The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-09-08

HDthNS Dut SNOII runs on the IOdQt
coupled with light sparring in the gym
nasium. Contrary to the general. belief.
Cans has had no trouble In making 1913
pounds When he arrived in Los An
seles several weeks ago. three days
work brought him 10 155 pounds. and he
has not begun to restrict himself at table,
eating and drinking whatever he wanted.
Billy Nolan, who was really trapped
into matching Nelson with the negro. be-
lieved that II would be Impossible for
Cans to get anywhere near the 1S3 pounds
without resorting 10 a surgical opera
ton. lie said shortly before the last
Britt-Nelson hght, and IN anticipation
of a match with Cans soon after Nelson
had disposed Of Britt:
L have insisted on 80 ID pounds IN
this fight, and l do so because l know
that Cans can make as low a weight as
Nelson can. All this stuff about Cans
not being able to put up a fight at 133
pounds is the bunk He could fight
at two pounds less If he had to, and
co you mean to tell me that any man
could have gone forty-two rounds with
Nelson if he had not been strong and
ft?"
No Trouble Milking weight.
It would seem that Nolan knew what he
was talking shout in this connection, for
Cans is within a day Of the weight and
has not found it necessary to resort to
weakening methods IN order 10 take of
weight. Britt has had no trouble with
the weight. and as he fights best AT I33
there will be no question Of the weight
proposition hurting either man. The bet
ting as quoted in San Francisco is 70 10 Z.
with Britt the short ender.
Joe Cans Is the wisest old owl in the
fighting business to-day. He leaves no
angle of the betting game unprotected.
and has taught several fighters and man
ayers lesson by lis shrewdness, where
i was least expected 10 show
One year before Cans secured tn. Gold
field night, he was in a bad way. out
West they called him the Tramp Cham
pion. With his bad record behind him
and no fight in front. he was reduced to
bed rock. His diamonds had long since
found their way back to the men who sell
such things, his clothes we're not OF the
best. and instead OF looking like a cham
pion Of the world. he looked like a neat
little bootblack just getting a start in life.
Cans Plays Foxy.
II was about this time that Cans began
to walk with cane and bend forward
from the hips as if in pain He put on
big blue glass, which shaded mis- eyes
from the glare Of the sun. and when he
read the papers he held the sheets within
an inch OF his nose
"Joe's all in. said the observing ones.
Hes down and out now. His legs are
dickey. and bis lamps are no good after
o'clock Too bad"
Billy Nolan began 10 hear these rumors.
Several friends informed him that Cans
would be easy picking because of physical
disability. and Nolan. after several con-
frmations. believed H. 4 few days before
the Goidfeld fight Nolan realized his mis-
take. hence the cold-blooded change in
the matter Of weight which the bull
doing manager was allowed to ger away
with. Nolan said TO a newspaper man
who was in his confidence;
Have ] made a good match with this
niger, or not2 Before I signed with him
I heard from sources that were abso-
lutely reliable that Cans was a wreck
and that il would XIII him to make 1S5
pounds. People who have seen him
weigh tell me that he is not only making
the weight without a struggle bur he
is going strong. II there is anything the
matter with him. he doesn't show II like
a man would. and I'm worried about this
fight Either I've made a good match for
Nelson or they've made a sucker out Of
me-"
Suspect Another Trick.
There is d strong suspicion that Cans is
about 70 turn another trick in the betting
line. For several days he has had doc
tor in constant attendance at his training
quarters. The report has been indus
triously circulated that Cans suffers from
stomach and intestinal trouble, The Britt
supporters find great comfort in this
theory. and are betting their money. Civ
ing I against 10. and it is we'll known that
Cans and the men behind him are going
to bet thousands of dollars. II would not
surprise these men if the price went from
10 to Z to 10 to g. and Cans has said that
he intends 20 bet the losers end on him
self. The mysterious doctor. about whose
presence Cans has never made any Sc
cret. Is affecting the betting and giving
the Cans men good odds. very liberal
odds. in fact When Cans gets his money
down probably the stomach and intestinal
trouble viii vanish just as his smoked
goggles and cane disappeared after the
Nelson fight
II Cans had any serious trouble which
might interfere with his making a strong
fight. his handlers would see to it that no
word of 1t got abroad. No doctor would
be brought around the quarters in day
light. If Cans people did not think he
could win because of intestinal trouble
they would hush the matter up. keep Joe
on the long end. and bet their money the
other way. The men who are behind
Cans are taking all the Britt money they
can get. and this is pretty fair proof that
the negro intends 70 try.
stands True to Friends.
There is one thing which can be said for
Gans-he never gave his friends any the
worst of it, even in his fake fights. He
did not allow his close friends to bet on
him before the McGovern fake. and nearly
split with Herford because the foxy man.
ager wired one of Joe's friends in Balti-
more. signing the negro's name to the
telegram which advised the man to stand
a tap on Cans
There is little talk now of the first
Britt-Gans fake. the most artistic thing
Of the kind ever seen inside ropes. net
excepting the famous Jim CoTbett- Kid
Mccoy knockout scene which fooled the
Fasteners. Cans spoke freely Of the
former Britt fight when in Los Angeles,
and Is quoted as follows: Il know this