A Real Championship Bout
Great interest has been taken in the North of England—and elsewhere—during the past month, in the unofficial championship encounters at Leeds and Manchester between Smith and Inman. In London, Smith beat Inman by 1,861; in Leeds by 376; and at the midway stage of the match in Manchester on March 12 the scores stood: Inman 6,400, Smith 6,302. This gave Smith a total excess of points in the three matches up to March 12 of 2,141.
They have been wonderful matches and the grim earnestness of the final encounter may be judged by the extent to which both men were behind their points in Manchester at what should have been the half-way stage. Neither was conceding to the other the fraction of a chance either in attack or defence, and the momentous question whether Inman has at last really met his "Waterloo" remains, in a sense, in the balance.