, and the third was about even. The fourth went to Lewis, and the fifth found both fighters sharing the honors, but at this point Britton began to go at a great pace, and the sixth, seventh and eighth were all his rounds. In the seventh, particularly, he had a good margin. The ninth and tenth found Lewis fighting hard to overcome the lead built up by his opponent, but Britton, who was content to play a little safer now, had no great difficulty in holding his opponent at least even.
It was a fast fight, and enjoyable for lovers of good boxing, but there was little to entertain those fans who care for slugging. Neither man was knocked down and neither was jarred to any extent. Britton was lightning fast with his jabs, yet they stung and did not kick. A big crowd saw the bout.
It is interesting to note that for once a fight manager was more or less accurate in predicting not only the result of a fight, but the manner in which the issue would be decided.
Dumb Dan Morgan wrote as long ago as Sunday, "Don't forget and be at the Broadway Tuesday night with a clear voice, so you can count one, two, three, four, five, and so on when the Irishman, Jack Britton, is punching the Englishman, Ted Kid Lewis, on the nose. Britton has bet me a suit of clothes that he will land over fifty good jabs on Ted's nose. How would you like to be an Englishman's nose Tuesday night?"
Morgan should win the suit of clothes, for Britton landed less than fifty blows, but there was no spectator present who had any severe desire to be an Englishman's nose while Britton was in the ring."
In the semi-final, Eddie Campy, of New Orleans, gave Kid Sullivan, of Brooklyn, an assorted trimming in ten sizzling rounds. "Assorted" means that Sullivan got his beating by fifty-seven varieties of punches.
Campy and his tights of Killarney green weighed in at 122½ pounds, and Sullivan half a pound more.
We want to set Campy right before the public, his public. He objects to being called "Dago," because his mother was an O'Hare, and Eddie takes after his mother, he testifies. The green tights were worn in her honor.
Sullivan is just as Irish as Leach Cross or the Yiddish Mark Twain, and a most willing little fighter. In the ten-round set-to last night he literally ate gloves all the way. There were ten courses and the feature dish each time was gloves.
After plastering Sullivan's face with a left jab that snapped like a whip on the Kid's swollen lips and puffed eyes for the first four rounds, Campy shifted his attack and worked a wicked right hand smash to the ribs.
Sullivan did his part nobly. Every time Campy let fly a glove, the Kid obligingly stepped into line and caught them all. He didn't muff one. There was not a dull moment in the whole bout, and the crowd gave the little fellows a fine greeting as they left the ring.
J. Parnell Dunn hustled the towel slingers and bottle holders out and cleared the way for the main bout, raising aloft an eloquent right hand as he waited for silence and the privilege of speaking. He then introduced Lewis, who was noisily received, but it was Britton who pulled down the most applause.
The Englishman's weight was announced as 141½ pounds and Britton displaced 143½, both in ring costume. Jimmy Johnston handled Lewis in his corner as though the "slashing, dashing, smashing, etc.," Kid was a piece of rare bric-a-brac, the while he cooed advice into Lewis's ear. Ted nodded and smiled and looked over the house with an appraising eye. Then came the more serious business of facing Britton, and Johnston sent him out to mid-ring with a farewell pat on the back.
1916-02-16 The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (Brooklyn, NY) (page S2)
Clever Jack Britton Takes Away Kid Lewis' Seat in the Sun
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Chicago Boxer Knocks the Props From Under the Englishman's Reputation at the Broadway Sporting Club.
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Brooklyn fight fans have heard a lot about the great cleverness of Kid Lewis, the English boxer, who scored a victory over Willie Ritchie not so very long ago in Madison Square Garden. Last night, Lewis was in Brooklyn and after he stepped out of the ring of the Broadway Sporting Club his reputation was not tacked up among the champions who have their seats in the sun. Jack Britton, the Chicago fighter, was the lad who knocked the props out from under Kid Lewis. There is no questioning the fact that the Englishman was badly outpointed by the Western welterweight. It was Britton's fight from the first to the last tap of the gong.Although Britton won all the way, you must not imagine that Kid Lewis was not in evidence. He did what he could, but what he did was not enough to warrant an even break. There were no knockdowns during the ten rounds nor were there very many minutes of slow work. It was a nice, pleasant show for a cold winter's night and the house thoroughly enjoyed the occasion.
