The underrated Kid McCoy

A lot of earlier fighters get totally caricatured, McCoy is famous for his underhanded tactics to the point that's all he's known for to some, so here's some comments on his abilities. *note this isn't meant to be balanced in terms of good and bad*

From the Dick Moore fight
The Courier Journal - 3 Sep 1895 (page 5)
It was a great victory for the Cincinnati boy. He entered the ring nervous and uncertain. His friends were astonished. From the very first he showed his superiority. He appeared equally as clever and almost as fast as Corbett, while Moore was surprised beyond measure.
. . .
McCoy could have won in the second round, but he was very careful, on the advice of his seconds, and measured his opponent well. In the last round he rushed in and finished his man in a few seconds. No one ever saw blows delivered with greater swiftness or dexterity. His gloved hands sounded like the roll of a drum on Moore's face, chin and neck, and Moore went down physically unable to withstand the terrible punishment longer.

From the Tommy West fight
The Brooklyn Citizen - 01 Feb 1896 (page 6)
West, for one round, tried to slaughter McCoy, without effect. The the "Kid" cut loose, and simply banged West up and down and all over the stage. After six successive knock-downs West was thoroughly whipped.

From the Tommy Ryan fight
The Sun - 03 Mar 1896 (page 4)
McCoy was wonderfully clever and a great hitter, and escaped without a mark. Ryan was fearfully punished,and from the eighth round he was staggering around the ring, trying to save himself. McCoy's fighting powers were offset by Ryan's gameness, and the victim didn't lose many friends by his exhibition. When he had been knocked down twice in the fifteenth round he was so weak that when he got to his feet he was unable to standm and a hard push was sufficient to make him tumble down a third time to be counted out.
McCoy was elated over his victory and was pronounced a wonder by the talent.

The Brooklyn Daily Times - 03 Mar 1896 (page 6)
McCoy was as cool as a proverbial cucumber, not so active, ecept in chasing Ryan, but more accurate in landing and more diversified in his style. A couple of very quickly delivered right arm blows above and under the heart showed him possesed of great skill and a knowledge of how and where to place a telling punch. He kept jabbing with the left and it had an aggravating way of reminding Ryan of it's presence.

Will post more later

 

Still from the Ryan fight
The Standard Union - 3 Mar 1896 (page 8)
Without exception McCoy is the coolest and most strategic fighter that ever stepped in the squared circle. His cleverness was a rvelation to the spectators, and perhaps to none more so than Ryan himself, who at no time previous to getting in the ring last night ever thought of defeat at the hands of McCoy. But the latter is a past mast in the art of self-defense, and to his generalship is due to the fact that he came out of the fray without a mark on him, so to speak. He outgeneralled and outfought Ryan at every stage of the game, and after the eighth round it was only a question of how long Ryan could stand the punishment he was receiving before he would go down and out.

From the Jack Bonner fight
The Philadelphia Inquirer - 01 Jun 1897 (page 4)
It was evident, however, that the praise which has been bestowed upon the "Kid" has not been misplaced. He has all the earmarks of the ideal boxer. Whether he possesses the the qualifications of a great fighter will have to be demonstrated later on.

 

