The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1908-06-05
'THUNDERBOIT I" IS
FINALLY BEATEN
Grand Rapids Middleweight
Defeats Papke in Hot
Battle Last Night.
BOUT IS FAST ALL THE WAY
Middleweight Championship Title Is
Cleared By Result of Big
Mill.

Milwaukee, June Sin as fast
fight as ever was witnessed in Mil
waukee Stanley Ketchel received the
verdict and middlewefght championship
over Billy Papke al the Hippodrome
last night after ten rounds of furious
fighting.
Although Papke put up a game fight
throughout, he had no chance with his
opponent, who put up as fast a dis
play of fighting ever shown in these
parts. From the very outset he was
the aggressor and before the men had
been in the ring twenty seconds he
had wiped the smile from Papke's face
with series of short-arm lefts.
Papke rushed vigorously in and tried
to pursue his usual tactics of sending
rights and lefts to the body, but at
every branch Of the game Ketchel was
his superior. If Papke rushed. Ketchel
met him with straight jolts to the face.
If Billy clinched, Ketchel showered
uppercuts to his face. and when Papke
tried to mix it at close range he found
man who was his superior at block
ing. Papke finally resorted to counter
ing and it was at this style of work
that his most effective scores were
made.
KetcheI Always Aggressor.
Papke staggered Ketchel on several
occasions with hard right swings, but
always found Stanley on top of him
with a shower of vicious hooks COM
ing in from both directions.
Tho those who had expected to see
Ketchel succumb before Papke in case
Billy was able to land, Ketchers abil-
ity to sssimilate these swings came
as a surprise While the fight was
still young both men were bleeding
| from the nose, and each had gone to
his knees partly from missing swings
and partly from a punch landed by his
opponent. It was toward the middle
| of the bout that KetchePs advantages
| became manifest.
That Ketchel perfectly solved Pap
| ke's style was clear, but Billy was
| always ready to rush in with counters,
| and time and again he shook his man
with we'll directed blows. BY the end
| of the sixth, however, Papke showed
| the vfsitations of KetcheFs fist. He
| commenced to back around the ring un-
| der the merciless f1ogging of Ketchel's
| gloves.
/ Time and again the referee had to
| work desperately to pry the men apart,
as Papke chung to his man with a
vice-like grip. On several occasions he
found himself unable to separate the
| men and all three would go Keeling
along the ropes in a tight embrace.
The tenth round saw Papke a badly
| beaten man. His face was bruised, his
nose bleeding and he was shaking I'M
der the systematic cutting down OF
| Ketchels punches.
| Both had enough steam left for a
| wild rally at the close, and. with the
crowd wild with excitement and cheer
ing frantically, they wound up their go
| in a furious mix--up in the middle of
| the ring. Twice during the bout each
| man landed blows which seemed low
| but they were clearly accidents Papke
/ put up a clean bout and only once did
he employ any butting tactics.
Ketchel was unmarked at the close,
save for a swelling of his left eye.
Papke walked back to Ketchel when
Stanley's hand was held up ond shook
his glove. Jimmy Coffroth has made
| a bid for return match on the caost
and Ketchel says he will accept. He
will return West in few days.
The house was slightly over $50, 600.
Ketchel said he took on six pounds
after weighing in before the bout.
Both men weighed under weight.