According to the announcement, Jack Britton weighed 143 pounds stripped when he stepped into the ring. Kid Lewis, whose real name is Gershon Mendeloff, was 141½ pounds. Both boys looked fit as they were called to the center for final instructions. And they were fit, judging by their work throughout.
Jack Britton evidently had taken a tip from the Ritchie fight and refused to rush in on the man from across the seas. Instead, he played foxily with Lewis and outguessed and outgeneraled the Englishman throughout. In the first two rounds, Jack was content to simply feel out Lewis and take the rounds by a slight margin. In the third chapter, Britton cut loose and gave Lewis a dandy lacing. It was the beginning of the ending for Master Mendeloff.
The fourth and fifth chapters went to Britton. Jack's left always found its mark and did considerable damage whenever it connected. The sixth round was the best of the battle. At the bell, Britton was on top of his man and with left and rights drove him to the ropes. During the excitement Lewis claimed that he had been hit too low. The crowd did not like the kick of the Englishman and showed its disapproval in no uncertain manner. The voice of the crowd and the punching that Britton was handing out aroused Lewis, and throughout the balance of the chapter the boys slugged away like a pair of preliminary boxers.
Britton continued to forge to the front in the seventh and eighth sessions. Toward the end of the latter chapter the Englishman began to bleed at the nose and mouth. The ninth round was the same old thing. In the tenth Lewis started a rally. Britton met his every trick and the round was a splendid one. Near the end Lewis slipped to the floor and Britton helped him to his feet. Then he proceeded to win in decisive style.
In the semi-final Eddie Campi easily won from Kid Sullivan. Campi was entitled to every round. He was clever and just peppered away on Sullivan's face with left jabs, occasionally sending heavy rights to the stomach. If Campi had had any steam behind his punches he most likely would have put Sullivan away. The Kid took all that Campi could send over and was still there at the bell. Campi weighed 122½, with Sullivan scaling 123, stripped.
The opening bout was a six-rounder between Young Murphy of West Brighton, N. J., and Young Norman of Brooklyn. It was a good fast draw. At the start it looked as though Murphy might put his man away. He had the first two rounds easily, but Norman came back strong and was entitled to a draw at the finish.
1916-02-16 The Evening Telegram (New York, NY) (page 8)
BRITTON ALL BUT MASSACRES ONE "TED" KID LEWIS
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When the purveyor of pugilistic titles is in giving vein and is moved to make a justly earned gift of the welterweight laurel to the proper exponent of the art of hit and get away he will need to get no further along the line of claimants than one "Jack" Britton, of Chicago, who, if one of the cleanest cut victories probably ever earned cuts any figure, is the one to grace the niche.Last night at the Broadway Sporting Club Britton dealt out about as tidy a beating as has ever been given in that arena of many hard fought battles to "Ted" (Kid) Lewis, the most blatantly proclaimed champion at anything from lightweight up.
Last night Britton was in shape, he scaled 143½ pounds to his opponent's 141½ and showed the benefits of not trying to rob himself of his strength, and it was a good thing that he was in good fix, as he needed all the strength of a Marathon runner in combination with his boxing ability to keep within arm's range of the Briton, who proved himself a past master at "dogging it" by backing up and occasionally parting with a misspent swing after being the recipient of countless jabs which aided in eventually closing his left eye.
Most of the time Britton was all over his man. He earned the honors in nine of the ten sessions, the second round being the only one in which Lewis got an even break.
In the sixth round and when he was "getting his" Lewis appealed to the referee, who pinheadedly got between the men and pleaded that Lewis tell him his troubles. After a ten second heart to heart talk, during which Lewis was enabled to recover somewhat from the beating he had received, it developed that his "cup" had slipped. That there wasn't very much the matter with his "cup" was evident as he stood upright, and immediately the pair shaped up again he was the first to part with a couple of ineffective jabs.
