Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1908-07-14
CANS GOES TO FLOOR
Gamely Fighting
UNDER RAIN OF BLOWS
HOW NELSON PUT OUT CoL0RED WONDER

Joe cans, the 'Olu Mdster, Is nO
more in power in the pugilistic world
which now rings with the praises
of Battling Nelson. the seemingly in
vincible Norseman.
The combined effects Of exhaustion
and body bombardment did for Cans,
and he sank as a scuttled ship sinks,
| in the seventeenth round.
The result was crushing blow to
the smart set of the pugilistic belt,
who made Cans an overwhelming IA
vorite and so awed the smaller fry OF
spectators that betting became de-
moralized. They were shouting 40
to 4 Nelson is defeated" around the
ring right up to the moment the
starting gong sounded, and there was
never taker. 1t was the accepted
notion that Nelson would be literally
torn to pieces by the negro's educated
fists and II was only question of how
long II would take Cans to encom-
pass the Danes defeat.
II was fierce fight, all right. In
the final three-minute spell of bat
Ting, Cans went to the floor no less
than three times. but at that he was
not sent sprawling. He was SO dis
tressed from the punishment inflicted
by the Battler's persistent milling
that 1t required very light taps to
send the Baltimorean to his knees.
Cans Goes to His Knees
The closing scenes OF the fight oc-
CURED after Nelson had hammered
his man to the ropes. Cans, who, for
q few rounds, had delayed the inevi-
table by holding on, gasped and
dropped from left dig in the stom-
ach. In his eyes there was little
pain but not much of intelligence.
Defeat not only stared him in the
face but looked out from his face. lie
and tried to nail the Dane with a
right uppercut. II was punch that
Joe had employed with signal success
all through the mill, but now the
sting was gone from 1t. The attempt
was a feeble one. and Cans, whose
knees were already saggy, dropped
again from a right crack on the point
of the chin. AS he rested on his knee
Nelson, who has been filled with bit
terness. reviled and tainted him.
Get up and fght!" sneered tn,
Dane; but If Nelson thought that
Cans was shamming, he never made {
greater mistake. Joe pulled himsel
to his feet slowly and painfully, ant
the waspish Norseman smashed a
him with both hands. A right-hand
err grazed Cans head and then fair
ly solid blow from the same GLOW,
took the negro In the heart region
His knees bumped the mat again, hi
head bent, and he breathed like jad
ed horse. He made as II to rise, bu
the count expired before he straight
ened and Referee Welsh turned t,
Nelson and said, You win!'
Although Cans uppercut and poke,
Nelson artistically and effectively,
can hardly be said that there wa
one moment during the fight whel
Cans looked winner. In the frs
six rounds he found the right of wa
to Nelson's chin whenever he wanted
and while many of the blows wer
merely snappy ones there were time
J when Cans put all the strength at hi
command behind his uppercuts
Whenever he did so the best he &C
complished was to tilt the Dane
head or send the Dane Keeling a pac
or so. The battle light was Away
glinting in Nelson's eyes and he wa
always boring in and fiinging hi
arms at his dusky opponent. TIL
most discouraging thing to the Gan
men around the ring was the wa
Nelson assimilated Cans fierces
blows and kept piling In for more.
1t can safely be said that Nelso
never. fought more determinedly dul
ing the whole OF his career. He wa
after the champion from bell to be
and whatever dull moments theI
were In the close fighting were du
to Cans holding tactics.
, BY the time the seventh round b,
! gan Nelson's face was pulled an
blood flowed freely at his nose an
mouth. II was In this spell of figh
ing that he first began to fill Il
hearts of his hackers with hope. I
II held the negro even and there WEI
many severe smuggling matches wit
which the round abounded. and
Cans went to his chair with an Vi
, steady stride and eyes aglare, the a
a was vibrant with the yells Of the Ne
son phalanx.
4 In the following round again Ne
= son punished Cans and forced him
]. devote a good deal of time to cline
). Ing and blocking. AT the best