Cap's New and Improved Alternate Universe

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Briefs from The Toronto Telegram November 16-20, 1908...Charlie Gage won a crushing victory over former fellow stablemate Frank O'Malley last night in front of a capacity crowd at Mutual Street Arena. The Irish lad was coming off a one-round knockout of Quebec's Soldier Jones and was expected to force matters with the Canadian champion, but it turned out to be a fairly one-sided thrashing, with Gage sending him to the canvas no less than five times before finally ending it with a straight right to the jaw at 2:13 of the twelfth round. Gage weighed in at 189½, O'Malley 193¼. The loss brought O'Malley's record to 23-9-3 (17) while Gage is now 25-1-1(11), having defended his Canadian heavyweight title twice since winning it in November of last year...In the semi windup Arthur Pelkey defeated young Dai Griffiths, causing a stoppage at 1:23 of the tenth inning. Griffiths was game but Pelkey was much the stronger, putting him down in round six for an eight count, opening a cut in round seven, reopening the same cut in the next round and forcing referee Joe Francis to call a halt because of the profuse bleeding around Griffiths' eye. Pelkey weighed 206 and Griffiths 187¾. The Welsh lad just didn't seem to have the firepower to hurt the big man from Chatham. After his fight, Pelkey issued a challenge to Gage, claiming the champion was ducking him...Tommy Burns made the news on his comeback tour, outpointing Blackie McDonald over eight rounds. There were no knockdowns, but Burns was easily the superior of the local boy from Winnipeg. Burns expects to travel to Vancouver next to meet George Stanley who won a narrow decision over Bill Taylor of Alberta on Wednesday. A win over Stanley would likely guarantee Tommy a shot at the Canadian title next year...In an unexpected turn of events, Nova Scotia's young Clyde Parker, the East Preston fighter, managed to kayo Bert Kenny in the main event at Antigonish Arena last Tuesday. Kenny was the betting favourite and many accused him of going into the tank. Most unbiased observers however said that Parker was ahead going into the fifth round and had hurt Kenny just before the bell ending the previous round. In his dressing room, Kenny stated, "The kid caught me with one I didn't see coming. I've got no excuse."...At Mount Royal Arena Wilfrid Gagne (190¾) avenged a loss to Horace "Soldier" Jones (181) in May with a knockout in three rounds. This sets up a rubber match which should draw a standing room only Montreal crowd in the new year...Coaltown promoter Leo Roberts is moving heaven and Earth to bring together the new tiger Johnny Gillis of Sydney, Cape Breton and Al Lambert of Moncton, New Brunswick to headline a card in January with an open date at the King Street Arena. Most boxing pundits figure Gillis is still too green to take on Lambert when he has yet to go past six rounds. The unbeaten Gillis graduated from the Halifax DBF academy last winter...Hot off the wire. The IBU has made Sam Langford their number one challenger for the world title held by Luther McCarty...

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From the pages of the December 1908 Christmas issue of Mitt Slingers Magazine...Sam Langford has been named the IBU's premier contender for the world title currently held by America's Luther McCarty...McCarty has yet to catch on with the public in any meaningful way, largely perhaps because of his defensive style and his lack of a strong personality...Langford doubtlessly owes his prestigious position to his defeat of Harry Wills "The Black Panther", not once, but twice. As for Wills, he slides in behind the Canadian thanks to his wins over both Fred Fulton and Billy Miske...The question on the minds of many US promoters regards the Manassa Mauler Jack Dempsey and his cunning manager Doc Kearns. Will they challenge Wills for his American heavyweight title or stay in California and bide their time until they get a crack at the world championship...Fulton, the Minnesota Giant, wants another shot at McCarty but he has already been told he needs a big win or two before that door opens up...Gunboat Smith clings to a spot in the top ten and has signed with a promoter to fight Billy Miske in January or February...Tom Cowler was pondering a return to Merry Old England until someone suggested he might get a sizeable purse headlining a card in Toronto with the Canadian heavyweight champion Charlie Gage. His manager Jim Corbett was interested enough to travel there and seek an audience with Tom Flanagan...As for Gage, he was exploring his options. He could fight someone like Cowler or New York's John Lester Johnson, or defend his Canadian title belt against Tommy Burns when Burns had restored himself as a real gate attraction...Ern Waddy found himself floundering despite having sent Jack Johnson back into retirement. Offers to his manager were small potatoes, a few hundred dollars to fight men like Bud Gorman, Kid Norfolk and Bill Brennan. Cables from Hugh Mcintosh back home in Australia proffered princely sums to return and fight Albert Kid Lloyd at Rushcutters Bay. So Waddy was leaning towards going home...In Europe, promoter Ray Charrington was angling to get a match made between his latest star Dave Hawkes of Australia and EU champion Colin Morrison of Scotland, but the British boxing board was pressuring the National Sporting Club to force Morrison to defend his title against Bombardier Billy Wells first. Morrison ignored both parties and signed with a promoter in Scotland to meet Edinburgh's 15th ranked Rab Dickson, as was his right in his first title defence...

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Monday, May 18, 1908. Montreal. St Denis Street Gym. Horace "Soldier" Jones KO 1 Wilfrid Gagne.

Thursday, November 19, 1908. Montreal. Mount Royal Arena. Wilfrid Gagne KO 3 Soldier Jones.

Wednesday, January 6, 1909. Montreal. Mount Royal Arena. Wilfrid Gagne contre Soldier Jones..??

