The San Francisco call., 1908-08-16
Warmed Over Matches
Not Interesting
Nelson and Mcfarland and Ket-
CheI and Burns Would
Give a Change

Although the recent fights pulled off
in and around this city have proved
fast and exciting and fully worth the
price of admission charged, the fans
are becoming weary of gazing upon the
same old faces time and time again,
and now they are longing for a change
of talent. But this, evidently, is not
in store for them, as in the three COM
ing ring engagements the participants
are the very men who have mixed il
here before-in fact, the very men who
have been doing the bulk of the fight
ing for the last year.
The fight game is good around San
francisco now-better, in fact, than in
any other city of the universe. But
how long is it going to remain so?
That is the question that the wise pro-
moters should ask themselves. They
must depend upon the public to sup
port their fights, otherwise there win
be no fights, and if the public once
gets weary of the game, then it will
be good evening with the sport in San
Too many warmed over cards viii
sure crab the, game in time. 1t may
not accomplish this end today or to-
morrow or next week or next month
but think of the sport within the next
couple of weeks. A far seeing pro-
moter undoubtedly would do this once
in while, but the men who are run
thinking only of the present.
Take the Thomas -ketchel fight for
next Tuesday. evening, for instance
While this, undoubtedly, will result in
a great miXup and turn out to be an
affair worth going miles to see, it is
really only warmed over card There
Is nothing novel about it, 1t is a sort
of stale affair, and while it may prove
a surprise nobody looks for anything
like that
The men have already met three
times. The first hOUf MarUSUifln a
was a draw. The next time out
ketchel put the rollers under Thomas
IN the thirty-second round of a hurri-
cane bout. This settled the supremacy
of the men, but they Were rematched
! three months later, and once more
ketchel gave Thomas an awful lacing
And now their fourth meeting is
close at hand. Ever since his last
upset at the hands of Ketchel Thomas
has been clamoring for another chance
claiming that the making of weight in
the other mills weakened him, and that
he could do much better at catch
weights. ketchel agrees to this, and
the first thing the fans know the mer
are rematched once more.
Naturally many of the fans who
have already seen the men fight twice
viii not want to witness third meet
! ing between them, no matter how gooC
and lively it promises to be. To then
4 the card looks rather stale. And there
| is reason for this, too, for many of the
supporters of the game figure thai
when a man is beaten by an opponent
once and decisively, that is enough.
A match between Ketehel and Papke
/ or Ketchel and Sam Langford, or some
other live one who has never showed
here would prove far more interesting
from the standpoint of the spectator
/ He is hungering for a new face to gazt
upon in the ring. He has seen so muct
/ of Thomas and KetcheI that even the
mere mention of their names. has E
! tendency to tire him.
Thomas is nice boy and very popu
/ lar here, but, when it comes right dowT
fto the real dope, he has no license t.
demand another meeting with Ketchel
and very decisively at that. If one
man can beat another twice withir
three months surely that should suffice
! for good and all, no matter what con
| ditions prevail.