The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-09-28
SEVERAL FIGHTS
FOR FALL SEASON
Most Important Is MCF arland
and Nelson Scrap
PAPKE AND KELLY TO MEET
Tommy Burns, Billy Papke, Battling
Nelson and Abe AttelI Are Now
the Four Champions in
Their Special Glasses.
PAPKE AND KELLY TO MEET
BY JOE MURPHY.

BY JOE MURPHY.
San Francisco, September 27.-(special)
The great success that attended the re-
cent enterprise this season has resulted
in programme of fights that already
extend up to Thanksgiving and many
more on the schedule seeking dates to
fight in Colma or Los Angeles.
The most important bout now being
arranged for is that of Packey McFar-
land and Battling Nelson, the lightweight
champion. 1t is planned to have this
fought at Colma on the afternoon of
Thanksgiving Day. They are to battle
% rounds. Among the others being ar
ranged for are Jim Barry VS. Battling
Johnson. ten rounds, Pacific Athletic club,
Los Angeles, September %. Owen Moran
VS.. Eddie Hanlon, 20 rounds, San Fran
cisco, September 30. Billy Papke VS.. Stan
ley Ketchell, 20 rounds, San Francisco,
November rs. Freddie Welsh VS.. Maurice
Sayes, Los Angeles, % rounds, second
week of October. Turner VS.. Fritch, Re-
up game fight against Ketchell and will
By rights there should be one more
fight on this programme-Papke VS.. Hugo
Kelly The arrangements for them to
meet were all but concluded before the
Papke-Ketchell bout, only for Tom Jones,
his manager, who Immediately began to
contrive ways and means to get out of
his agreement with Kelly.
1t is pretty generally known that the
best that Jones expected was to run sec
ond best with Papke. BILLY will put
Ketchell that put different look to the
make many friends In Los Angeles" was
about the way Jones figured. "Pn come
back and fight Kelly and make another
nice bunch of money" When Billy beat
Ketchel that put a different look to the
situation Although Jones had given his
word, in the presence of Ahalf dozen
witnesses, that he would sign up with
Kelly, he started to hedge few hours
after Papke had won the championship.
1t may be that the Illinois man will yet
be brought around to see that he is max
ing a bad start with his champion. Mean
while Hugo Kelly has started training in
Chicago.
Just at present there are four cham
pions, who, on form, figure to retain their
crowns for year to come, but form Is
an uncertain thing, as shown by the re-
cent reversals and it may be that there
will be important changes in the glove
world before master of all men, Father
Time, forces the year 1908 to take the final
count.
Tommy Burns, Billy Papke, Battling
Nelson and Abe Attell are wearing the
championship crowns in the heavyweight
middleweight, lightweight and feather
weight classes. The list of challengers
in these four divisions is neither long nor
formidable, and l look to see this quartet
of topnotch fighters retain their laurels
for some time to come.
The most dangerous man that Tommy
Burns has to fear is the big black. Jack
Johnson Any match that Burns and
Johnson may engage in, away from this
country, will be looked upon with sus-
picion. For the good of the fight game
and for the good of the reputation of
both men, 1t is to be hoped that they
will fight in the United States.
A match between Burns and johnson,
if staged in either Los Angeles, San Fran
cisco or Nevada, would engage the atten-
ton of the entire sporting world With
Cofrroth. Long or McCarey handling the
heavyweight event, it would be hard to
estimate the round sum in dollars and
cents that would flow in at the box office.
The moving pictures would be another
financial feature of the match
Outside of Johnson it Is hard to pick
an opponent who would give the present
champion a decent argument, unless Al
Kaufrman's improved fighting form is to
be taken into serious consideration. He
has been a consistent performer. Jack
O'Brien, Fingers crossed everybody, is
the only man who ever whipped Kauf-
man. Delaney's protege has plodded along
like tireless pillow horse whipping many
men of the dub variety in painstak-
ing manner. Kaufman's best perform
ance was his last fight at Maud juno
ton. when he knocked out Flynn in a de-
cisive manner.
With Battling Nelson it looks like
case of retirement, with the Dane using
the lightweight title as a business asset
Packey Mcfarland, Freddie Welsh and
Abe Attell all would like an opportunity
to wrest the hemp-haired lads hard
earned honors away from him.
Over a short 20-round route any one
of the three men named would have a
good chance to take the Battlers title
away from him by outboxing the Dane
In a Around fight 1t would be horse
of another color.
Attell has copper-riveted "cinch' in
the featherweight division. No man liv-
ing can hope to beat the marvellous He
brew at 1922 pounds. Attell is in bad
with the sporting world right now He
richly deserves all the censure that comes
his way Time and time again has Attell
loafed and stalled where he should have
gone in and won hands down. He is a
dangerous man to bet on. notwithstand-
ing the fact that he is the peer OF any
122-pound man in the game.
Billy Papke has clear right-of-way
along the middleweight track so long as
he sticks to his announced determination
not to fight Sam Langford
The bantamweight and welterweignt
ehampionships are in somewhat OF mud
ale Little Johnny Coulon, II he con-
tinues to take on weight, may soon earn
| the right to the bantamweight title. The
49,, oIraa1y has assumed this