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On St. Patrick's Day at ten o'clock the fight it did begin,
And fifty thousand people flocked to see which man would win;
The betting went on Corbett's side for many sports did say,
He'd knock out Bob Fitzsimmons upon St. Patrick's Day.
Both men looked well before the fight, and while applause ran high,
They shaped themselves to start the fight to do it or to die;
Jim Corbett was the first, let out with a left-handed swing,
To try and knock Fitzsimmons out that morning in the ring.
Both men got punished most severe as the battle still progressed,
When Corbett seemed to get fatigued when put hard to the test;
Each stood and sparred and hit out hard when in the fourteenth round,
Fitzsimmons hit him near the heart and felled him to the ground.
Newspaper talk is stopped at last, and bragging has a rest,
St. Patrick's Day it did decide Fitzsimmons is the best.
Published in Burke's Ballads, p.27, c.1960, compiled by John White and archived at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Libraries, Centre For Newfoundland Studies - Digitized Books collection.
See more songs by Johnny Burke.
Excerpted from Wikipedia:
Bob Fitzsimmons - Robert James Fitzsimmons (Ruby Robert) (The Freckled Wonder) [1863-1917] of Helston, Cornwall, UK, and Timaru, New Zealand, 67 wins, 8 losses, 5 draws, held world boxing championship in three world weight divisions: middleweight, heavyweight, light heavyweight. Named in 2003 by Ring Magazine as number eight of all times among boxing's best punchers.
Excerpted from posts by Na1m4rk at Death Valley Driver:
Bob Fitzsimmons - former blacksmith from New Zealand challenged retired (Gentleman) Jim Corbett in Carson City, Nevada, on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1897. In the fourteenth round Fitzsimmons feinted to Corbett's head with his left, quickly feinted again with his right hand to Corbett's head while sliding his right foot forward and turning his hips at the same time to assume a southpaw stance with his right hand leading. Fitzsimmons then slammed his left straight into Corbett's solar plexus to become the heavyweight champion of the world.
