Remarkable that a fight from 1910 has such good quality footage featuring two all-time top 10 lightweights: This content is protected What are your thoughts on the fight and the fighters from the available 12 mins or so of footag? What does the footage tell us about McFarland and Welsh’s styles? Impossible to tell whether it was the robbery it was described as but it seems as though McFarland is forcing the fight with Welsh content to dance and clinch but it’s a 20 round fight so no way to be sure if this is reflective of the whole fight.
Good fight, both look very skilled for their time. McFarland looks better in this fight than I remember.
I think you often find that in fights between 2 x world class boxers, the fighter with the better footwork wins. To be world class, both will have a fantastic attribute(s). The fighter who controls the range can ensure their opponents biggest attribute(s) is negated, whilst theirs is harnessed. The fighter with the superior footwork determines when the 2 x boxers do and don't engage. The footage suggests a 1-sided fight, remarkable given Welsh is a top 10 LW of all time. McFarland has the better footwork and dictates the range throughout. Early McFarland darts in and out, hitting and ensuring Welsh's counters fall short. Later he closes the distance, which suggests to me that as the fight went on, he realised he was the stronger, as well as the superior technician at range. I've read that Welsh's home crowd boo'd the draw, such was McFarland's dominance. Whilst, as you say, we can't conclude the decision a robbery based on this limited footage, it certainly does nothing to suggest that what I've read is likely inaccurate, imo.
So true! Imagine if we time-machined these two masters 110 years forward - they would make today's best featherweights/lightweights look like complete clowns!
