Los Angeles herald., 1908-09-06

future engagements, ana IL ne loses lo-
morrow afternoon the title will go to
Papke by virtue of conquest. instead or
abandonment. In either event, there
fore. IL seems that Papke has no way
of avoiding the necessity Of becoming
a world champion without dying or
running out of the match.
Ketchel has developed In the last
fourteen months at marvellous rate,
not only as a fighter but as regards
weight. He jumped into prominence as
a. welter when he fought Joe Thomas at
Marysville the afternoon of the Fourth
of July, last year. He took on weight
so fast that he soon found himself
middleweight. and now It is coming to
be rather difficult for him to make the
middleweight limit and he is too SEN
sible to stunt his growth and ruin his
future by trying to make the middle
weight limit and fight 1t Is because OF
these facts that he has decided to
abandon the title and the division and
get into the heavier divisions, having
all confidence in his ability to win other
championships before he retires from
the ring.
Great Battle In Prospect
Probably no fight ever appeared SO
attractive to local fans as, this one.
There is so much real class involved
and the principals so frequently have
proved their championship caliber that
nothing less than terrific battle seems
possible when they meet to fight for
the world championship. Ketchel, of
course, is an oddS-on favorite, because
he has been whipping classy men in
such sensationaily quick time and de-
cisive manner, but there is no pros
pect now that he viii go into the ring
at the great odds that seemed probable
a week ago, when nearly everybody
seemed to have money to bet on him,
and nobody seemed to care about
backing Papke.
The fighters have been training sew
eral days at nearby camps, and thou
sands of fans have attended their
workout and compared the pair from
every manner OF comparison and near
say testimony mas given away to indi-
Vidual Judgment based on individual
observation, and the result is that
Papke has gained friends and support
ers by his impressive showings In the
training camp, and many of the big
bettors of the south will bet on him to
win. Papke has shown the ability to
punch almost as impresSiVely hard as
Ketchel. while he shows far greater
cleverness, and seems to be able to
assimilate punishment without finch
ing. In addition to this line of reason
ing, the fans cannot overlook the fact
that Ketchel almost knocked Papke
into dreamland a few weeks ago, In
the first round of their Milwaukee bat
tie. and vet was unable to gain
decisive victory in the ten rounds they
fought Papke stalled through the
first three rounds. and came back
strong. enough to give Ketchel the
hardest fight of his career, by the adj
mission of the champion. and made It
hard picking at the end of the tenth
round for the referee to give Ketchel
the decision
Knockout Seems Certain
Although the battle is scheduled as
25-round affair, there hardly can be
found a fan who is figuring on any
thing less than a knockout victory for
one of them. Both fighters are of the
finished type-game, clever, fast and
famous for their punch--and it hardly
seems reasonable to expect two great
fighters of this type, who always stand
toe-to-toe with an opponent and maui
for decisive victory without the aid
of the referees judgment, to weather
the blows that each is capable OF land
ing in twenty-five rounds. For TINS
reason. the battle will develop speedily
into an endurance contest, and both
realize this as a fact. Because OF this
knowledge, each has trained hard and
faithfully in the expectation of Cruel
ing contest, and condition has been
the prime object for which they have
worked. And both are more than
pleased with the results of their train
ing, saying that they are ready Tor any
emergency that may arise, and well
coming the hour of conflict in suprem-
est confidence in the result.
Neither ever has met an opponent
who could make him back up, and
neither ever won a battle by clever
ness and runaway tactics. With each
II always has been case of outfight-
ing and outgaming the other fellow,
Battling at close quarters is where
each shows to best advantage, and
there is no other prospect than that
they will be mixing 1t furiously every
second of the time they are permitted
to fight. The prospect. indeed. is one
at which the fans we'll may enthuse,
as the fight will be one Of action all
the time, with generalship, cleverness
and punching predominating, and a
knockout always imminent. In other
words. 1t will be a fight. and any at
tempt at picturing the mill in advance
can result in nothing but failure of
description.
Papke Cuts Out Work
lily Papke has decided that he will
cut out training after he takes his usual
run on the road this morning, and there
will be no training stunts in the Venice
arena this afternoon. Papke is opposed
to working Sundays when it is not abb