The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-09-14
In the Realm Of Pugdom
White Fighters Have Made Speciality of Using Unfair Tao
tics When Pitted Against Blacks-Gossip.


home in Hegewisch they are hanging
crepe for the first time since that
sturdy young man. Battling. became
a fistic celebrity. Battling himself is
vending his way Friscowards from the
Goldfield battlefield, and battered
face, exaggerated ear. chopped coun-
tenance and dingy eyes tell the story
we'll. The durable Dane ran up
against the great black and he came
out of it the second best man. Forty
two awful rounds. nearly three hours
of the hardest fighting ever witnessed
in America, a foul blow and the end
Stop knocking the white man. Cut
it. Maybe he didn't fight the cleanest
fight in the world. but he did his best
to whip the black wonder and he didn't
get away with it. Other white men
have done as much and worse and re-
tanned their hold with the public.
John l.. Sullivan began it when he
lodged Peter Jackson year in and year
out. was finally dragged into match
and then flunked out cold. The Har-
lem Coffee Cooler-and there was one
great scrapper for you-knocked Mid
dleweight Champion Tommy Ryan out
as clearly as day is day. but the
referee doled off the time so slowly
that Tommy got to his feet before the
said referee had counted nine. al
though as a matter of fact he was on
the mat at least ii seconds. After that
Ryan tore in and beat the Coffee Cool
er to a pulp. but had the black man
been given fair deal he never would
have had the opportunity Young Peter
Jackson knocked out Philadelphia
Jack O'Brien once or twice and got
disqualified for fouling. Jack John
son whipped the head of Marvin Hart,
and Marvin got the decision. All in
all. it has been one merry conspiracy
to beat the negro by means fair or
unfair, only beat him. Battling Nell
son tried it and now everyone from
here to Alaska is calling him hood
lum.
am not defending Nelson for that
foul blow which cast gloom over one
of the noblest and gamest battles in
ring history, but I want to remind you
that he is far from the first to try
such tactics when hooked up with OPP
ponents of African extraction. The
one difference is that he didn't get
away with it and the others did. The
whole incident. however. will help the
boxing game if it teaches future fight
ers to keep out of matches with blacks
unless they are prepared to battle
them fairly and squarely and without
resource to villainous tatics.
As to Cans, the fight has shown just
one thing-he can make 1873 pounds
and be strong enough to give and take
punishment More than that | fail to
see anything in the negroes showing.
] have maintained for some time that
Cans is losing his punch, and there
was nothing in the Goldfield affair to
change my mind. Notice, please, that
Cans hit the Dane almost at will in
the early sessions. that he pounded
his face to jelly, drew blood from
nose, mouth, eyes and ears, and
pecked his jaw with relentless hook;
but not once did he have Battling ac-
tually staggering. 1t is true that he
injured his mighty right fist, but this
was long after the time when he
should have f1oOred the Dane for the
full count had he been possessed of the
quietus tap.
The fight was an endurance test
pure and simple. Cans battered Mel
son until he grew tired, and then they
both Rugged and waltzed, each trying
weight on him. Nelson seems to have
tired the first, and then came the foul
blow.
Nelson was badly punished boy,
and his now unpopular but still un-
daunted manager wisely kept him con-
fined to his quarters for two days,
when he was quietly started on his
way toward Frisco. In the meanwhile
Cans collected his share of the purse
from the Goldfield people and received
proposition to fight Jimmy Britt for
100000 purse on the night of Christ
mas. Cans expressed his willingness
to meet the Californian, and as Britt
is equally agreeable it is likely that
the big Nevada mining camp will have
another championship mill on its
hands within a short period. Britt
insists on the weight being 1873 pounds,
and to this Cans so far has made no
objection.
Possibly Britt stands a show with
Cans, but the fans in this section can
not see it. Kid Herman and Charley
Neary are also spoken of as future op-
ponents for the black, but neither of
these is seriously considered. The
only man who appears to have as
much as an even chance with Cars, as
critics view the situation, is Jimmy
Gardner. Jimmy is not lightweight
that is, he cannot make 1873 pounds
ringside-but at 1877 or 1873 pounds he
ought to give Joe a grand struggle. He
is said to have posted a $4,000 forfeit
tc bind match and is now waiting
to hear from Cans, and at the same
time from some club anxious to han
die the match. Cans would like to
meet Nelson again, but the Nelson
party SO far has remained silent on
this. Probably some day they will get
together again, and if they do it is not
at all certain that the result will be
the same.
Joe Thomas of California is looming
up as the bright and shining light
among the white welters. Joe's
knockout of Honey" Melody of Bos-
ton on Labor Day has boosted his
stock to the skies and it would not
be out of order to match him with
Joe Walcott. Maybe Walcott would
whip him, but there is just the hope
that he wouldn't, and the hope ought
to be strong enough to lead Thomas
on. A victory over Walcott would
mean, of course, the welterweight
championship. Walcott's last victim,
young Jack Dougherty of Milwaukee,
put up gallant fight against Mike
Twin Sullivan at Butte. Mont, on La
Dor Day, but Mike carried too many
guns and Jack went down and out in
the nineteenth round. 1t is doubtful
II he ever regains his place on the
pugilistic ladder He is splendid
second rater, but hardly good enough