IN THE DAYS OF REAL FIGHTING -part 3 by Rob Snell

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IN THE DAYS OF REAL FIGHTING N0 3

Ritchie Once Won Fight After Being

Knocked Out In The Opening Round

Sometimes it is necessary to go back fifteen or twenty years to find a fight. Willie Ritchie the American lightweight champion is one fellow who, like the old timers, never disappoints those who expect to see action when he steps into the ring. Willie Ritchie has shown some fighting in New York. Once, just after becoming champion, he boxed Leach Cross

here and just to show his goods stepped into Leachie and slugged all the way.

Again he chased Freddy Welsh for ten rounds, hammered him into and out of every corner of the ring, and outclassed the Briton so far that every spectator was convinced the English decision that took Ritchie's lightweight title away must have been one of the most astonishing even given in a ring, Ritchie has had some hard fights, Joe Rivers once nearly finished him in the first round, and Willie came through and knocked the Mexican cold a few rounds later. Charlie White nailed him with a right on the chin that nearly robbed him of his senses in the first round, and Willie fought himself out of the hole and at the end of the decisionless six was piling into White and doing his deadly best to even the score.

But the toughest fight of his life was on New Year's day, 1912, nearly eleven months before he became champion. What happened then came near killing Ritchie's chance to get the fight that earned him the title. Ritchie began fighting when he was eighteen. He had a lot of short bouts and won often. His first long fight was with Matty Baldwin, whom he beat in twenty rounds in San Francisco.

Boxed Welsh 20 Rounds on Short Notice

Just four months after this fight Ritchie was at home and not very busy when he received a wire asking him to start at once for Los Angeles, several hundred miles away, to substitute for Ad Wolgast in a twenty round bout with Freddy Welsh. Wolgast had suddenly been knocked out

by an attack of appendicitis and was in the hospital. Ritchie accepted by wire, rode all night, arrived in Los Angeles in the afternoon and fought Welsh the twenty rounds that night.

Although Ritchie had gone in without a day's training he fought a fast twenty rounds and lost a decision to the clever English boxer only by a narrow margin. Welsh was trained to the moment for an attempt to take the title from Wolgast. Ritchie's sensational exploit established him as one

of the best lightweights in the country and he started for the east to increase his reputation and gather some coin.

One month after meeting Welsh Willie fought Paul Koehler in Cleveland. Koehler was a tall, rangy fellow with boxing skill and a punch. He had fought Packey McFarland and had given Packey the toughest time in his experience while the bout lasted. He was no easy mark.

Willie, anxious to make a hit in the east, walked straight at Koehler ready to begin hostilities without any preliminary sparring. Right here Willie made the mistake of underestimating his man. It was Koehler who began, not Willie. As "Willie stepped within range Koehler suddenly slammed a right fist over on his jaw with all the strength of arm and back and shoulder and legs behind the blow.

Ritchie Never Knew What Struck Him

Ritchie never knew he was hit. He flopped over forward like a man struck down by a bullet and fell flat on his face, knocked out cold.

It was so sudden that Koehler stood staring at Ritchie paralyzed with astonishment. The referee laughingly turned to Koehler and waved him to his corner. Emil Thiry, who was supposed to be his chief advisor, turned his back on his man and walked away from the ring. He deserted the ship. When three or four seconds had passed it suddenly occurred to the referee that he might as well count over Ritchie and announce his official finish. He began. Ritchie lay on his face completely out.

The referee, Koehler being a local favorite was enjoying his task. He smilingly glanced at the wildly enthusiastic spectators. At "seven" something stirred in the back of Ritchie's brain. Perhaps he didn't actually think. Some instinct aroused by the slow tolling of the ten-count

drove him to action. Mechanically he rolled over to his knees and just at “nine†pushing himself to his feet and stood tottering. If the referee had begun counting at once no doubt Willie would have been counted out and in that case he wouldn’t have had the match with Wolgast later on.

Such small things, two or three apparently unimportant seconds, sometimes make all the difference in the world.

Ritchie was up, but was in bad shape. His hands hung at his sides, Koehler rushed in anxiously to finish him.Ritchie swaying, reeling falling headlong forward, somehow managed to move his chin away from the blows that were rained upon him. And round after round his strength slowly

returned. At first, in his corner, he made no answer to the deserting Thiry, who had been brought back and was anxiously asking Willie "how he felt." After the seventh round Ritchie came to his corner with the dazed look gone from his eyes.

“What happened ?, is the first round over†he asked. He had been fighting for seven rounds purely on the fighters instinct. He never remembered anything about the beginning of that fight.

Furiously trying to finish the work he had begun paul Koehler had fought himself arm weary. He had nearly shot his bolt. And now in the seventh round Ritchie turned the tide of battle against him. Ritchie had come back. He pressed his rival hard. Koehler was as game as Ritchie. He fought his best to the end. In the last round, the twelfth, Ritchie beat Koehler until he was hanging over the ropes. There Ritchie was trying to turn him around in time to put over a knockout punch when the last bell rang. Knocked cold in the first round Ritchie had beaten the man who had put him down, for the referee’s decision was that Willie had won.

Ritchie's end in this fight was $800, less than 5 per cent, of what McFarland received for boxing ten rounds safely and cleverly with Mike Gibbons. Willie made such a hit that he was matched to meet Koehler again at the Eagles' club of Cleveland, but Koehler drew out and Yankee Schwartz was substituted. Ritchie knocked him out in three rounds.