Britton was continually carrying the fight to the Briton, who managed to bump into everything that Britton sent his way with the exception of his right swing, which he failed to time correctly and which Lewis was fortunate in escaping. Lewis made frantic efforts in the concluding round to get over a lucky one, but Britton was either away or inside the swings, doing effective work at both long range and close quarters.
1916-02-16 The Evening World (New York, NY) (page 10)
Jack Britton Again Wins Over Ted Lewis
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For the Second Time in Five Weeks Englishman Loses a No-Decision Bout.
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By John Pollock.
For the second time in the short period of five weeks Jack Britton, the fast and scientific local welterweight, won a newspaper decision over Ted "Kid" Lewis, the English boxer, in a ten-round bout. Jack outpointed Ted so decisively in the main go at the Broadway Sporting Club of Brooklyn last night that even the friends and admirers of the clever Briton admitted he had been beaten.
Britton fought in his usual cool and deliberate manner, and by carrying the fighting to Lewis and continually using a snappy straight left hand jab flush to his face succeeded in piling up such a large number of points that there was no question as to the victor at the final bell. Lewis did not display the same classy form that he has shown in the other bouts he has engaged in at the local clubs. It was the consensus of opinion among the good judges of pugilism present that he has been doing too much fighting.
One thing plainly noticeable about Lewis's battling was his poor judgment of distance, and the fact that he fought entirely on the defensive instead of being the aggressor. Lewis depended largely on a right hand swing, which he would let fly repeatedly for Britton's jaw. While Lewis managed to land many of these blows the majority of them either struck Britton high on the head or would glance off his chin.
Seldom did Lewis use a left jab, and as a result Britton would always beat him to the punch by often jabbing him twice or three times in the mouth or nose before Lewis could counter on him. Britton scored so frequently with his snappy lefts that Lewis bled from the nose in the last three rounds.
Lewis started off in the first two rounds as if he might carry off the honors, as he had the better of these sessions by landing the more effective blows. After that Britton cut loose, and with his quick, snappy lefts he had all the better of the battle up to the end of the ninth round. In the last round Lewis made a great spurt and succeeded in having the better of that session by scoring frequently on Britton with stiff punches at close quarters.
Lewis started too late, however, as Britton had too big an advantage over him in the other rounds. Britton weighed 143 1-2 pounds and Lewis 141 1-2.
1916-02-16 The New York Herald (New York, NY) (page 11)
BRITTON WINS BY 'AN IRISH MILE'
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Whips "Ted" Lewis in Bout in Which Neither Shows a Punch That Would Break a Storage Egg.
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Any admirer of "Willie Ritchie who happened to attend the bout between "Jack" Britton, of Chicago, and "Ted" Lewis, of England, at the Broadway Sporting Club of Brooklyn last night must have spent a pleasant evening. "Ted" is the boxer who initiated Ritchie into the welterweight ranks some time ago by treating the one-time lightweight champion to the beating of his career. In Britton, however, Lewis met an opponent of quite a different stamp, and no amount of press agenting will suffice to convince any one that Lewis is the only welterweight in existence. Britton beat Lewis by the proverbial Irish mile, leading by a slight margin of points on several of the early rounds and taking the fight in the later stages hands down.It was an affair of points all the way through, neither boxer seeming to be possessed of a punch that would break the casing of a storage egg. For those who like to call boxing the science of self-defence, though, the bout filled the bill. Doctors' bills need not haunt the sleep of Britton, Lewis or the respective managers of the pair yet. Of science there was quite a bit, the ten rounds being fought through at a rate that made each period look as if it was of one minute's duration instead of three.
Lewis Tries to Draw Britton On.
As he did against Ritchie, Lewis tried his best to draw his man on and beat him to the punch. Unfortunately for "Ted's" preconceived scheme of fight, Britton did not introduce his jaw until he had sent his left glove on ahead. "Jack's" left jab was the barrier that proved too much for Lewis. For a while Lewis stood bravely up to the jabbing and tried to measure his opponent with a right, but these same jabs carried more steam than the Englishman bargained for, and both his eyes were puffing before he decided to mix things and in that way try to get a little of his own back.
