The Examiner (San Francisco)- 25 Jun 1896 (page 1), By W. W. Naughton The fact that he [Sharkey] last night shared a draw decision with Corbett places him on a high pedestal. He has sprung into fame with a bound, and his career will be watched with interest from this time forward. I certainly, however, deprecate the wild-eyed enthusaism which voted Sharkey a better man than Corbett on last night's showing. He scored equally with the champion in a match under what might be called go as you please rules, but nothing more. It was, as it happened, the kind of fight that suited Sharkey better than it did the other man. What would have been the result had the match not been a limited one might have been gathered by any reasonable person from what happened in the first round. Sharkey swung and swung at Corbett and reached nothing by empty air as a rule. I am thinking that if Corbett had not been tied down to four round he could have kept the sailor punching the atmosphere, and at the same time gradually encompassed Sharkey's defeat by good, sensible outfighting. San Francisco Chronicle- 25 Jun 1896 (page 9) The fight itself was a good deal of a disappointment. There was more clinching than punching. The gallery called it a "wrestling match" in derision. Corbett opened matters by endeavoring to have Sharkey show his hand. The sailor was shy and shifty. He danced about the stage feinting and ducking, but he kept clear of the champion's right which was poised as if on a swivel waiting to hook him under the chin. The crowd held its breath until the men cam togethr. Tired of waiting for the champion to lead, the sailor undertook to reach Corbett's nose. He missed his target and got a punch in the face that almost closed one of his eyes. Corbett's face wore a smile throughout the first round. He hit the sailor almost at will, and when the going sounded the sailor's chances of staying in the ring seemed decidedly uncertain. The second round opened with a hugging bee, in which Corbett managed to get in several short-arm punched, Sharkey was being hit at will, but the punishment seemed to have no effect on him. It was in the middle of the round that the first surprise occurred. The sailor, crowded to the wall by his opponent, turned much after the manner of a cornered rat and began to fight. Corbett had crowded him to the ropes and Sharkey retaliated by actually punching the chammpion in the face. A wilde cheer went up from the crowd. Sharkey led again and landed. Then he hit the champion on the neck, and the smile on Corbett's face faded into a scowl. The sailor was the aggressor in the third round. He sailed into the ring and fought Corbett against the ropes. Then he clinched to avoid punishment, and from that time on the fight was a wrestling match. There were cries of "Foul!" from both sides. The men struggled all over the ring. Sharkey was fighting for his life. The champion was beating him up on the face and neck and in return the sailor was again driving at Corbett's face. In a clinch that followed Sharkey threw his man to the floor. The crowd began to change its mind. There were cries of "Sharkey!" "Sharkey!" and the din grew deafening. It was in the round round that Sharkey showed his strength. He shot to the center like a cannon ball and Corbett was at once on the defensive. Sharkey was like a maddened bull. He pawed his opponent's neck and bak leaving wide red streaks on the bare flesh. Again and again Corbett strove to recover his lost ground. He smashed the sailor in the nose and jaw and neck, and uppercut him viciously, but still Sharkey fought in. The champion's manner changed. In the confusion he sought to get his arms around the sailor's neck, but when he would break away the sailor was at him again. Again Sharkey struck him in the cheek, and again the champion vainly endeavored to land his knock-out right, but the blow never was delivered. Sharkey threw himself on the champion, and endeavored to throw him. Around the ring they wrestled and Corbett began to tremble with his exertion. There were a hundred cries of "Foul." The referee attempted to seperate the men. He got behind the sailor with the intention of forcing him to unlock his arms from Corbett's neck, and in a moment the referee and Corbett were spinning across the ring and went down in a heap. Scarcely had Corbett regained his feet when the enraged sailor was on him again. Seeing that all efforts to seperate the men were useless, the referee called for the aid of the police and Corbett seconded the motion. Captain Wittman and four officers were in the ring in an instant, and under their combined efforts the bulldog sailor was forced to his corner. A moment of great suspense ensued. Sharkey almost escaped from the police in his efforts to get at Corbett again, who was standing in the other corner of the ring holding on to the ropes for support. There were cries of "Foul! "Foul!" "Let them fight!" from all parts of the building. In the midst of the confusion the referee announced that the fight was a draw and that the bets were off.
