Bob Fitzsimmons vs Joe Choynski at HW

According to the Boston Herald, Fitzsimmons was down and badly hurt in the third, but Choynski couldn't finish him and may have punched himself out in the attempt. Fitzsimmons dominated the fourth, scoring multiple knockdowns, and then:

"There was scarcely any need of sending Choynski back for the fifth round, for the only chance he had to win was through a lucky blow. Fitzsimmons was as strong as a nine-story granite building and as confident as a man with a royal flush playing poker. The story can be simply told. Fitzsimmons punched Choynski when and where he pleased, sending him down time and time again. Choynski came up with all the gameness in the world, staggered and slipped around the ring, while Fitz just dallied with him, as it were, and punched him on the ropes, away from them and all around, until the bout reached a point where it would have been wise for the management to stop it. That was not done, so the police did.
No particular objection was made by the spectators at this turn of affairs. All went away knowing that Choynski was licked."

 

Choynski was done for when the police stopped it. Listed as a draw, a few moments more its a Fitz win via KO, and In truth he did enough for a " news win "

"But for police interference Bob Fitzsimmons would have signally defeated Joe Choynski last night at the Boston Theatre. The decision was a draw. Joe was the victim of abuse administered by Fitz to such an extent that he was knocked down three times in the last round, and when Sgt. Sullivan and Capt. Warren of Station 4 walked into the arena Choynski was helpless on the ropes. The 5th had gone on 1:40 when it was stopped. Fitz had Choynski on the ropes and ready to give him the last punches when Referee Daly went over and separated the men.

This he shouldn't have done, in the opinion of many there. These men claim that he saved Choynski from defeat. Just after he separated the men, Sgt. Sullivan, followed by a half-dozen bluecoats, leaped on the stage, with Capt. Warren outside of the ring. The edict went forth that the battle should stop, and according to the articles was declared a draw, as there was a clause calling for such a decision, in case of police interference, provided both men were on their feet." -The Boston Post

 

Bob Fitzsimmons fits into the same category as heavyweight champions such as Max Schmeling, Joe Waloctt, and Ezzard Cahrles. He was not able to dominate an era, or beat the dominant champion of the era at his best, but he made a fairly clean sweep of the contenders of his era.

As for Joe Choynski, he is one of the better contenders never to fight for a title. A comparison to somebody like Johny Risko or Elmer Ray would not be inappropriate.

 

I don't think so, he is worse

 

Well Choynski fought many men who held the title. Corbett, Jeffries, Johnson, Fitzsimmons, and very late in his career Hart. He did win one match here, and have his moments in the others.

I'd say he's well above Risko. More comparable to Ray.

 

On the Fitzsimmons Choynski fight, the contemporary papers give contradictory accounts as to what happened.

Choynski seems to have dropped Fitzsimmons and had him in trouble. Most papers say that it was in the third round, and others say the second. The police entered the ring in the third round, with fifteen seconds remaining in the round, and threatened to stop the fight. This might have helped Fitzsimmons to recover.

In the fourth round Fitzsimmons turned the tables on Choynski, and dropped him five times. Choynski seems to have been saved by the bell, at the end of the fourth round. At the beginning of the fifth round Choynski does not seem to have fully recovered, and Fitzsimmons battered him until the police made good on their threat, and stopped the fight.

The draw was rendered in line with the articles signed before the fight, which had the unusual stipulating that a draw would be rendered, in the event of a police stoppage. Both fighters later claimed that the police interference had robbed them of victory, with Fitzsimmons claim of this being the more credible.

 

He basically beat everybody outside of Jeffries.

 

Yes but his era makes the charles/walcott/marciano era look the 70s

 

Even if that is the case, you would still have to give some credit for like for like accomplishments in that era.

 

Next to Harry Greb, Fitzsimmons is the other guy I would love to see good film of their fights in their prime. The Fitz-Corbett fight, the famous solar plexus ko, was filmed but it's poor quality. Fitzsimmons looked more like an accountant than a boxer, but he sledgehammered guys right and left.