Up to the end of the fifth round the bout was a splendid exhibition of footwork chiefly, but in the sixth Britton started a rally that had the house in an uproar. Boring in to the fleeing Lewis, the Chicagoan forced his opponent back upon the ropes and smothered him with straight arm jolts to the face and body. It was almost useless for "Ted" to try to break away and when he endeavored to fight back Britton "beat him to it." Britton was arm weary when he let up. One of "Jack's" punches had unfortunately slipped a little low and "Ted" made an appeal to the referee. Getting no sympathy from that quarters and nothing but derision from the spectators, Lewis lowered his head and smashed into Britton with all the blows that he had ever learned. Even that rally did not quite even the score against Lewis for the round, however.
Some Head On Slugging.
In the seventh round again there was some head on slugging. Lewis landed his stiff arm right half a dozen times on Britton's neck and "Jack" came back with his straight punches. One of these caught Lewis coming in and the Englishman's head went back on his shoulder blade.
While he seldom missed his lefts, Britton did not put a great deal of reliance on his right hand, and it is little wonder for Lewis was quick to get out of reach. In the third round Britton essayed one right swing that missed by a couple of yards. Telegraphed from the knee, the blow could have been seen almost by a blind man. When the glove came down where Britton had assured himself the target was awaiting Lewis was back at the ropes grinning while "Jack" was cutting figures of eight in the centre of the ring.
The fight conclusively proved one thing to the boxing enthusiasts of the metropolitan section and that is that "Jack" Britton is not again likely to fight as a lightweight. Britton tipped the beam at 143½ pounds and at that he had an advantage of two pounds over Lewis.
Speed was the keynote of the entire evening's programme for in the semi-final there were two fast boxers opposed. "Eddie" Campi, California featherweight, tried conclusions with "Kid" Sullivan, of Brooklyn, and Campi's victory was much in line with Britton's.
1916-02-16 The New York Press (New York, NY) (page 10)
Lewis Receives Lesson in Boxing From Britton
Englishman Is Clearly Outpointed in Broadway Sporting Club Bout--Jack Feints Kid Into Bowknots in Fast Contest.
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BY GEORGE B. UNDERWOOD.
"Ein, zwei, Gershon!" repeatedly yelled Kid Lewis's brother from the corner at the Broadway S. C. last night.
"Ein, zwei," he pleaded, which was Yiddish for "one, two," and was instruction for his brother--Lewis's right name is Gershon Mendeloff--to slip the "one-two" punch, a left jab and a quick-following right cross, over on Jack Britton.
But brother Mendeloff yelled in vain.
Elusive as a will-o-the wisp, Britton danced around Lewis, feinting him into bowknots and outboxing him four ways from the jack. Instead of rushing, tearing in on Lewis as Willie Ritchie did, Britton kept sliding in craftily and by clever feints drew Lewis in. Lewis would counter on the expected lead only to find himself countered on instead.
Britton easily solved Lewis's countering style of milling and his crafty feints had the Englishman at sea. The Chicagoan outboxed the boy from England from the first to the final clang of the gong.
But though Britton won easily on points, it was a fast fight all the way and the crowd got a run for its money. There were no knockdowns, but the men fought at top speed and there was plenty of snap and power behind their punches.
Britton All the Way.
Britton showed so clear a superiority over the Englishman last evening that many of the ringsiders wondered how Lewis ever gained the two Boston decisions over Britton. Jack either must have purposely pulled or been off form in those Boston mills if the referees awarded a just verdict.
Britton forced the fighting throughout last night's mill, but he did not do it in a rushing, tearing fashion. Lewis seldom makes the fighting and he forces his man to come to him. Jack came to him all right, but he glided in well covered up and by clever feinting--he feinted with head, body and even legs, as Abe Attell used to--drew Lewis's fire and countered with snappy punches himself.
Time and again Lewis, expecting a lead, shot over what was meant to be a counter only to find Britton had made him lead himself and countered on it prettily.
While Britton won largely through the clever way he nullified Lewis's counters, Jack also rang up lots of points on his wonderfully fast left jab. Britton shot out that left of his with the speed of a striking rattler. He made a target of Lewis's nose, and Ted's proboscis was red as a strawberry by the end of the first round.
