Omaha daily bee., 1909-06-20

when I went to collect my eight bones the
manager objected, but finally paid me In
run after -red-hot argument. I've never
since agreed 70 cut the money with any
opponent. for I don't believe In that sort Of
business. 1t always looks queer to me,
when I was IS years old and weighed
only 40 pounds I fought Jack CTwin) sui
livan. who tipped the scales at 1S. The
bout went twenty rounds to a draw. Then
I went into the cattle business and made a
bit Of money. I intended 20 drop fighting,
but they matched me with Nix Mcclure
for the welterweight championship Of the
Pacific coast. We fought at Redding and
1 knocked Mcclure out In the seventh
round. So you see / was a champion at the
age OF 19.
winning the ChnmpiOnship.
After knocking out about a dozen lesser
lights, / was matched to meet Joe Thomas,
who was a rising star on the coast. We
fought a twenty-round draw at Marysville
on July { 1907. Thomas knew more about
the game than I did at tho time and was
extremely careful in avoiding punishment
1 felt, however, like another go with
Thomas, and on September . of the same
year we faced each other again in Frisco.
II was a long, hard battle of thirty-two
rounds, the longest fight 1 ever had, but I
kept going at top speed and finally
knocked Joe cold. After this I was right
in line for the middleweight championship
and the next year 1 COPIED Mike CFwtn)
Sullivan in one round. also beating his
brother Jack in twenty. BY these victories
- - IA I-NNa-.-A. NlwAA HAnG
After that I was matched with Billy
Papke, who claimed the middfewelght title,
and the contest took place in Milwaukee,
Papke's town, where they made him a big
f~avorite In the betting. 1 got the decision,
however. after a smashing battle Of ten
rounds, which made me the middleweight
champion. Then / knocked out Hugo Kelly
in three rounds and Joe Thomas in two,
both fights taking place in San Francisco.
"Papke wanted another chance for the
title so I met him at Vernon, Cal, last
September. Perhaps I was careless and
maybe 1 was too anxious for a one punch
victory, but the fact remains that Papke
handed me a wallop In the first round
hat stuck to me for twenty-four hours.
They tell me 1 fought on until the twelfth
round when Papke put me away good and
hard, but 1 don't remember what happened
after the first round, In fact 1 was in a
dream until the next day. 1t was the first
time 1 was ever knocked out or defeated
and you can bet It got my goat.
Second Affair with Papke.
81 made q great kick for another go with
Papke, for 1 felt that my defeat was more
or less of an accident. So after much news
paper talk we were matched again to meet
at Colma In November. I got in fine shape
for this affair and was confident OF victory
in spite Of the tradition that q defeated
man could not win back from a victor. 1t
was a slashing battle all right, and I re-
oeived some heavy punching, but at no
time in the fight did I lose confidence.
kept my aggressive bling bang style until
I finally scored a clean knockout in the
fourth round. Now I'm going to let Papke
have another chance next month. He may
catch ne with one of his wallops. But j
think. I've got his measure and will win
Inside of ten rounds for I'll be a bigger
and better man than ever before.
"TWho is the cleverest man I've ever met
Why Philadelphia Jack O'Brien without a
question. Can he punch7 Well l should say
he car. Don't you remember how he cut
and bled ne in our ten round bout in this
city7 Yes, he gave me a fine walloping,
but I never backed away an inch and kept
boring In all the time. That's my way OF
fighting, always rushing and tearing in un.
til the finish comes. 1 don't claim TO be q
clever boxer. I'll often take q couple OF
punches to land one. OF course this may bt
poor policy, but I've won over 800 battles
in this way. Let mo tell you that Jack
O'Brien is a game fellow and that he gay
me the hardest ten round fight of my life
That go with Tony Caponi up at Sche.
nectady the other night was. only a picnic
for me. l Just sailed in and walloped away
right and left until poor Tony was knocked
out in the fourth round. His punches had
little effect on me and 1 could have ended
the fight almost in the first round. but
people who pay to see a fight should have
a little run for their money, don't you
think?
Big Enough for johnson.
I'm not worrying a bit over my coming
Might with Jack Johnson. You see I'm get
ting bigger and stronger every day and
when / enter the ring with the negro II
weigh about $50 pounds, probably a little
more. A man at $50 is big enough to whiI
anybody in the world. 1 stand 8 feet Ii
inches, just three-quarters of an inch less
than Bob Fitzsimmons, but I'll be a bigger
man than Fitz physically. I'm tired OF
constantly hearing that I'm too small o
man for johnson. I'm not going to say
just now how I'm going to fight him, but
you can depend on 1t that I'll bring hin
down a few inches before many rounds.
IT never was more confident of defeatine
anybody that 1 nm of whipping Johnson
I went over to Philadelphia when johnson
fought six rounds with O'Brlen, and Il
that was a fair sample of the negro's work
you can Say that I'll be the heavyweight
chamion OF the world before the snow file.
next fall. They, say Johnson was not ii
fine fettle when he tackled O'Brlen. Tha'
may be, but at the pace he's going he'll
be In worse form in October, although
hope to meet him at his best. I'll max,
it a fast fight and he won't have time t.
set himself, The negro may outlook me
but I'll Outright him. I've met big fellows
before.
You know I've been a hard working boz
in my day. I don't forget how / toilet
in the furnishing factory In Grand Rapid
for twelve hard hours a day at "a a week
I know the value OF a dollar. and whel
put up hat 5000 to fight johnson i