The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-07-07
FIGHTERS ARE FIT
| ON EVE OF BATTLE
Both Richie and Welsh Sure and
Confident Before Fight for Cham
pionship In London
Tonight.
IS SOCIETY FUNCTION
Expect 20 Per Gent Of Crowd to be Of
the Center sex-Look for
. Great
Fight.
s SOCIETY FUNCTION

[By Ed. L. Keen. United Press Staff
Correspondent
LONDON, July 7.-"i know can
fight and | know can win."-Willie
Ilitchie, light weight champion.
"AiI that know 10 that have a
good chance to capture the worlds
light weight titIe-and that's enough
for me- Freddie Welsh.
This was the word today from the
two who will tonight battle for the
light weight title Of the world. The
two fighters look At. London expects
the best -four listed" fight that has
been staged here for years. The light
weights will face probably the clas-
ring.
Big boxing matches in England al
ways partake more or less of the ma
ture of society functions. Full dress
is usually worn by occupants of the
boxes and the higher priced, ring side
attend. But tonight's flstic entertain
ment will be de luxe. Manager G. B..
Cochrane, manager of the Olympia
where the contest will be staged said
today that fully fifty percent of tickets
of which more than 5000 have al
ready been disposed Of, have been
purchased by women. He feels safe
in estimating that probably twenty
percent of the audience will be OF
the gentler sex. One women's club
made reservation for block of
seats. Among the men spectators will
be an unusually large number Of mem
bers OF nobility and at least three
clergymen, one of whom the Rev. j.
s. Bournier, will act as master of
ceremonies. That all will get good
run for their money (the tickets from
s1.25 to $50 is indicator by the atti-
tude OF, the two principles. Granted
that the young title holder has been
side stepping Welsh in the past, he
appears fit and eager today. The
Britisher is equally prepared. Both
arrived from America barely three
weeks ago.
In his eagerness to make the match
with Richie, Welsh surrendered every
disputed point and permits the Amer.
lean to walk away with $4,000, win
or lose. In fact the arrangements are
such that Welsh won't know until
after the fight is over whether he is
to get anything.
The arrival Of several thousand
south Wales miners, weighted down
with coin, boosted the odds in the
Britisher's favor. Welsh spent the
night at Cardiff and arrived at Pad
dington early in the afternoon, goins
direct to the Olympia where the two
fighters weighed in. Richie was
secluded in private residence neAr
the arena to avoid enthusiastic fellow
Americans. Both men are in prime
condition. Experts agree on the pre-
diction that the mill will be the great
est light weight contest ever staged.
Eugene CORR TO Referee.
Eugene CORR, the famous referee
of the National Sporting club, is to
be the third man in the ring. The
contest which is for twenty rounds,
Queensberry rules, Is scheduled for
ten o'clock (about five o'clock eastern
time in the United States), after a
series Of preliminaries.
The two principals today wrote the
following statements for the United
Press:
[By Willie Richie. Light Weight
Champion of the World.l
IT am not worrying at all about
Welsh's twenty-five successive VIC
tories in the past fifteen months. II
any OF my good but mistaken friends
years ago when Welsh beat me, I
would advise them to wipe of the
slate and make a new book. l was a
mere kid when I met Welsh and
was plum scared.
But they say he's improved lot
since then. Well, so have I. More
over, I'm fighting now to hold the
championship. I am perfectly willing
to admit that he is a good man and
that my victory will not be an easy
one by any means.
"As to my condition-it never was
better. 1 was in fairly good form
before leaving America. I did some
light training coming over and ten
days hard work at Brighton have put
me on edge or course defeat Is
bound to come to all champions in