The Washington herald., 1907-12-29
.KETCHEL HAS PUNCH
Crack Middle-weight'S style
Like Battling Nelson's.
ROUGH-AND-READY sCRAPPER
Westerner, Whose MeteOrIc Rise
Has Been One of the Sensations of
Year in Boxing, World, Believes in
Wading In and Forcing Fight TO
Limit-BiII Papke as AppOnent.

Stanley ketcnel looks ike our next
del-weight champion.
That rugged fighting machine has been
climbing to the top at a rapid gait ever
since his sensational debut In San Fran
cisco last July, and now it looks as II
Bill Papke, another fighter Of the same
type. is the only one who has a chance
to stop him, says a St Paul critic.
The middle-weight championship ques-
ton, which has been muddled so long,
has now narrowed down 10 race be-
tween Ketchel. Papke and Hugo Kelly.
Tommy Ryan and Jack CTwin) Sullivan
are hopelessly out OF II. Ryan emitted
one OF his periodical press agent stunts
recently. but the public has finally come
10 the conclusion that the once famous
hghter-or faker. as some would have it
has outlived his usefulness In the ring.
Sullivan is still one OF the best men IN
the ring. but he has outgrown the middle
weight class. and must confine his future
operations 10 the heavyweight ranks.
OF the three still in the race, Kelly's
prospects appear 10 be the poorest The
Italian Is strong. consistent fighter with
a fair amount OF cleverness, but he lacks
the ruggedness and hitting power Of his
two rivals.
Appear Evenly Matched.
Papke and Ketchel appeared 10 be about
evenly matched. They both fight be
main stren'th an ignorance" and so far
neither Of them has met hts match. It
would be a good idea, however. 20 wait
until Papke has disposed OF Kelly before
making any further comment Strange
things often happen IN the ring, and II
lis possible that the Italian may have q
word 20 say about the championship after
December 30.
KetcheTs rise IN the fight game has
been meteoric. Last summer no one but
a few rough-necks out in Montana knew he
was alive one day a promoter decided
10 pick out a soft one for Joe Thomas
the pride OF san Francisco. the apollo OF
the ring. &c, and the victims role fell 10
KetcheI. The fight took place II Marys-
vile on the Fourth OF July, and the next
day Ketchei awOke 10 ind himself ia
nous. he not only held the native son 10
& draw. but actually gave him a heavy
beating.
Thomas was excused for his inability 70
whip the unknown the first time, because
OF his over-conhd1nce and lack Of condi-
ton Everyone picked MIN as q winner OF
the second battle. bat after he had signed
articles at 80 pounds and started training.
he discovered, too late, that De had made
a mistake. lie made the weight all right
but he left his strength in the hot room.
In spite OF II all he fought a great battle,
holding his own for thirty-two rounds
when the relentless fighting medicine from
the mountains finally wore him down
Thomas Fairly Beaten.
Thomas bowed to his master third
time, and there was no excuse 10 offer
He went snto the ring in perfect condition.
with a friendly crowd 10 help him on.
and a referee chosen from his home town
He lost because ne fought q better man.
He was the faster and the cleverer OF the
two. and more than held his own IN the
earlier sessions. but as round after round
went by the body smashes Of the rugged
began 10 tell From the
round on Thomas was badly
beaten. HIS class alone saved him from a
knockout.
AS II was. he was Keeling around the
ring when the final gong sounded. Even
the native sons Of San Francisco were
forced 20 admit that Joe Thomas had
struck the downward path
Ketchel is one Of those Battling Mel
son sort OF fighters. He considers feIht-
Ing and fancy fooywork a waste Of en-
ergy. and passes them Up. He is n fight
er, pure and simple, with an unlimited
supply Of gameuess and q fearful kick in
either hand. He takes an enormous
amount of punishment every time ne
fights. but, like Nelson, he does not mind
il a bit They say that he is flying TOO
high for a prospective champion-that he
dallies too frequently on the primrose
path. II IL is true. there Will be a day