Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-08-15
FOXY JOHNNY
 A WISE PUG
0'Brien Generally Butters His Bread We'll and Berger May Find it
 Out Soon.

| the Boy WOndor.
 The amount of the purse, 1000, is the only thing surprising about the offer wired east from San Francisco. It is expected to follow as matter of course that .O'Brien. like Berger, will accept and that the men will step into the ring at Frisco the lat ter part of next month prepared to battle for the biggest sum offered since Fitzsimmons met the almost forgotten Jim Hall in New Orleans. I The interesting thing to learn will be how the money is to be split. The chances are that O'Brien will get the big end, win or lose, just as Battling Nelson. will out in Goldfield | The two cases are very much sim liar. Cans was wild to get Nelson into the ring, and Billy Nolan, Bat tlings manager, was coy. Nolan knew he had Cans on the anxious seat and he bided his time and dictated all the terms and gobbled two-thirds of the purse.
 | Berger is just as anxious to meet O'Brien as Cans is to face Nelson with the gloves on. Knowing this, O'Brien is expected to do considera- ble dictating. Of course in their case weight can cut no figure, and there isn't likely to be any squab bling should O'Brien demand that he receive the big end of the purse, whether he wins, loses or gets a draw. Count on foxy Jack to look out for that end.
 The only reason or excuse for mak- ing such big offer to the men is the reputation which Berger got out few weeks ago. There have been va l rious versions printed as to what hap pened in the ring that night A bet ter idea would be to estimate on what did not happen. Tn other words, to find out just what was in Philadel- phia Jacks mind before and during the set-to. ...t.s- l Philadelphians have seen O'Brien fight so often that they have been wised up to all his willy ways Some persons who may or may not be quite so we'll informed on Jacks peculiar mental bent when he faces an op- ponent for the first time, threw all such reckoning out of the calculation, and the result was bigger reputa- tion for Berger than he probably de- serves for the present.
 | It is notorious fact that O'Brien always makes a better impression in his second and third fights with a man than he does in the first one. Jack invented the scheme, and it has been copied extensively in recent years.
 He figures that there are few men of his weight with whom he can get mStShes,,, AS, he,ehas, a, mansion, and a large family to support he doesn't want to reduce the field too rapidly. In consequence, he paddles along easily in his first bout with an op- ponent, goes little faster in the second and strikes his full speed in the third engagement. O'Brien does not call 1t bluffing or stalling in his first match. He explains 1t this way.
 You see the first time I meet a man in the ring am extremely care- full. I usually have to give away weight. and one good punch from these big fellows can do the business. So the first time meet a man I go in to study his strong and weak points. It is really "a sort of educa- tion. After that bout know just about what can do with him. It may not always please the public. but 1t gets more matches. and I'm not in the ring for my health."
 So 1t must be taken for granted that O'Brien's first bout with Berger was sizing up affair. There was little exception. though. to the usual procedure. When the men put up their hands in their bout both let go the left.
 I Berger then did two things that were Surprising. He got away from lO'Brien's lead and sent his left to Jacks face. That meant O'Brien had less chance to study than he ever had before in his ring career. Here was the supposedly cleverest man in the business beaten to left lead by a supposed novice fin the professional ranks. Those who saw the bout and who have seen 0'Brien in other set tos. know that Jack did less fancy business that night than ever before. Berger kept him moving too fast for that, although Sam showed poor ring generalship and disobeyed his sec onds in every round by forcing 0'Brien. when they told the Cali fornian to make O'Brien come on.
 A few nights after the bout Jack Gleason said:
 They talk about o'Brien being shrewd. but 1 can't see where his shrewdness comes in vsen he sacri- l feed $30,000 worth of reputation by his bout with Berger"
 How much reputation O'Brien sac rificed can be seen from the si0.OOO offer just received from Frisco. There was a method in O'Brien's madness" which the genial Califor- mia manager may not be long in find ing out.
 FOLD STEVE" GETS BENEF1T. New York. Aug 15.--Down at the London theater last night a big crowd of friends of "Old Steve O'Donnell paid their money and sat ! fhrcuUh a lnrr hof oxhfhff4o- nF