From the Dick Moore fight
The Buffalo Courier-Herald - 23 Jul 1897 (page 9)
KELLY ON THE CONTEST
Referee of the Olympic Athletic Club Analyzes the work of McCoy and Moore.
McCoy displayed all the essential qualifications of a first-class fighter. He is certainly a marvel in the fistic line.
He used tactics such as were never seen in the city before, and his style throughout was original.
He proved to be a marvel in agility. He landed blows with lightning like rapidity and was away like a flash to avoid Moore's counters. His footwork was perfect, and his judgement of distance so correct that on getting back from his opponent's leads, he barely got out of danger, and just retreated enough to be in position to counter with good effect.
McCoy's crouching attitude is very deceptive, and it is almost impossible for an adversary to tell with which hand he is about to lead. He uses a quick sudden feint with either hand to draw his man on, and then sends in his counters with a great force and speed, and with apparently very little effort.
McCoy used his famous corkscrew blow on Moore with telling effect, landing it with left on the wind several times. The left handers on the body the Kid usually followed with stiff left hand hooks for the head. He jarred Moore half a dozen times with those blows and in the second round it was one of them that first put the Northwestern lad to the floor.
The wonderful reach of McCoy was shown more especially in his drives from long range at Moore's stomach. He landed six of those blows in rapid succession without a return in the first round, all of Moore's attempts at countering excepting one, being several inches short.
McCoy's blocking was a feature of the bout, and was brought into play every time Dick made an attempt to rush him. His blocks are similar to Young Griffo's, and he has a knack of landing one or two swift jolts before his opponent can clinch with him.
At close range Moore was as badly worsted as in the stand-off work. There were only two rallies at infighting, and in these Dick's vicious swings were either ducked or blocked and his face and body stopped half a dozen sharp shots from various angles in each mix-up.
McCoy has a very peculiar style of delivering his blows. He does not draw back his arms and make an effort such as most boxers do, but lets his blows shoot from the original position of the fists without wasting the time it would take to draw back. He manages to concentrate force into his forearm and this, combined with the suddenness and speed with which he lets fly, has the effect of jarring his opponent. Moore fought cleverly enough, and against an ordinary man, or a boxer a notch or two below McCoy in skill, he might have shown up to very good advantage.
As it was, Moore was completely outclassed. McCoy outgeneraled him, outfought him, and proved to be his master at all stages of the game.
The veriest novice would have stood as good a chance with Moore as the latter did with McCoy.
Moore appeared bewildered at the Kid's agility and cleverness. He aimed straight blows and swings at McCoy's head, any one of which might have felled any person had they landed, but McCoy, bu most beautiful ducking, let the blows pass carelessly over his head, at the same time smashing Dick right and left on body and face in return.
McCoy showed left and right uppercuts that looked dangerous. Moore barely missed one from the right hand which might have settled him had it landed, but he stepped away just in time to escape it.
The windup came earlier than was generally expected. McCoy's drives on Moore's wind distressed him perceptibly, and twice he grunted audibly.
McCoy, on finding that his opponent's weak spot was his wind, kept sending in blow after blow on that part of the anatomy. He did this in the second round, and after sending in one smash on Dick's blows that was harder than the others, he turned his head as though about to step away, and then like a flash he shot in his hooked left with terrific force for the jar. It landed on the right spot and Moore went down. He was up again at the count of five, but was badly dazed.
It was then that McCoy showed how well he knew how to take advantage of an opportunity. Before Moore could realize what was about to happen, the Kid was in on him, with a fusillade of blows. They came fast and hard, and were a varied assortment. Hooks, swings, straight drives, and uppercuts were sent in by McCoy with such wonderful rapidity that it was almost impossible to keep accurate tab on them.
Moore received fully a dozen blows in half that number of seconds and finally he was doubled up with a left-hand corckscrew blow in the pit of the stomach which was followed by a powerful half-arm blow wit the right on the point of the jaw. Moore fell flat on his face and remained motionless while he was being counted out.
McCoy displayed aan excellent temper, and was cool and calculating throughout.

 

Where do you rate him compared to Ryan?

I think they seem to have been pretty evenly matched H2H, and I'd rate Ryan higher P4P, though I'd agree that McCoy was probably the more skilled pure boxer.

 

Edit: From the Australian Billy Smith fight
The Chicago Daily Tribune - 16 Nov 1897 (page 5)
Although McCoy was against what is generally termed a slow man, too much cannot be said about his clevernes and fighting ability. He opened the bout with a straight left on Smith's face. This he followed up with a left-hand blow in the pit of the stomach. Then came a fusillade of hooks straight jabs, and right-hand cross-counters, all of which were effective. Smith tried his rushing tactics several times, but the "Kid" was not there to receive him

From the Dan Creedon fight (will post a lot more from this one later
The Sun - 18 Dec 1897 (page 1)
McCoy in speed, science, headwork, and gameness is a marvel. His miraculous defensive work, which has never yet been beaten down by an opponent in the ring, was the rock upon which Creedon's fortunes were shattered. It was almost a physical impossiblity for Creedon to land a dangerous blow, so well did McCoy guard himself and keep his temper. The latter's punishing power was limited to short, swift vicious jabs that soon damaged Creedon's face. They were the same blows that put all of McCoy's former antagonists out of the game, and they were not very showy, either.

