The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-03-04
GEORGE SILER ON
CANS CONFESSION
Asks for More Light on Some Other
Notable Contests in the
Ring.
= WHERE BILLY NOLAN WINS
I GIVES NELSON GOOD EXCUSE TO
sIDETRAcK coLoRED BOY.
WHERE BILLY NOLAN WINS
BY George Siler.

Chicago, March Lightweight
Champion Joe Cans was the star at
traction in pugilism last week, and du-
ring that time he held the center of
the stage. He confessed to taking with
Jimmy Britt and Terry McGovern.
These battles have always been on the
suspicious list, but the trainers" of
them were zoo clOse-mOuthed to
peach" and even now, when brought
face to face with the facts, they are
loud in their denials. Cans disclosures
impIicate the Britt brothers, Jimmy
and Willie Al HerfOrd and himself in
the Britt fake and himself and Her
ford in the McGovern affair. Regard
ing the latter, he states he and his
crooked manager expected to reap a
harvest, but that his share of the i'll
gotten proceeds fell away below ex-
pectatiOns. There were no details,
other than the betting angle, in the
McGovern Job, but. according to his
confession. it required master minds
TO pull off the Britt fake successfully
He states that HerfOTd was compelled
to post $4,000 as a guarantee that he
(Gsns) would knock out Jim
my, and that, falling TO live up to the
agreement, his end of the purse money
would only be 10 per cent. That if
he permitted Jimmy to make a good
showing and then let the native son
lose on a foul, he would receive 321a
per cent OF the purse and, presum-
ably, a percentage of the winning bets
Desired Return Match.
The Britts and Herford, as would
naturally be expected, deny the bat
tie was fought other than on the level;
7 Cnr0c
would have confessed If he was not
compelled to shoulder all the respon-
sibiIity. He was denounced as being
the greatest faker in the business, and
this by men who profited by his dis
honest work He desired a return
match with Jimmy Britt to demon
state his superiority, but Jimmy de-
nounced him as a faker and would
have no dealings with him. This, Cans
considered, was rubbing it in too hard,
hence his exposure, Having told the
inside facts of his battle with Britt,
it was only right he should tell what
he knew of the McGovern affair. These,
he states, are the only crooked fights
he took part in, and his record, du-
ring his twelve years in the ring,
shows no others.
Must Take the Dope.
We, who are several thousand miles
from San Francisco are compelled to
Judge coast fight matters from the press
accounts and private sources. both more
or less preJudiced. but all Of the press &C
counts and all the private information
that could be CLEANED stated the Cans
Britt fight smelled strongly OF fake Cans
simply could n04 o. would not fight. with
the result that Jiz1-1--. according to 10
ported compact had all the better of the
milling. He repeatedly struck Cans when
down: and after several cautics-s was dis
qualified in the final round. The peculiar
thing about Britt's foul tactics &c that he
never INDUCED tH them before nor since.
He has bcer fighting p- Occasionally Just
four years. during which he has contested
in fifteen battles. and never so far forgot
\ himself as to Eft a fallen opponent He
generally is spoken of es being tee cool
est fighter IN the game but he certainly