Hide Article Text (OCR)
Biz Mackey, Local PugIn Battling Siki CampfFindlay s Bantam Who Fought Many Bouts in the Old i Davis Opera Hoijse Now in France—Kilbane, i Dixon, Forbes and Cherry Were Some of j His Opponents.t- ierillPt* i3p1•jD EMEMBER Biz Mackey?Certainly, all the boys remember Biz, wlio was the boxing idol around Findlay' a score of years ago. Well, Biz is now linked up with Battling Siki, theboy who rolled Georges Oarpentier for the unexpected row of fence posts and discredited the Frenchman’s reputation as a scrapper across the pond.,rl THREE VIGS HAXDLIXG SLKl.The latest is that Siki has three smart gentlemen hanging around ms camp in Paris and Biz is one of them. Word comes from overseas that Siki isn’t as dumb as the j-—_ - -.........-industrious press agents have' made him ott to be. With B!z| in the Siki camp are Dixie Kidd,, who stopped Carp in five rounds in 19tl, and Bob Scanlon, negro! heavyweight, of Mobile, Ala.Biz was overseas during the war! as a boxing instructor with the!Knights of Columbus. A number of the Findlay vets saw him whii*: in France. . iThey say that it. was the inside! stuff handed out by Mackey. Kidd! and Scanlon that enabled the' black boy to hustle Georges to the' canvass. All the Findlay fight fans will agree that Biz knew the ins and iuts of the ring fearae.Ar4\r %Biz. while in his prime back In 1902, fought some of the best talent that came down the line. Con Riley, his manager, and Art David, his press agent, kept’him before the public eye for a long time. 1 Fought Kilbane HereFighting in the bantamweight ! class. Biz took on such pugs as! Johnny Kilbane. present featherweight champ. George Dixon, the “Little Chocolate1' who held the title In both the bantamweight and featherweight di/isioqs between 1890 and 1900, and Harry Forbes, bantam title holder from 1001 to 1903.Kilbane was fought by Mackey at the old Davis Opera housa, above the ^present city market on South Main street. The champ won the verdict in a 10 round go. Mackey whipped both Dixon and Forbes. JRiley sent Biz against Forbes to j “cleam him” and he did. Henry ( Winders, well known local flight J fan, said yesterday that Forbes) cried his eyes out over the defeat which came shortly after he lost his bantam title, it waa Mackey’s Jast big fight in Findlay.Probably the bout that put Bizi out of the running in the race for the world’s crown was the one with Joe Cherry, of Michigan. ‘ Cherry led Biz on in the first scrap and at the end of 10 rounds, the fight w'as declared a draw.j Then the two were matched again and Mackey’s backers were loaded for bear. Findlay was all excited over the scheduled bout and hundreds gathered in the old Brunswick to lay their greenbacks oni Biz. hailed as the coming champ, jBiz Is Beaten jBut when the boys collided In the ring up in Michigan, Cherry delivered such terrific punches that Findlay's idol sank under a knockout blow before the 10-roundscrap was half over.Biz came home and fought a number of minor bouts at the Davis Opera House during the closing days of his career. One was w ith Walter Porter, of Columbus. They went ten rounds to a draw' on Feb. 2S, 1903. Referee Ramsey's decision did not satisfy Mackey’s followers who always claimed that Biz put more blowsover.tBefore leaving Findlay. Biz married a local girl, who is now the leading manicurist in the W’aldorf Astoria at Xew* oYrk. Riley is down around Cincinnati, and Davis, his press agent, is city editor of the Xorwalk Reflector-Herald, owned by Reg Snyder, former Findloy newspaper man.If Battling Siki cuts out the unnecessary rough stuff and settles down and whips .Alike McTigue, holder of the Canadian middleweight belt, in Dublin on St. Patrick’s Day, Biz MacKey’s name may take another high place i;i the pugilistic world.
Newspaper Details
Findlay Morning Republican
Findlay, Ohio, US
Fri, Feb 09, 1923
Page 13
Full Page
Clipped by
John H.
IL, USA 12 May 2018
Other Publications Near Findlay, Ohio
The Hancock Jeffersonian
The Findlay Jeffersonian
Findlay Republican Courier
Findlay Morning Republican
Findlay Courier
