Evening journal., 1906-09-06
Many Would Like to Know
Why lie Ever Made
Match

championship OF the world between Joe
Cans. the negro holder OF the title. ana
Battling Nelson, the hghdng Dane. is
now thing OF the past. and the title stil
remains in the possession Of the brunette
from Baltimore. IL was a great battle,
perhaps the most determined ard vicious
ly contested affair ever Witnessed in
prlze-rins, and judging from all the ac-
counts Of the contest now at hand the
best man received the decision.
IL Is too bad that there was such an
unsatisfactory ending TO what would un-
doubtcdly have gone down IN prize-ring
history as one Of the most stubbornly
contested battles ever witnessed between
ilght-weights in shls country. The decis-
ion, while undoubtedly a just one, other
wise George sller would not have made IT.
win nevertheless furnish both sides with
plenty Of ground for dispute. Joe Cans
and his friends will be sure TO hold to po-
sition they have already taken in
the matter-that Nelson deliberately
struck tho foul blow 10 escape a knock
out, while Nelson and his manager will
continue to "holler quitter and cry rob-
berry.
But now that the whole thing is over
and everything in connection with the
match. from its very inception until the
disqualification occurred in the forty-sec-
ond round. can be viewed dspassionately
by both Nelson and Nolan. might It not
be well for ahem, or at any rate for
Nolan, to tell the public why he consent
ed to the match In the first place. While
Billy Nolan has never been looked upon
as popular manager. he has, neverthe-
less, been regarded as an unusually
shrewd one. who was not liable to get his
man tangled up in mess that he could
well as "A big share OF the money. II wax
the general prevalence OF this opinion
moro than any other thing in connection
with this battle that gave the fighting
Dane such a large following and such
strong financial support.
Joe Cans would have been / to
favorite against Nelson in the betting had
II not been for the fact that Nolan was
handling the Danes affairs.
It was common thing to hear bet
ting man say, II everything is on the
out for that fellow Nolan. lie has not
gone into this fght thinking he has tho
best man or depending on pot luck to pun
him through. He is a shrewd cuss and
will spring something on that negro and
his friends that will put them all in the
air when the time arrives"
Such talk as this was heard everywhere
person went, and that was what kept
Nelson's price up in the betting.
When Nolan. tho wise man Of the West,
made the match he perhaps figured that
II Cans agreed to the weight conditions
he would impose that would be all that
would be necessary to make Nelson win.
He about said to himself, IF that Mig
ger will only sign up the articles / pre-
paro for him on the question Of weight
viii show the people Of this country what
Bat will do to him when he gets him In
the ring"
1t is now a matter Of history that Cans
signed the articles OF agreement just as
Nolan prepared them. and IL is also a
matter forgotten as soon as possible.
when he got him In the ring.
Nolan can be depended upon TO say
nothing by way of explanation about the
match. He will likely prefer to have the
matter forgotten as oon as possible.
Had It been necessary for Nelson to
have fought Cans in order to have main
,ained his popularity in this country
Nolan could very well be excused for
making the fight but no such condition
existed; there was no demand from any
quarter for the "Battler" TO fight Cans.
He could have gone on indefinitely as he
had been doing-getting the money and
Ignoring the darkey.
Had Nolan been forced into this match
against his will he could have been eX-
cused for his unheard Of conduct. but the
whole thing was Of his own making. and
for that reason he should have been
little more decent in his demands. The
pablic could have overlooked his hoggish-
ness in demanding two-thirds OF the
lose or draw Notwithstanding
that Cans was the real champion. and II
might have been induced to concede him
tho right to specify that the ring should
only be eighteen feet square when the
rules stipulated that the size Of the ring
should be twenty-four. but when he de-
manded that Cans should weigh in at
three different times on the day Of battle.
and that he should step into the ring in
fighting attire, Weighing not more than
1888 pounds, the public baked It would
no longer stand for Noian's low down.
contemplate methods. and consequently
threw its sympathy to the colored man.
Had the matter been left TO Nelson Il is
dollar TO a counterfeit nickel that he
would not have acted as Nolan did. He
is too game a fellow TO have required
Cans to enter the ring IN such a condi-
ton physically on account Of the weight
he was required to make that he would
be little better than a skeleton. More
over time will surely show that Nelson
was urged by some one in his corner 20
commit whatever fouls he committed dur
ing the fight, including the blow for
which he was disqualified.
Nelson showed that he could take more
punishment and survive than any man
that ever entered ring. but It is ex-
tremely doubtful II he win ever again
show the same capacity for assimilatlng
punishment that he has in all his battles
In the past Cans about beat the heart
out OF him in this last fight. and II would
not be surprising to see him fall an easy
prey TO the first tough youngster that
gets against him. Such things have hap
pened before to our toughest pugilists.
and while Nelson has escaped a good hid
ing IN any Of his previous battles, he
never got anything quite so severe as he