Jack's Lefts Sting Lewis.
Jack kept pop-popping away with those lightning lefts, and, though Lewis blocked, ducked or slipped some of them, enough of Britton's jabs reached home to keep the claret flowing from Lewis's nose and mouth.
The weights were announced as Britton, 143½; Lewis, 141½. On account of his weight being above the waist Lewis looked the heavier of the two. The mill was ushered in by a ten-round semi-wind-up, in which Eddie Campi, the Frisco featherweight, boxed rings around Kid Sullivan, Paddy Roche's entry.
The semi-windup wasn't over until 10.20, and it was almost half an hour after the time set by the State Athletic Commission for all star bouts to be staged that the opening gong clanged. Chairman Wenck himself was there to see the violation of the rules.
Big Lead in Third.
Britton only shaded Lewis in the first two rounds, but in the third Jack handed Ted a nifty thumping. Pumping in left jabs to the face till Lewis must have thought he was bombarded by a duck hunter with a pump gun, Britton backed Lewis about the ring. Jack would jab, jab, jab, and then suddenly pull Lewis into a right. Near the end of the round Lewis made Jack miss a hard right swing and the Englishman laughed in grand stand fashion.
Britton won the fourth round by a wide margin, following one straight left with a right cross that made Lewis tremble. The fifth also went to Britton.
The sixth was the best round of the battle. At the clang of the gong Britton tore in at Lewis and backed him around the ring with rapid-fire lefts and rights. Lewis crossed with a right to the head, and Britton cut loose with a terrific body bombardment, ripping hard lefts and rights to the wind.
Lewis was hurt and he angered the crowd by claiming Britton had hit low. All of Britton's blows were well above the belt. Britton allowed Lewis to adjust his tights. Lewis then came back with a rush, and during the rest of the round there was some hard slugging, with little to choose between the pair.
Britton continued to outbox Lewis in the seventh and eighth. In the latter round Lewis bled profusely from the nose and mouth. Lewis was kept as busy as a bird dog in a briar patch trying to evade Britton's left jabs. It was the same old story in the ninth. The tenth was a corking round.
Britton cut loose again, and, ripping in hard lefts and rights, backed Lewis about the ring. Ted tried in vain to counter on Jack's leads. Near the end of the round Lewis slipped to the canvas. Britton had started a punch, but he pulled it, and, grasping Lewis by the arm, assisted him to his feet. Then he proceeded to complete the pummeling.
1916-02-16 The New York Times (New York, NY) (page 12)
BRITTON SHADES LEWIS.
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Chicago Boxer Outpoints English Welter at Broadway S. C.
Jack Britton, the Chicago welterweight, outpointed Ted (Kid) Lewis of England last night in the main ten-round bout at the Broadway Sporting Club of Brooklyn. It was an interesting exhibition of the scientific points of boxing from start to finish, with slugging and roughing almost eliminated. Several times, however, Britton got his opponent on the ropes and landed punishing blows to the stomach before Lewis could effectively block with his arms.
Britton won the honors of the bout on his ability to land a stinging left-hand jab to the face, and evade his opponent's attempt at retaliation. In many instances Lewis hit out blindly in return and often missed heavy swings for the face.
For the first four rounds, there was little to choose between the pair, each landing with about equal effectiveness. Britton showed to advantage in the fifth session, and repeatedly landed a straight left-hand blow to the face. When the English boxer bore in, Britton met him with a swinging left.
Early in the sixth session Britton rushed his opponent to the ropes, and while the boxers were locked in this position he landed several times with hard right and left hand blows to the body. Lewis jabbed cleverly as the men were separated, and managed to even the score for the remainder of the round, making Britton miss many attempts for the face.
The men fought hard from this stage of the bout until the final bell, with neither showing any inclination to give an inch. Britton had the Englishman on the defensive for the greater part of these last rounds and chased Lewis around the ring, landing his left to the face repeatedly, but falling short when he tried his right. Lewis essayed the aggressive in the eighth round, but was met with a left swing to the face as he came tearing at the Chicago boxer, and was on the defensive from then until the finish.
