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DONNELLY AND COOPER ON THE CURRAGH.
61
The blows taught by Mendoza were of three kinds—"round, straight, and chopping blows." The round blow he considered the unskilled effort; and, strange to say, he depended most on the silly "chopper," with the back of the hand, from above downward, a blow that no sane boxer would attempt to-day, except in fun. The straight blows were for the face and "wind."
There is not a word in the Manual about the cross-counter, the upper-cut, or the scientific round blow,—the three best blows of modern boxing.
In Mendoza's time, "gouging," that is, scooping out the eyes of an opponent, was constantly practised; and, in other respects, the prize-ring was a place of cruel and barbarous practices.