Los Angeles herald., 1908-12-30
kAUFMANN IS
HOT FAVORITE
FANS ESTABLISH ODDS AT
TWO TO ONE
KNOCKOUT SEEMS INEVITABLE
AT DISTANCE
Barry Is Betting on Himself and Has
Plenty Of Supporters, but Route
and Other Advantages Seem
to Favor Native Son
BY JAY DAVIDSON

The fact that Al Kaufman ana jim
Barry are to mix 1t for the near
Championship honors would be suffi-
eient to attract a great crowd of fight
fans to Jeffries' Vernon arena tonight.
but the almost assured fact that 1t will
end in a knockout, because of the long
distance. makes the battle all the more
attractive and probably will be suf
fcient to jam the big pavilion. 1t will
be the first attempt in the south to
stage a 45-round battle, and the fact
that the two greatest white heavy
weights in the world are to be in the
points, both of whom are famous for
their knockout punches, in addition to
the important bearing the result will
have upon future heavyweight cham
pionship battles appeals unusually
strong to the fans.
Kaufman rules a 10 to 6 faVorite
over Barry in the general market, al
though the big bettors are demanding
and giving to /, with the native son
the choice. The great cleverness, speed
and punching ability of the Chicago boy
makes him loom up as the most serious
opponent Kaufman ever has tackled
since his scrap with Jack O'Brien three
years ago. Added to this is the further
fact that Barry has been working faith
fully and systematically for nearly
month to get into proper condition, and
he surely is trained to the moment.
These facts cause many to incline in
their favoritism toward the Chicago
boy, especially in view of the reports
that have been floating around the
Rialto to the effect that Kaufman has
not trained properly and is not in
proper condition for bruising battle
over the Marathon route.
It may be set down as reliable, how
ever, that Kaufman is not lacking in
r0ndfff0Y bier fp1lnW has mot hppn
doing any great amount of boxing dur
ing the training period, but he has
!. beRfT working every day on the road
aild in the gymnasium, and Billy De-
laney, the veteran trainer, says that AL
is in great condition and fit to fight
for his life. Billy knows better than
anybody else about these things and
he never sends fighter into the ring
unless he is ready to deliver the gods.
Billy never deceived the public, either,
and he would not be making such
Statements unless they were of a de-
pendable nature. Those who are bet
ting against Kaufman because of the
belief that he is lacking in condition
will find out their mistake when the
big native son steps into the ring to-
night.
The course over which they will
travel is so extended that a knockout
seems assured. 1t hardly is reason
able to expect that two big maulers Of
the class, experience, punching ability
and gameness of this pair could stand
up and hammer each other for forty
I'VE rounds. Neither is Snowy boxer
or a runaway fighter. 1t must be a
standup battle, toe-to-toe, and there
will be plenty of hitting to excite the
fans.
kaufman is a slow beginner, as a
rule. but If he gets stung early IN the
fight he will timber up much earlier
ssti1an otherwise. When he gets going
under a full head of steam there is
going to be something big come off.
He hits harder than any heavyweight
now in the harness, is as game as they
make them, can take a beating like a
veteran and yet keep on fighting better
in each succeeding round. The dis
tance is more favorable to him than
to Barry. 80
Barry probably will get busy with
out delay, owing to the known sloth- |
fufness of the native son TO get going |
AT full speed. With his cleverness and
punch. Barry should make things de-
eidedly interesting for the big fellow |
ia the early rounds and he may sting |
Kaufman sufficiently to get him
warmed up early in the scrap. IL
looks like Barry would have TO WIN
ia ten or fifteen rounds or be returned
the loser. BY the time Kaufman has
zone that distance he will be travelling |
81 full speed and will be hard to whip.
7xai1frnann money will look better with
each round after the fifteenth.
Barry will have handicap to over
come In the matter of weight, as
Kaufmann will outweighzhim at least
fen pounds. This would be small
] 9Fs.s,1, - "a ten-round fight, probably
II 1s1Au = such a long distance as forty
pners fnds it will be serious handl-
4tlahaE .aith this advantage and a bet
49, Ailop in either hand than Barry
OF ths fast, not to mention his game
we say ord advantages in height and
~, EFFORT yaufnann has Barry at a de-
=. X zssadvantage to start with.
II Big scrap will begin about 9
The hrsfregardless of the result of the
Is love fairy. Only one prelim will be
M cagand that will be a six-round
ween Jack O'Keefe and Mugg-
Greco ms. Unless Muggsy is much
we can than is generally believed, he
I, love ia plenty to look after in this
- lbout owing to the cleverness
Notwithstanding ability of O'Keefe. This
lf{s.,1A win be started at S:15 O'Clock and
should be ended by S:45 o'clock, If it
uoes to the full limit.
owing to the importance of the
match, in that it really means that
~ winner will be the last straw in
~ the heavyweight championship dis
T,ste. the fans are more than ordinarily
t,,ferested and an extraordinary at
teodance is expected. To accommo-
4 sr1e the fans the usual street car spe-
f4f service will be established at 7
sirIock and cars will be run from the
frernple block, down Spring street. d.
<scf to the arena every three minutes
mill the fight begins.