The weights were, Britton, 143½; Lewis, 141½.
In the semi-final Eddie Campi of California outpointed Kid Sullivan, a Brooklyn featherweight.
1916-02-16 The Standard Union (Brooklyn, NY) (page 10)
BRITTON KEEPS PROMISE; TAPS LEWIS ON NOSE
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Ted Kid Lewis, welterweight champion of England, is to-day nursing a sore nose. Jack Britton kept his word last night at the Broadway Sporting Club and tapped the Englishman on the nose. Incidentally he won a $50 suit of clothes from his manager, Dan Morgan, with whom he wagered this amount that he could hit Lewis on the nose at least fifty times. This Britton did, and in order that a recount would not be necessary, he tossed in a few extra taps in the bargain.Britton, cool, deliberate, clever and determined, measured Lewis time and again with left jabs to the nose and had the Englishman's nose bleeding at the end of the contest.
Lewis is as fast as lightning. He was on his toes all through the fight when he wasn't doing a "Johnny Dundee jumping jack performance." Both men were wild at times when they resorted to swinging, but this was probably due to the fact the men were so fast more than their judgment of distance was poor. When they stood and boxed both men landed to the face and body. Britton missed many a right swing for the jaw that would probably have ended matters. So did Lewis. Jack forced the Englishman all around the ring in every round. In the sixth session both threw science to the winds and began slugging, Britton coming out on top by forcing Lewis to the ropes. Lewis landed several good right swings to Britton's jaw, but they only made the Chicago boy fight faster.
Twice Lewis slipped to the floor and was assisted to his feet by Britton, only to receive a bang on the nose as soon as they squared off to resume hostilities. It was a beautiful scrap from a scientific point of view and had the crowd cheering wildly throughout most of the rounds. The men drew a gate of $1,800, much below expectations. Johnny Weismantel lost money on the fight, but he seemed satisfied to hold the fight at his club, and give Brooklynites the best that can be had for the least money. This contest was to have been held at Madison Square Garden. Manager Weismantel, however, had previous claim to the men and he made the boys go through with their contracts. "I would have staged that fight at my club if it cost me personally $5,000," said Weismantel after the fight.
Eddie Campi, bantamweight champion of the Pacific Coast, scored an easy win over Kid Sullivan, of South Brooklyn. Young Morgan and Young Gorman went six rounds to a draw.
1916-02-16 The Sun (New York, NY) (page 11)
BRITTON OUTPOINTS SLUGGARDLY LEWIS
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Chicago Boxer Jabs His Way to Victory, Making Left Hand Do the Work.
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LOSER STRONG AT END
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Jack Britton, the Chicago welterweight, outpointed Ted Lewis, claimant of the title in that class, through a ten round bout at the Broadway Sporting Club in Brooklyn last night.Lewis, who seemed to be somewhat stale, put up a grand finish in the last round, when he jabbed and belted Britton with both hands, but his grand stand finish could not begin to turn the tide of victory in his favor. Britton jabbed his way to victory. He used his right hand seldom, but he was accurate with the left. Lewis appeared sluggardly in his footwork and ducking. He could not keep away from Jack's left, especially when the latter had warmed to his work.
The bout, while spectacular, was not exactly appetizing to the crowded house, for both boys are long range maulers and depend more on skill and science than on sheer fighting.
In the first round Lewis had a clear shade, jabbing Britton's face at will and landing repeatedly with right swings and hooks. The second was even. From the third to the end of the fight Britton established a clear shade on points, although he did not damage Lewis to any extent. Lewis rallied in the sixth, carried the fight to Britton furiously and pounded him soundly in three separate rallies. In the last of these fusillades Britton accidentally hit low.
The seventh, eighth and ninth rounds were all Britton's by a good margin. Lewis had the tenth. Lewis scales in at 141½ pounds, inside the legitimate welterweight limit. Britton was a pound and a half over the stipulated weight.
As a result of the encounter Britton wins the Dan Morgan welterweight championship of the world. Ted Lewis still retains the Jimmy Johnston title. In the semi-final ten round bout Eddie Campi of California won as he pleased over Kid Sullivan of Brooklyn.
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