The New York World - 18 Dec 1897 (page 1)
CORBETT ON M'COY.
Thinks He Is the Coming Heavy-Weight Champion of the World
To the Editor of The World:
I want to say at the very outset that I think Kid McCoy is one of the cleverest men I ever saw and that I consider him the coming heavy-weight champion of the world.
His science is incomparable, his condition to-night was superb and his reach stands him in good stead. In addition to all this he was game, cool and deliberaate, and I was startled at the ease with which he dodged the lunges of Creedon.
Dan is a great fighter, and a man who can stand himoff with such ease is entitled to the respect of Fitzsimmons or any other physical giant alive. McCoy's jabbing is beautiful. It looks easy and it seems to count for little, but I tell you it counts a great deal. McCoy was so perfectly trained that he could have staid in fifty rounds if neccessary.

James J Corbett​

 

Ryan seems to have had an edge in the prematurely stopped one. The other, where the ref gave a decision when he wasn't supposed to, there seems to have been a fair bit of criticism of the decision.

McCoy had the bit the better of their fights overall, but I don't think there was a ton in it.

 

The the Creedon fight
The New York World - 18 Dec 1897 (page 1)
How the Men Fight.
McCoy crouched so that his head stood no higher than Creedon's. He leaned far forward with his abdomen drawn in and his chest streched out as if he knew that Creedon was going to try for his solar plexus as soon as possible. Creedon dashed in erect and full of confidence. The two men presented as fine an appearance as any pair that ever stoof in the ring. McCoy jumped away lightly as Creedon came after him. Then he took the aggressive, Creedon jumping away but he was too late. McCoy's left glove darted out as swiftly and as lightly as the snake's tongue. It tapped Creedon ever so swiftly on the solar pleus. McCoy tried the blow again but failed, and came up with a ringing swing that landed on Creedon's shoulder. Creedon clinched.

From the Ruhlin fight
Syracuse Standard - 21 May 1898 (page 8)
Like a panther he crouched before his man. Every muscle in his body worked as smoothly as a piece of delicate machinery. Beneath the smooth skin his muscles assumed their rigidity and proportion when he launched himself forwar. With the speed of a deer and the strength of a tiger the long, slim body would move and then the left hand with its small gloves would shoot out. Try as he would Ruhlin was unable to avoid them. So quickly did they come, parries, counter blows, hooks and uppercuts, the man from Ohio saw only time for protecting himself against thisinvasion of his strength, to say nothing of making an attack himself. And still he left the defensive at times to show that his nature is aggressive. Time and again he would rush upon the slight built youth and endeavor to crush him by sheer weight, but like a shadow McCoy shifted to another section of the ring, sometimes by ducking, side stepping and at other by his coolness in blinding Ruhlin with a wicked jab between the eyes. It was all the same to McCoy. He could and did hit Ruhlin at will.

Syracuse Standard - 21 May 1898 (page 8)
M'COY TO THE STANDARD.
"Kid" McCoy said to a standard reporter immediately after the fight: "I injured my hands early during the fight and was therefore unable to put Ruhlin out, as I certaainly should have done had I their proper use. Ruhlin is a game man—one of the gamest I ever battled with. He has strength and endurance surprising good, but lacks quickness."

Syracuse Standard - 21 May 1898 (page 8)
RUHLIN TO THE STANDARD
"McCoy is a clever fellow. I absolutely am none the worse off for the battle, except for my unfortunate countenance. The 'kid' got it bleeding during the third round of the battle and it bothered me all through the fight. I have no boasts tomake and no excuses to offer. I came here and promised to do my best and I did it."