Los Angeles herald., 1905-09-08
EDDIE GRANEY MAY REFEREE
AFTER ALL s.
NOLAN is STILL OBSTINATE
Nelson's Manager Claims He VIII Not
Have Champion Heavyweight
Under Any Circumstances.
Betting at StandstiIl
By Associated Press.


SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. IF hie
friends In this city are correct in their
estimate of Jim Jeffries' disposition,
the former champion will refuse to ref
cree the Britt-Nelson fight when he
arrives in San Francisco late tonight.
Jeffries is of an independent mind and
in view of the criticism by Nelson's
manager, it Is very likely he will not
act for any amount of money.
With Jeff out of the referee problem
attention naturally turns to Eddie
Graney, who has acted as referee in
all the big ring contests brought off
in this city in recent years. While the
Rritts have been insistent in their OBJ
jections to Graney, there Is strong be-
lief among sporting men that this
avowed dislike for Graney is not sin
cere and that If Jeffries declines to be
further considered Graney will be Sc
lected.
Seat Sales Affected
The uncertainty regarding the ref
cree is affecting the sales of seats very
seriously 1t was said at Manager Cof-
froth's headquarters today that there
have been many cancellations of res
ervations by out-of-town persons who,
apparently, have become disgusted with
the ceaseless wrangle over the third
man in the ring on Saturday. Unless
there is a settlement by tomorrow
morning Coffroth's estimate of $780,
900 gate will fall far short of that
figure. With all the uncertainty there
Francisco has never failed to live up
to it's reputation as the greatest box
ing city in the country" Any sort of
a fight draws a crowd, oftentimes with
out regard to the merits of the attrae-
ton.
Naturally, betting has practically
come to a standstill. Bettors will not,
of course, place their money until all
doubt as to who is to make the de-
cision has been settled. So while there
is a disposition to wager on the COM
ing fight, all those who are so dis
posed are holding off until the referee
has been agreed upon. Britt still Is a
strong favorite, the prevailing odds be-
ing 10 to Z, with now and then the more
liberal odds of 10 to s.
Training Work over
The work of training is over. Both
men are within striking distance of
the weight, are in the most perfect
condition and will not find 1T necessary
to do any more hard work. Their train
ers are now giving their attention to
the important detail Of holding them
ION edge" Nelson has done the hard
est sort of work up to within the past
day or so, keeping up his grind, in
fact, until yesterday evening. Today
he took it somewhat easier Britt let
up in his extremely heavy work sew
eral days ago, cutting out all boxing
and his swim in the surf after his
daily work.
Nolan, Nelson's manager, said this
afternoon, in reference to the referee:
IF they try to force Jeffries upon
us there will not be any fight; that's
all there is to it. I've conceded every
thing else to the Britts and L do not
intend to concede this referee matter.
"Sure Things" on Britt
st am even more determined than
before, for have received many tele-
grams from friends informing me that
the sure-thing men all over the east
are trying to get in bets on Britt. That
looks bad to me.
1T don't know what was said in that
Delaney telegram to Jeffries which
Willie Britt dictated and which caused
the big fellow so suddenly to abandon
his demand for $4,000. For all 1 know,
it might have guaranteed Jeff $1,000 If
he would come and serve. I intend
to stand on my rights"
Notwithstanding Nolan's stubborn
stand in the matter, no one thinks at
this time that the fight will be called
ofp