The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-08-29
BIG FIGHT IS
STILL FAR OFF
Not Much Progress Being Made
to Bring Big Fellows
Together.
FORFEIT TALK STILL ON
.KETCHEL WORKING HARD FOR
FIGHT WITH LANGFORD.
BY JEFF THOMPSON.

not seem to be making much progress
in arranging the proposed Jeffries-
/ johnson fight. Samuel is on the Pa
! Cific coast now, and is awaiting JEFF
/ fries reply as to the different offers Of
purse for the big night which have
/ so far come in. The offer Of Hugh Nc
/ Intosh of $4,000 for the big scrappeTs
! to go to Australia is not likely to be
| accepted Friends of Jeffries say that
| the bOilermakeT would not consent to
go to Australia even for a 100000
purse, but one hundred thousand cold
/ simOleons is a lot of money, and JEFF
might think twice before turning down
such an offer However, if the Aus
l tralian promoter can see his way clear
/ to offer such a sum, it is not without
/ the range Of possibility that James
| COffroth Of Colma could go him one
/ better.
There are only two states in the
/ Union where a finish fight can be pulled
| Off-CalifOTnia and Nevada. Should
/ COffTOth be unable to raise a purse of
such dimensions, there is no doubt that
the promoters of Ely, Goldfeld or some
| other of the wild and woolly Nevada
mining camps can quickly raise such a
! sum. In any event, if Jeffries and
Johnson ever meet in the ring, the fight
viii be pulled off in either California
or Nevada.
Did Jack johnson deposit that $4,000,
| which it was reported a few weeks ago
he did in Chicago, to cover the $1,000
| deposited by Jeffries with a sporting
editor of New York? That is the ques-
ton fight fandom is asking, and no one
so far has been able to answer. When
the big black arrived on the coast he
/ announced that his $1,000 was on de-
post in New York. Diligent search has
failed to reveal even five cents deposited
/ by Johnson in the Jeffries affair. John
son several months ago deposited $4,000
to meet Ketchel, with a sporting writer,
but withdrew the amount, and there is
no record of Johnson ever having again
deposited that money with anyone
Is il possible that Johnson has fooled
the willy Berger and what Sam thought
was good money, deposited at the time
of their meeting in Chicago, had
string to it, and has already been taken
down to pay some of the numerous
fines incurred by Johnson in his vari-
Gus arrests for speeding his auto in diff
ferent parts Of this country and Can
ada?
One thing is certain. Every sporting
writer and every follower Of the prize
ring have no faith in JOhns0n's good
intentions to meet Jeffries for a finish
fight, or for any kind of a fight, and un-
til the papers are actually signed and
the forfeit money placed in reliable
hands, the mahogany OlOTed pug may
get a little cheap notoriety, but little
real advertising.
Ketchel at Work.
Stanley KetcheI is in New York, and
working hard for his bout with Sam
LangfOrd on Sept 3. A few weeks ago
it was announced that Ketchel had dis
/ appeared, and nobody knew his where
: abouts. Even Willus Britt, his man
ageT, seemed particularly anxious to
find the Montana terror. But it devel-
oped that the willy Britt had shipped
Stanley off to the MendocinO hills, with
a guard sufficiently strong to insure
him staying far from the white lights
and the smell of gasoline, to enable him
! to get into good shape again. Britt
. realized that in the fight with Papke
r Ketchel did not show his true form,
! and told his man that if he intended to
fight any more of the tOpnotchers, while
e under his management he would have
5 to get down to business. So it was
arranged that a small party should 20
y up into the California hills and to see
81 that Stanley got plenty of hard work,
good food and ten hours sleep each
L
night about six weeks ago the party,
S like the Arabs, folded their blankets
q and stole silently away. Britt re-
9 manned in San Francisco, and his mis-
? leading statements undoubtedly saved
l Ketchel from much annoyance. When
. the Michigan lad arrived here he
3 seemed in the pink of condition, except
( that he carried q little superf1uous
1 flesh. According to the articles of
9 / agreement, KetcheI viii have to make
the middIeweight limit-15S pounds at 8
q / o'clock on the day of his meeting with
4 / LangfOTd. He weighs now about 1856
4 but says he will have no trouble in
0 making the required weight Ketchel
9 also announced that he will never again
z attempt to make the middleweight limit
for anybody, and that in his fight with
Johnson he intends to weigh in the
: neighborhOod of 10 pounds. Langford
d, is training in Massachusetts and is re-
: ported in fine fettle.
Burke and Old Gag.
6 Sailor Burke should study history
2 That old gag of being doped is moth
3 eaten. Burke claims that on the even
3 ing OF his go with Willie Lewis at the
o Fairmont A. c., of this city, he took q
6 drink from a bottle prepared by one OF
8 his seconds, and after he drank the
? connection he didn't remember a thing
J I Of what happened. Sailor, you are ro-
mancing and we don't believe you
/ There was no doubt that you were
/ doped and dOped several times after
. Willie landed on you. There were times
when you didn't know your opponent
y from one OF the ring posts, but the dope
didn't come from any bottle. The clean
cut man in front Of you handed it out
from the end of a five-inch glove, anG
u handed it to you good and plenty.
y Burke claims TO be anxious to meet
Il Lewis again, and says he has $500 to bel
= he can put Willie away in less thar
! ten rounds Lewis defeated the Tar fl
:. clean fashion and there is no reason
d why he should give Burke another fight
d unless, OF course, there is a pile o.
money in sight Lewis next mattel
i viii probably be with Billy Papke, thu
: Illinois Thunderbolt. A meeting be
e tween these two clever boxers should
prove one Of the most interesting bout!
!. of the year.
Bat Is Tired.
Battling Nelson is so tired with hi
literary efforts and real estate deal
that he Is in danger OF nervous pros
y trati0n.
/, Thought this literary game was
+ pipe" chortled the Battler, as he sanl
e in the mohair of an uptown hosiery
sfNTovv 7 Iznoxy different IT'S har