Jim Corbett describes sparring Jem Mace and Mike Donovan, and notes the contrast in styles

"They're both great men & in their time must've been wonderful pugilists. Donovan was the best of the 2. Last Thursday the Journal rep brought him to Wood's gym. I've boxed Prof. Donovan (above right) several times & never had any doubts as to his ability as a boxer. We sparred 3 fast rounds of 2 minutes each & I will bet that the 50-odd spectators who saw it will vote it a great contest. He is a great boxer & the highest tribute I can offer in praise of his science & ring generalship is he was born 20 years too soon. If old Mike was 30 today he would beat any of the middleweights champions. He is as up-to-date as I or any other of the foremost pugilists. He knows all the blows & hooks, can use his legs in side stepping & in-and-out work to perfection. Donovan is a teacher and has kept pace with the pugilistic times. His wind is good, he's one of the best judges of distance I ever saw, and altogether he is a wonderful fellow. He landed his glove on me hard & often, and it's no disgrace for me to admit he forced me on more than one occasion by his left-hand feints for the face, to duck into a hook on the jaw. Mace arrived yesterday & after renewing our London acquaintance, the famous old Champ stripped to the waist and we donned the gloves, posed for a few pictures, then shook hands for a short spar (above left) boxing two 2-minute rounds, and the old fellow really surprised me. I discovered quite early that Mace & Donovan are of 2 entirely different schools. Mace of the old English style, Donovan thoroughly American, which includes all the shifts to date. He is great on straight left leads & counters with a shifting of the head to the right. Mace is also very good with the old straight cross-counter, head shifting to the left, and his ducking is simply marvelous. He's very fast with his leads and has much quickness that more than surprised me. His ducking is simply wonderful for a man of his age. He could make it very interesting for anyone. The only thing I noticed about Mace I did not like was his leg work. Donovan is by far his superior in this respect. Mace's wind is very good, and after our bout was over he had not turned a hair."

- JAMES J. CORBETT