Los Angeles herald., 1907-05-09
O'BR|EN DISGUSTS
IMMENSE THRONG
REFUSES TO STAND BEFORE
CANUCK
All Bets Are Declared OF, Though
Reason Is Not Made Public by
Pacific Athletic Club
Officials

Absolutely refusing to stand befor'
Tommy Burns. hooted and hissed by th'
disgusted thousands who witnessed
his runaway tactics Jack O'Brien lef
the ring at Maud Junction pavilion las
night disgraced in the eyes of every
fair minded person who experienced the
dismal sensations of a f1asco which has
perhaps the Nelson-Herrera affair as al
equal.
That Jack O'Brien sprinted for twenty
rounds, dashing from one side OF the
ring to another, was not the only dis
appointment which came as the bitter
est lemon ever bitten into by Los An
geles assemblage of ring patrons.
Referee Charles Eyton sprung SEN
sation before Jack O'Brien and Tommy
Burns heard the first gong. Stepping
to the ringside he faced the crowd and
said
FOR good and sufficient reason 1 will
call off all bets on this contest:
After the men had fiddled about Tor
twenty rounds Eyton declared that he
did not know for what reason the bet
ting had been stopped, saying that he
had acted in accordance with directions
of Manager Tom McCarey.
Why all bets were declared to be null
remains for some one to explain. Pa
cific Athletic club officials last night
absolutely refused to make a statement,
even though they had taken in thou
sands of dollars for which the frostiest
article of pugilism that might be imag-
ined was dished up.
McCarey was asked to explain the
action taken by him, but said that he
had no statement to make. Naturally
a thousand different conclusions may be
drawn, any one of which might solve
the conundrum Jack OBrien also re-
fused to talk and would give utterance
to nothing beyond an intimation that
he might have something to say within
q few hours.
OBren Kissed
So far as the decision was concerned
Referee Eyton could not have possibly
acted otherwise than raise Burns hand.
O'Rrien realized that he was done Tor
and made haste to shoot for his corner
SO soon as the final gong struck.
AS the Philadelphia hurried TO
dressing room in the front Of the pavll-
ion he was hooted and Kissed TO
frizzle. Cries of 20 you're the yellow
kid. Jack" and other equally compl1-
mentary terms strewed his path from
And the crowd that gave vent to their
disapproval last night could not be
blamed for the wrath which became man
ifest. Big Jim Jeffries sat at the ringside
and watched the proceedings. The cham
pion's face was a study.
When OBrien first began to dance
away. twisting and turning from Burns,
Jeff sank in his chair with a weary look
on his face. Before the men had gone
three rounds Jims features became
overcast with contemptuous smile. Fer
haps Jim Jeffries was figuring how Billy
Nolan intended beating him with Jack
O'Brien.
Undoubtedly suspicion will hinge upon
last nights affair until there has been
made some satisfactory reason as to VINO
lay at the bottom of a scheme to defraud
the betting public. Evidently Tom NC
Carey did not instruct Eyton without
cause and what the. cause was might
make interesting reading.
The fact that McCarey did call of all
bets may be taken for granted that he
discovered a plot and had one recourse
left But that fact did not mend things
so far as even mediocre ring contest
was concerned.
That Jack O'Brien was anxious to get
through with the business with all pos
sible celebrity was visible to every one
at the ringSide. Time and again the Phil
adelphian leaped into the air in an effort
to receive a foul blow. The action was so
raw however, that it seemed incredible
for a man in his senses to act as O'Brien
did AS he shot from his feet to accept
low blow his facial expression changed to
one of sham pain. Eyton palo no atten-
ton to these tactics and waved O'Brien
to go on.
Men who have witnessed practically
every battle at Maud Junction from
ringside that gave expression to opinions
of whic hthe Philadelphia would not be
proud.
So far as Tommy Burns was concerned
he appeared to be trying little, at least:
o. Brien ran so fast and so continuously
that it seemed almost impossible for the
Canuck to reach him. The whole affair
from beginning to end was O'Brien on the
run, Burns sometimes chasing him and
other times standing like statue in the
center of the ring, waiting.
So far as a fake fight is cone concerned,
there is little reason to believe that
in the deal.
O'Brien showed by his repeated at
tempts to cause foul that he had no
hope of beating Burns. Had he darted
away and yet endeavored to wear his
man down by strenuous jabbing, as has
been his practice in times past, some eX-
cuse might be offered But the Philadel-
phian did not want to fight last night;
His face wore a look of fear as he dashed
from Burns and made for the ropes.
The old cleverness of skipping pad pad
aiG and again Burns missed his game when
apparently OBrien was hemmed in.
One paragraph might describe the en-
tire affair. O'Brien came up for the hrst
round with worried look in his face.
He danced away and kept to a far side
of the ring. Burns stopped still and
glanced in a weary manner at his op-
and O'Brien wrapped his left arm around
Burns neck, refusing to let go until
broken by Referee Eyton.
As though angered' burns Went atl, atter
tripped and fell to the floor Burns on top.
Practically every round was a repetition
Of the first. O'Brien, it is true did send
his left to Burns face several times in
different rounds, but so soon as the
Canuck rushed O'Brien ran and Burns fol-
lowed until the going seemed more like
road work than fighting.
Burns himself did not appear to be fight
ing the same battle he did previously but
could scarcely be expected to do so under
the circumstances. When 1t become evil
dent that OBrien was determined to run
away the crowd started kissing and kept
at it until the end. Burns looked slow.
Maybe because O'Brien hit such a rapid
foot gait.
Tommy reached O'Brien's forehead above
the nose and had O'Brien bleeding badly.
Burns eyes were slightly cut, and that
was all.
A six-round preliminary between Dick
Murray and Jimmy Erwin resulted in a
fast piece of mixing, and Referee Tommy
Walsh's draw decision was well received.