Omaha daily bee., 1911-10-15
By w. W. NAUGHToN .

SAN FRANCISCO. Cal. oct 1i-For
all that he is loaded down 20 the guards
with hope that springs eternal in the
human breast. Battling Nelson must be-
gin to realize he will never come back.
IT, however, that affair with Young
saylor did not convince tho Norsenan
that fighters, like other beings. have their
limitations. the only conclusion is that
Nelson is monomomaniac on the sub
ject of remaining young.
What is helping TO fool Nelson in re-
gard to his chances OF regaining the
championship is that his chiefest asset,
to-wit, his durability. is the last OF all
his fighting Notifications that is going
70 show signs of wear and tear. So far
the Dane Is as much of a marvel of en-
durance as ne was when scoring his big
gest ring victories. For that matter IL
he were to quit right now he would be
remembered as a champion who had
never been knocked out, as the term is
generally understood. Knocked out Of
time" he certainly was by owen Moran,
but there was never a fraction of an in
slant even when the time keepers were
calling their loudest that his brain was
not telegraphing his legs to do their
duty--to place themselves firmly beneath
his body and enable him 20 stand erect.
What / mean is that Nelson did NOT
lose consciousness entirely. even In the
Moran knockout" and l guess that was
the nearest he ever came to being rem
dered completely hors-du-c combat. When.
the buffetlngs he has taken and the
knockdowns he has suffered are con
IA t..t-
that he has never been sent TO the land
Of dreams.
AS have said. his ability 20 assimilate
punishment remains intact or practically
so. hut endurance alone never made "a
man champion of the world and that
Nelson had 20 back up his dursbilits-
has deserted him While never a marvel
at timing. counterlng OF Judging distance.
Nelson always strove 10 give blow tor
blow. Even II while thus engaged he
took five. punches for every one he re-
turned, he did wen, for his assinilstive
powers enabled him TO shake off the
effects of the punches which came hts
way To put IL IN another way II Mel
son countered successfully once out OF
a possible five times, he was no worse
punished than his adversary,
Possibly that was one of the angles
the Battler figured from
There were times when this desire 20
punch simultaneously with his opponent
brought satisfactory results early in. the
fight. In the open air contest. with Jimmy
/ Britt at Colma. the Battler had the tit
/ tor-tat Idea in his head when the bows
went 70 the center for the opening round.
| Britt, Who was both a shlfty and speedy
/ fighting opponent IN a few seconds let
so his left hook II landed. but as il did
the Battler's left shot In with bent arm
movement and the glove tore small
strip OF skin from Britt's nose. a neater
and more timely counter vas never seen
or course. Nelson did not have similar
luck every time he was struck BY Britt.
and for that matter there were very few
| Of the early rounds in which he time
his returns so well. But In the leng run
/ Il VAS BY awaiting Britt's lead and coun
| tering that he wore down the native son
! Nelson showed the same aptitude Tor
Siving blow for blow IN his fights with
Martin Candle and Young Carbett. boS
who as a rule were much faster hltters
than he Even when he missed his fist
went dangerously cloae 60 the othe,
mans head or body and when It came &c
indiscriminate slugging az close quarteSs
Nelson was an excellent range fndpr
II / may Judge OF what I saw " him
IN contest with Antoine lie Grave IN
san Francisco, Battling Nelson has lost
his ideas OF counter1ng and his sense Of
distance has become a joke He rootee
away IN his old style. but in the majority
81 instances his opponent was fur out Of
range Al times Bats swings shiveret
the air a full foot short OF la Crave
head. The desire 70 mix Il was a. strons
81 ever, but hls notions OF What con