Next is Jack Root vs. Kid McCoy. A good one that could go either way. Although Root is a top 4 seed, I think the Kid's mobility and skills will win the day via decision where both men are down. You can actually see Jack Root fight on film today, and if you do he will surprise you a bit of how good he looks.
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Another fight that actually happened, strange result I always felt but....Comment
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Will leave the poll open for another day.Comment
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Jim Hall vs. Peter Maher. One's Australian the is other Irish. Both could hit. Both had suspect jaws to punchers. The actually fought once. It was a draw of course! They share common opponents in Choynski and Fitz. Picking a winner here won't be easy.Comment
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Hall stood nearly an inch taller than the Irishman but Maher was the heavier, 171-167? At least 2,000 patrons crowded into the Suffolk Athletic Club hoping to see if Hall’s famous speed and boxing expertise could offset the obvious power advantage of the Irish Champion.
An agreement was reached before the start of the fight that if both men were standing at the end of the scheduled six rounds that a draw would be declared. This may have influenced what followed but the crowds were shouting, “fake” from the first round.
The six rounds followed the same pattern, with Maher doing the leading and Hall on a survival mission, back-pedaling at all times. The punches seemed of the pit-pat variety and it was only in the third round that anything of note occurred. A big right-hander put Jim down for the nine count but he got up and on his bike to survive till the finish. The referee Jack McAleer had no option other than to declare the draw.
Michael “MJ” Connolly, a Pittsburgh backer of the Irishman, defended the events. “During the first three rounds he toyed with Hall; in the third round he sent Hall down with a right-hander, from the effects of which Hall lay prostrate for nine seconds. Hall then rose in a helpless condition, and as Maher drew back to give him the finishing blow Hall cried: ‘For God’s sake, Pete, do not hit me and put me out of business.’ Maher admitted that the Australian would have been easy to dispose of at any time.”
Hall’s version and opinion on Maher.
Strange as this story is, it gets some credence from Hall’s version given a week later in
Detroit. “I went to Boston fully expecting to beat Maher. All our money and that of my friends was on me-I should say about $3,700-and when I saw that I could not win, I saved it. I thought that I could evade Maher and beat him by jabbing and superior cleverness. I found out my mistake when he knocked me down and thought the best thing I could do would be to get a draw.
It would have been a pretty thing to have gone on in the forth round and have been knocked out. I would have been done for good had that happened, and my friends with their money on me would have looked elsewhere for associates. I am frank to admit that I underestimated Maher. He is a great fighter and can whip me no matter how perfect my condition. He has learned a great deal in the last year or two and is growing clever. I say with all candor that Maher can whip any living man with the possible exception of Corbett, and I think he can give the champion a harder fight than any man in the ring”.
This extraordinary admission by Hall adds veracity to Maher's story and belies the belief that the contest was a pre-arranged draw or “fake”. Hall stuck to his story and after the Maher-O’Donnell fight in 1896, he repeated it almost word for word. His admission that Peter was his superior adds credence to that side of the story.
Dr. Z
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I choose Maher over Hall.Comment
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McCoy KOs Root.
Maher KOs Hall.Comment
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Are we all a bit hard on Root? For one thing he hammered the daylights out of the Kid in their actual fight in 1903.Now we know that McCoy could be erratic and dodgy but he was still a match for contenders Jack O'Brien and Jack Sullivan, a year later. Root for his part was the favourite over Marvin Hart in their title fight, boasting as he did, wins over Hart himself, Creedon, Fireman Flynn, Kid Carter, and the useful George Byers. He went 2-2-1 in a series with George Gardner, they both look ok in the film of their Light heavy title fight. Finished with a record of 48-3-3 with the losses only to men he also defeated, Hart and Gardner. Now there is an underrated fighter if ever there was one!Comment
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I formed a soft spot for Kid when reading your book actually. I think Root is generally underrated, but McCoy's shady nonsense made me laugh. Peter was a pretty good guy to go light on Kid, and Kid was a **** for tricking Maher, but it is funny.Originally posted by mattdonnellon View Post
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Sidenote to anyone reading. I have been a little bit busy recently so my comments have become very short but I am still very, very interested in this thread and peoples' opinions. In my opinion, this is the best active thread on the forum. All these guys are very interesting. Much more interesting than talking about the Jacks all the time. Not that I dislike Dempsey or Johnson, just kinda over them being used as agenda vehicles. Convos about these guys are more pure. There's no transitive points being made here, which is nice to read. Plus, learning a lot.
So, thanks Z. Great thread.
mattdonnellon
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