The Savannah morning news., 1904-12-21
TWENTY ROUNDS
AND BRITT WINS
REFEREE ROCHE DECIDES
THAT THE CALIFORNIAN GETS THE
BETTER OF THE FIGHT.

Both Lads Put Up a Pretty Fight,
and 1t Is Upon Points and Cleaner
Hitting That Britt Is Declared the
Winner-NeIsOn Proves a Wonder,
However, and Forces the Fighting
All AIOng-He Carries 1t Right to
britt.
Mechanics Pavilion, San Francisco,
round of the fight between Jimmy
Britt of San Francisco, and Battling"
Nelson of Chicago, Referee Roche I'M
hesitatingly placed his hand on the
Californian as the winner of the con-
test.
In the closing round Britt was
punching the Chicago boy all over the
ring, but his blows lacked sufficient
force to put a quietus on his opponent.
The fight was an eXemplification of
how much punishment a human being
can endure and not succumb. At sew
eral stages of the fight Nelson was
badly punished, but he always kept
gamely coming up to the firing line,
and all through the twenty rounds he
forced the fighting. In one or two in
stances he had the local boy in dis
tress, but Britt's excellent generalship
and the advice of his seconds saved
him from going too close to the danger
point.
Nelson is unquestionably a wonder
in the pugilistic world. Time after
A1Iv III 1. -
put out an ordinary fighter. he would
come up, apparently in his early FORM
and bring the fighting to Britt.
Referee Roche announced that he
gave the fight to Britt on cleaner hit
ting and the greater number of points
scored, and a retrospect of the fight
bears out the business of his decision.
Although Nelson did most of the
leading. Britt displayed the greater
ability as boxer and his blows were
cleaner and more forceful. While a
majority of the shots fired by Nelson
were at close quarters, Nelson was de-
ficient in long arm work, and most of
his attempts to reach his opponent,
while both men were free. were inef-
fectual.
A $4,000 audience was damned into
Mechanics Pavilion tonight when
Jimmy Britt of this city and Bat
Ting Nelson of Chicago fought in
| what was virtually conceded to be a
| contest for the worlds lightweight
] championship.
The belief that Joe Cans, the colored
| pugilist, who recently retained the title
by securing a decision over Britt on a
| foul, is probably unable to reduce to
| the lightweight limit accentuates the
| fact that the winner of to-night's bat
tie will be looked upon as the legiti-
mate champion of the lightweight di-
! vision.
Never were two athletes more per-
fectly conditioned than Britt and Mel.
son when they ceased their long and
| arduous course of training, and each
was the personificationr- of confidence
| when Referee Billy Roche beckoneC
/ them to their corners and the bell sum.
/ moned them to action. The principals
weighed in at 6 o'clock. Both mer
failed to tip the scales at 1872 pounds
| the stipulated weight. 1t was the opin-
ion of those present when the mer
| jumped on the scales that Nelson was
the lighter of the two by at least g
pound.
Betting has been brisk all day. II
I the morning bets We're registered a.
odds of 10 to with Britt the favorite
Later on. however. owing to the vol
ume of Nelson money and the reluct
ance of Britt's supporters to speculate
at what they termed unreasonable an,
disproportionate figures, the price ad
vanced a point with the local lad hold
ing the top and at 10 to s. At z o'clocl
the odds favored Britt at 10 to 9. anC