The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-01-18
Cardiff Ian. 4. 1910.

Cardiff Jan. 4, 1910. To the Sporting Editor of the Farm er Dear Sir:-
 | How long may Battling Nelson hold the title of lightweight champion of the world. while refusing to meet a qual-
 flied and legitimate challenger? | Is the title a /self-conferred, self perpetuating office with valuable mon etary emoluments attached to it? Or | is it . condition based on proven l superiority to be maintained against all qualified challengers?
 1 When the National Sporting Club gave me the title of lightweight cham pion of England and Lord Lonsdale presented me with a belt, after my victory over Johnny Summers, it was not only understood, but it was spe- officially provided that I must defend ! title and belt at least once in six months legitimately if challenged: or in case of refusal, forfeit belt and title.
 Battling Nelson holds the title of lightweight champion of the world. I demand that he meets me or yields up the title by default. I do not quarrel with his making all the mon ey he can while lightweight cham
 
 der false pretenses if he is the cham pion only by reason of his refusal to meet me.
 I have met every light weight of note either in America or England and have defeated them all: I have been ready always and am ready now to meet any lightweight in the world. I have endeavored for two years to get Nelson to meet me, and he has consistently refused on first one pre- text and then another.
 My position now is that, by per- formance, I am the real light weight champion of the world, while he is only so-called and mainly self called such.
 Let me give detailed history of my efforts to bring about meeting with Battling Nelson. I believe I am the real champion of the world, and I wish to convince everybody of that fact; particularly the sporting writers of the world, so that they will help for the title he has held so long and defended so little. ask of every true sportsman to take with me the position that Nelson must either de- fend> his title or see it slip away from him. I think the, time has come to restore the title of champion to it's proud position of one of honour, and to let it no longer be merely an as set in a sordid business enterprise.
 About two years ago I left England for America, having met and beaten all the men of my weight who would meet me, and going out of my class to meet the famous welter- weight, Joe White; and beating him by knock out. I wanted them to have official recognition as lightweight champion of England in order that I might be in a position to ask for chance at the worlds championship. Failing that set about getting such repu- tation as I thought would insure me, a meeting with the champion.
 I met and defeated such men as Cy- clone Johnny Thompson, Willie Fftz- gerald, Dave Deshler, Maurice Savers, and Phil Brock and I had fought a spectacular draw with Packy McFar- land The fights with Brock and Mc- Farland had come off in Los Angeles and had made me a prime faVorite there On the strength of this, Jim Jeffries had tried to arrange a fight between Nelson and me. He made Nelson a good offer, but the latter re- fused to meet me on the ground that I would not draw a large enough house. Jeffries assured him that I was the greatest attraction in Los Angeles, but Nelson still refused.
 A short time after, when I was still greater favorite from having beaten Johnny Murphy, Nelson came to Los Angeles and was approached by Tom McCarey, who thought he might be able to bring about a fight between us. Nelson still insisted that I would not draw sufficiently Well and said to me with an appearance of great frankness that he was anxious to fight because he needed $14000 to complete the purchase of his ranch in Livermore, and that if I would fight and knock out Frank Carsey and Har- ry Trendall, he would meet me. He said I was a boxer and not a fighter, and that people liked a fighter. I got on fights with the two men he mentioned and duly knocked them both out
 Again I demanded a fight with Nell son, again he refused. This time he said he would not fight me unless he was guaranteed $1O,00O win, lose or draw. It was asking an impossi- ble condition, for there was no club in America that would give him that sum. And for the reason that is in- teresting. Please bear in mind that he objected to me on the grounds that I would not draw well. and that I was not a fighter. Now consider these facts: the promoters, who were the most competent judges. considered me the best drawing card to meet Nelson; and-I beg my critics to take notice I not only had as great a percentage of knock-outS to my credit as he, but had never been defeated although there was a wrong decision rendered me in my first fight with Mcfarland while he had been defeated at least a dozen times in his career
 He had fought only twice in 1906, one a six-round no-decision bout with Terry McGovern, the other the fam ous fight at Goldfeld with Cans, when he lost In 1907 he had fought three four-round exhibition bouts with third rate men, and one twenty-round fight with Jimmy Britt, which he lost.
 In 1908, the year in which he was complaining that I would not draw, he had knocked out Jack Clifford, third rate man; he had taken a ter rifle drubbing from Rudolph Unholtz in a. ten round no-deciSion bout; he had been out-pointed by Jimmy Britt in a ten-round, no-decision bout; he had fought a fifteen round draw with Abe Attell: and had knocked out poor old Joe Cans. Later he knocked out Joe Cans again. Certainly this was not such a record as to justify Ne1- son in making the particular objec- tions he did.
 Indeed his objections under the cir cumstances were redolent of bad faith, and inevitably suggested it.
 His bad faith in the matter becomes more apparent when it is known that all this time I had a certified check for a $5,000 side bet in the hands of first one man and then another. I shifted my check, in fact, so as to h. +o h n11