Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-11-21
+ u Y
ESET FOR
3. !. B|'lG:''B'ATIIl.,E||'
Champion o'Dowd Win En- i;
ter Ring With Odds
Against Him.

st. paul, MINI, Nov. sl.-p.lesa-
tions Of boxing writer's ana fight en-
thusiasts from many cities arrived
In st. Paul this mS7iinE and paraded
through the business section behind
z brass band, while Mfddleweight
Champion Mike TO'Dowd and Mike
Gibbons were making final prepare
tons for their ten round bout here
tonight. y. srs ~.
Gibbons and o,Dowds were both UNI
der the required weight, of T5s
pounds. according to announcements
made by their managers. The men
are to, weigh in at ; o'clock this aft
ernoon and unless O'Dowd changes
his mind after seeing Gibbons on,the
scales, the weighing process is to be
repeated at the ringside.
After considerable discussion, Who
principals agreed upon ''Curley'' Ul-
of ST. ~ rs referee, but there
Was possibility THAT some other Twin
City arbitrator might be chosen at the
last moment partly because Of a re-
port that one OF the members Of the
state boxing commission was opposed
to the selection Of Ulrich.a,
Comparative statistics indicate
there. will be practically no difference
In the weight of the two fighters. Glib
hons has the longer reach, while
O'Dowd is more rugged and is consid-
cred stronger than the Phantom.
O'Dowd and Gibbons, in final state
ments. each declared this forenoon
That he intended to. force the fight
ing. I
THE faster ,o,Dowd tries to come
at me. the better I'll like it." said
| Gibbons. ,...g ~>,
Il intend to keep right on top of
Gibbons all the time. Well see
whether his c~leverness can save him."
retorted the other Mike.
Latest official figures, obtained
from the st. Paul Boxing club indi-
cate that the total receipts will be
about $4,000. Gibbons will receive
80 per cent of the gross income. OF
cash. Gibbons also has a contract
with a motion picture company to
take pictures Of the fight and he has
agreed to give O'Dowdr Is per cent
of his income from. this sourc
Il q to do these things to get
O'Dowd into the ring explained
Gibbons. LIDO not mind saying that
my ring ambition is to retire after
have won the middleweight cham
"Only a knockout Of O'Dowd car
place the crown on Gibbons head.
Gibbons agreed not to claim the title,
II he should win by a foul.
The fact that both fighters live in
st. Paul has added to the interest
which Twin City fans have taken in
the bout More than a thousand ring
followers from other large cities ar
rived here this forenoon and more
than a of noted boxing writers
came to st. Paul with these delega-
lions.
Gibbons is 80 years old. o'Dowd
is eight years his junior. Gibbons l.
credited with having taught O'Dowd
the fundamentals Of ring craft. Sever
al years ago, the two fighters were
friends but they have been bitter ene-
mics for at least two years. Each
claims that the other fighter inau-
gurated a campaign of bitter refer
ences regarding the ability of his
rival. ..s
o'Dowd probably will be the frs,
champion in history, who, while still
in his prime, entered the ring with
the odds against him. Gibbons ruled
a 10 to z favorite today. Boxing ex
perts seemed agreed that Gibbons
ring wizardry should make .In a ia.
yorite SO far as betting is concerned,
Some OF, o'Dowd's supporters. how
ever, preferred to bet that the cham
pion would knock out the Phantom
and they got 2 to 1, or better from
\ the Iii camn