The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-06-08
PRIZE FIGHTING
 |S DEGENERAT|NG Pugs' Ambition Is to Cop the
 Coin BATTLING IN GAY PARIS Joe Cans Confident of Beating Battling Nelson on July q, But Does Not
 Expect Victory In IS
 Rounds.
BY JEFF THOMPSON.

BY JEFF THOMPSON. New York; June 7.-In the good old days when prize fighters fought rather ! than talked, the publicity promoter had
 not broken into the game. I wonder, if ! one of these enterprising young men had laid a proposition for the promotion of publicity before Herman, or Savers, or
 Mace Billy Edwards, Joe Coburn, what
 replies these grim fighting men would | have made. Probably it would not have [ been fit to print. It would be interesting | if some historian of pugilsm would dig i up the facts of the birth and development
 of the pugilistic press agent.
 l There can be no doubt that 1t pays In | dollars and cents for $20,O00 and sS0,00o 1 purses we read about are in a very large
 measure due to the work of publicity men.
 The effect on the sport, however. Is an- other question.
 ! In the old days champions were made
 in the ring by hard fighting and cham pions fought all corners, who could get
 enough backing, without dctating about
 terms or making too much quibblng. In these degenerate days, however, a
 good competent press agent is of much | more value for the one who aspires to
 championship honors, with the emolu-
 ments thereunto pertaining, than a sopo-
 rifle punch and the ability to take bad beating for the sake of giving the other fellow worse ones Our old friend Jack Johnson as an example He is given con
 sideration as being of championship class simply because his press agent says re-
 peatedly and vocferously that he is en- titled to it. The fact that Johnson has
 never done anything in the ring to claim to being a fIrst-class man is lost sight of by good many people.
 1 There are others, in fact, to profess | sional fighter of any prominence in these portant as the trainer.
 I The claim of Harry Pollok that Abe At tell is afraid to fight his man, Charley Griffin, is really what has given rise to the foregoing reflections. Now, as 8 mat ter of fact, I have no great admiration for Attell, outside his fighting ability. He has | many traits that do not appeal to me. His persistency in going after both ends and ! the middle, in making match, borders or a lack of true sportsmanship. | But when the assertion is made that | Attell is afraid to fight anyone in his
 class, ''it is to laugh" 1 don't believe At l tell is afraid to go into the ring with any l thing that walks on two legs and weighs | 125 pounds or less. The only fear that
 bothers him is that in making match | he may let some of the long green he
 might have had get by.
 | Paris is certainly the happy ground for l fighters, according to Willie Lewis, who, | in the height of his vogue in the gay i capital, yielded to homesickness and came | over to get a glimpse of Broadway. Lewis l lemarked shortly after hIs arrival: Paris is a great fight town and they're daffy
 on the game, and women go there as well as men. Why, they dress in low neck gowns, and the men are there with their evening stuff. You can't tell your wife that you are going to fight in Paris, because she's as big bug as you are yourself and you have to make it for two.
 Sam McVey is the king over there. They think he's better than Jeffries. He packs an awful mob whenever he fights. If he's ever licked, though, they will be through with him. Stanton can't get bag of peanuts for fighting since I
 knocked him out He was the big card there before we fought, and when I was introduced ana CnallenSeu nlII they HOOl- ed and howled like mad.
 Am I going back? Yes, I expect 10 l blow away again in September, if we can fix things up, and fight Gunner Moir at the National club. We are trying to get it for 20 rounds, and if it goes on all right, I'll clean up barrel. Hes a big fellow, weighing 190 pounds, but you
 know the old saying, the bigger they are the harder they fall.'"
 Joe Cans is confident that Packy Mo- Farland is the next man he will have to fight for the lightweight championship; that is, after he has disposed of his old enemy, Battling Nelson, on July A. It may be said in passing that Cans has no doubt of his ability to turn the trick with the Dane. He said in Chicago the other day: "It looks to me as if McFar- land and I will have to hook up before long, and there is swell fall fete out on the coast, and now is the time to get ready. "Perhaps Packy will not want to meet me that soon, but I can assure him that my fighting days are numbered, and he had better take the chance right now. Somebody may beat Paclxy to it and whip me-" and Cans smiled
 .Nelson and I are hooked up sure enough for July and will box 45 rounds J afternoon fight I won the discussion over the weight, and we will make 1S3 pounds stripped But there will be a winners end and a losers end. I will
 not insist on hogging the money, all
 though I could easily have done so.
 "Certainly expect to get revenge
 over Nelson this time. I'll beat him sure,
 but this talk about my knocking him
 out in 15 rounds or so is not to my
 liking Nelson is one of the toughest
 men in the business, and if should hurt
 a hand I would have trouble with him.
 But Nelson has been beaten three
 times. twice by Britt and once by Unhoiz,
 and should not be so hard for me at
 this time. I have seen his recent fights,
 and they were not good ones Indeed.
 Attell had him groggy at one stage of
 their battle."
 A full supply of horses and