Omaha daily bee., 1909-10-10

son he intended to fight at close quarters
as much as possible. When asked the
other day IL he had changed his plans
Ketchel said:
mo, I've made up my mind to carry the
fight to Johnson without wasting a round
in feeling him out. 1 don't believe he can
stand punishment and II 1 can land a wal
lop or two in his stomach 1 think he'll
curl up and quit. johnson has never met a
fighter like me. He is a great boxer and
can make a slow man look cheap. But 1
intend TO keep on top Of him all the time
and hammer away until 1 get him. You
can bet that there'n not be an idle mo-
ment and that I'll make johnson fight
harder than he ever did before. He may
be three inches taller and perhaps twenty
pounds heavier, but that will make no diff
ference, because I'll Outright and outpunch
him all the way. II Johnson will fight
openly instead Of stalling and hugging I'll
put him out and IN quicker time than any
body believes. l am going to win back the
heavyweight title for the white race, and
Jeffries can stop worrying about coming
back to the ring"
Knows the Game Well.
Ketchel in addition to being a tremen-
dous puncher has a style peculiarly his
own. He does not appear clever while in
action, but as a matter of fact he knows
much about the science of the game. He
has improved upon Fitzsimmons' famous
shift and has a puzzling way of fighting
with either foot forward. Those who have
watched him closely say that he has a
trick of purposely missing blows with
either hand that draws an opponent on for
a third blow intended for a knockout. He
worked this trick in his second bout with
Jack O'Brien and it worked so well that
the bout was stopped TO prevent O'Brien
from being killed" as the referee put It.
Ketchel began fighting when he was Is
years old and says he has taken part in
nearly 800 mills, many of them with bare
knuckles in western mining towns. He did
not attract public attention, however, until
1908, when he knocked out Kid Tracy and
Nose La Fontise in Butte. He knocked
out eleven men in 1904 and boxed two
draws. In 1906 Ketchel scored fourteen
knockouts and fought a draw with Jack
Twin Sullivan. Seven more k%nockouts
were placed in his record for 1906. The fol-
lowing year Ketchel began fighting In Cal
itornia by knocking out George Brown In
three rounds. He drew with Joe Thomas,
then a top notch middlewelght, in twenty
rounds and then knocked him out In thirty
two rounds. Last year he knocked out
Mike Twin Sullivan in a round and Brother
Jack in twenty. He beat Papke on points
In a ten-round bout in Milwaukee and fol-
lowed 1t up by knocking out Hugo Kelly
and Joe Thomas in short mills. To the sur
prise Of the sporting world Retchel was
stopped by Papke in twelve rounds at Yer
non, Cal, just a year ago, but two months
later he came back and put Papke to sleep
In lava rA,,a1 -. TzT--
Meeting with O'Brien,
When Ketchei was matched to box ten
rounds with OBrien at the defunct Ma
tional Athletic club at New York last
winter it was generally agreed that he
would be put to a severe test because of
the Quaker's great speed and undoubted
science. They were matched to fight at
l5S pounds and Ketchel trained to the
minute for the mill. For seven rounds
ketchel was a toy in O'Brien's hands,
for the latter outboxed him with ridicu-
lous ease and punched him into a state
of unsteadness. But when Ketchel decided
to mix it be quickly dropped O'Brien with
a fearful left hand body punch delivered
In a half clinch. This blow took all the
fight out of O'Brien, it was afterward
learned. but the Quaker with his usual
crafines stalled until the ninth round.
NAAtS 1lBnl anu hGtCnGl
took him on for six rounds in PHILADELPHIA.
This time Ketchel, in magnificent trim
and weighing 16O pounds, waded into
o'Brien and fought with such wonderful
speed that Jack was a pitiful mark.
punches In the stomach, ribs and kidneys
were simply irresistible, while several
smacks ron-the jaw knocked O'Brien to the
FLOOR in a helpless condition. There was a
squick result, and when KetcheI had won
he was hailed as the coming champion of
the world. Ketchel went to California
then and everybody expected to see him
put Papke to sleep in Jig time, but after
hammering the Dutchman all over the
ring for eight rounds 1t appears that
ketchel broke his hand and was unable to
score a knockout.
This poor showing is the sole reason
for a lack Of confidence in KetcheTs
chances with Johnson on Tuesday. But
Ketchel will be a different proposition, he
says inasmuch as he will not have to re-
duce his weight for this affair. He scaled
at 1853 pounds for Papke, but after that
mill he declared that he would never fight
as a middleweight again. If the bout with
Langford had been permitted Ketchel
would have weighed $50 pounds, for he re-
fused to meet the Boston "Tar Baby" ex-
cept at catch weights. Ketchel and John
son will fight for a percentage of the net
gate receipts, and Promoter Coffroth says
there will be at least a $4,000 gate. John
son will have the veteran Sam Fitzpatrick
in his corner as chief adviser. while
Ketchel will depend upon his own ideas.
, The fight will begin at about 2:SO o'clock
in the afternoon and the result may be
known here before Z o'clock.
/, If Johnson wins it will mean that JEFF
. fries will have to fight him If Ketchel
is successful he will be the most popular
/, pugilist in the world and will have a
chance to make more money than any
former champion of the ring. While John
[ son on form is the favorite. Ketchel has a
chance.