The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-10-01
GHT TO ADRAW.
Billy Rhodes and Joe Walcott
Have a 90 Round Bout.
The Battle at island Park in the
hissOuri River.
WAS NOT SPECTACULAR
VAS NOT SPECTACULAR
Those Who Attended the Fight
Threw Away the Price.
Rhodes Was the AggressOr in a
Majority OF the Rounds.


Lsaavenworth. KAN Oct 1.-Joe Wal
ectt is stni the welterweight champion
o. the world Yesterday. afternoon at
island park he battIed 20 rounds with
BILLY Rhodes and at the end Of the
sssslon. Referee Dave. Porteous declar-
Cd the bout a draw The verdict was
popular and just. The fight could hard
1y be called a gruenlng one There was
nuch "stallinz." Both men were pun
Ashed rather severely. but the damage
was caused in mixups and in MAORI
s. OF the cases the marks left We're
from butting.
Rhodes fought a surprising fight.
Before he entered the ring he exhibited
q pair of badly laceratea hands-a pair
that should have been fncased in plaster
Of Paris casts instead Of gloves. But
st that, BILLY never loafed and in
majority of the rounds he was the ag-
aressor. At times he fought like a win
ner. he was careful ard never. tried to
land punch unless he was sure of his
mark. but then, at other times he
fought like a novice and mixed with
se sBarhadoes black" when ne should
fEe been taking his time and waiting
aE bis diminutiye opponent to carry the
fe to him. From a spectators view
nt it was not a great battle. The
was almost entirely devoid of free
htnz. All of the damage was from
eaches and not knockdown was re-
corded IN the battle.
gly In the battle. when Walcott
SECS strong, he tried to "buIl' the fight,
Hat Rhodes was riding under in
sections and he took his time. He al
ized Walcott to carry the battle for
lrst three rounds and never maze
move. 1t began to look like the off
rsIor gent" was going to have cake
walk but with the beginning Of the
lh round Rhodes got his bearings and
Eau there to the end the Kansas Cltyah
s7xeVar broke ground and at the finish ne
Was the milling kid
There were only two rounds in the
night where either man had q good
chance to win. In the ninth Walcott
slipped over a straight right to the wind
that caused Rhodes to clinch and hold
on. He was IN bad shape for a few
seconds, but he stalled" his dusky OPP
p0nent and finished the round as rhougn
nothing had happened. In the eleventh
d Rhodes had his turn. Coming
m Of a break he nailed the champion
short right flush on the Jaw
a Cor a moment 1t looked as though
.zaseph from Boston was doomed for
rae count. but he recovered quickly and
sbed the round strong.
Barring the nineteenth round the
VAS fairly even. In this session
aoGes demonstrated that he was a
Of championship canber. By a
in counting the rounds one Of
seconds told him that it was the
dur and he tore into The BOstonese
hurricane. He cut loose as though
was lighting a sucker Rights and
ne showered and when
bell rang he was wal
aaK Walcott on the ropes. He
ted many punches and landed a
most Of them wild. In the last
d both men tried for q knockout.
This was really the only open round.
They stood together in the center OF
the ring and exchanged wallops. but
neither could find the right spot There
was not q murmur when Referee
Eorteous raised both hands, indicating
q draw
This fight was originally scheduled to
take place in Leavenworth Sunday,
September o, but the Eagles. who had
charge Of the affair. E7iEeo to consult a
few sheriffs in that locality and the
bout was postponed. Yesterday after
aeon at Island park there was a search