Billed in one or two local papers like Le Devoir and Le Journal de Montréal for the heavyweight championship of Quebec (Not recognized by the CPBF)

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The Brussels HQ of the International Boxing Union issues the list of the top heavyweight prospects as of December 1908. A pair of unbeaten lads head the Canadian contingent in Johnny Gillis and Jack Renault, but Big Al King and Jeff Baldwin, two boys from Hamilton, Ontario do not lag far behind. Jack Grindal has been a surprise for Australian boxing fans but Dave Nelson has performed pretty much as expected. Jack Leahy, a big kid with some good skills looks to be the best out of New Zealand since Alec Pooley. As for Europe Piet Vanderveer and Gert De Vries from the Netherlands look the best of the current crop. In the amateur class Ovila Chapdelaine of Montreal won the Canadian amateur title at middleweight but will be joining the ranks of professionals as a heavyweight fighting under the ring name of Jack Delaney. Of the Europeans England's Phil Scott, the new European amateur champion, appears the best of the lot...

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The top prospects from the USA and Latin America are good but none show championship quality yet. The big Argentine Luis Firpo may be a real force to reckon with, certainly a threat to UBAL title holder Valerio Ruelas. The amateurs may turn out to outshine this year's prospects. US amateur middleweight champion Tommy Gibbons will be fighting as a heavyweight along with New York's Tommy Loughran. Feab Sylvester Williams alias George Godfrey is also turning pro after easily winning the amateur US heavyweight competition in November.

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Jottings from the desk of Hamish MacBeth senior sports editor of the Glasgow Sporting News January 4-8 1909....

Amsterdam - In his last bout as a prelim fighter, Piet Vanderveer knocks out England's Corporal Harris in two rounds, forcing Harris' corner to toss in the sponge. The fight is the curtain raiser for the Cornelis Koln - Samuel Glasoog welterweight clash.

London - In his first fight with an American boxer since his win over Joe Bonds back in Australia in 1906, Dave Hawkes dominates the action against Sailor White. He easily takes the first two rounds, then boxes on the defensive in three and four luring White into his punching range. He lands a hard shot on White's head early in round five then drops him with another squarely on. Referee Joe Palmer counts White out at 1:32.

The co-feature at Blackfriar's Ring features Frank Goddard (14st) and American plowboy Al Palzer (15st 2lbs.) in a wild melee as both throw caution to the winds swinging away toe to toe. Goddard is down in round one and Palzer is dropped twice in round 2. Goddard is cut and hits the deck again in round five. Palzer is knocked down three times in round six, ending the fight on a TKO at 2:51.

Thursday Jan.7 Gaumont Palace, Paris. Georges Carpentier looks a winner as he puts young Marcel Nilles down early in round one, but Nilles comes back strong in succeeding rounds, working the body. Carpentier goes down in round eight but recovers and takes round nine. In round ten he takes considerable punishment and slumps to the canvas. He beats the count but Nilles is all over him landing lefts and rights at which point the referee jumps in and stops it to save Carpentier from a knockout. The end comes at 1:49 of round ten.

Friday January 8 Scotland's National A.C. Colin Morrison (13st 7lbs) defending his EBU heavyweight title against Rab Dickson (13st) of Dumfries. The end comes at 2:35 of round four. Dickson edges the first two rounds with slick boxing, but Morrison finds his footing in round three and hammers Dickson to the floor. The bell saves Dickson but he takes another thumping in round four and goes down again, this time taking the full count...In the main preliminary Dan MacAlistair (15.3) of Ft. William takes a bloody eight round decision over Glasgow's Fred Drummond (14.9), knocking him to the floor five times, three for nine counts.

Retired: Wm. Iron Hague (Eng.), Giuseppe Sciacca (Ita.), Dan McGoldrick (Scot.), Dave Merrick (Eng.), Alphonse Dumoulin (Fra.).

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Just a quick word here regarding the ridiculous number of views my posts are suddenly getting. I'm told they are the result of bots. So don't take them seriously. I don't.

Cap

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Excerpts from The Sydney Sporting Gazette January 13-15, 1909...Thanks to the warm reception given to his earlier show at the Stadium, promoter Hugh Mcintosh brought together the ANZBF No.4 ranked Sid Neilsen (12.13) and No.3 ranked Colin Bell (14.1) in a return match for a purse of £250 with a guarantee the winner would meet champion Al Kid Lloyd in March. As in their previous go the two men set right to work at the bell, Neilsen aiming for Bell's head and the Moree fighter focusing on the Dane's body. Both men, however, seemed wary of the other's power and took few big risks early on. As the rounds sped past Bell blocked cleverly at times, but Neilsen was landing the more effective blows and slipping back before his larger foe could set himself. As in their first encounter, the contest went the full ten rounds, but this time there was no draw, the verdict went decidedly to Neilsen. In the semi windup Young Peter Felix walloped Jack Howard from ringpost to ringpost for most of eight rounds, and only Howard's incredible stamina enabled him to remain on his feet. Most observers gave the local man two of the eight rounds, with perhaps one even, but it was clear the Brisbane pugilist was the better man. Just prior to the main event, Mcintosh announced that Ern Waddy had departed America on a steamship bound for home. This was met with a loud cheer and much applause...In the meantime, Champion Lloyd is considering his options while touring the country boxing exhibitions...Last night at the Hippodrome a big house saw Gordon Coghill (13.8½) outclass South Africa's Fred Storbeck (13.13) on points in ten good rounds. Coghill was too clever though Storbeck occasionally hit hard, even putting his foe down once for a brief count, and did well to see the contest out with minor damage...Dimitris Nikolaou and Pat Doran met at Nathan's Athletic Hall on Thursday evening for Doran's claim to the Victoria State title. For ten rounds the husky Greek made the pace a cracker, and had the crowd shouting and cheering excitedly. He belted Doran on the jaw with fierce well-aimed right swings and had him groggy and ready to go, only to see him saved by the bell. There was little disagreement when Nikolaou's hand was raised in victory. Prior to the main contest, Dave Sonter and Jack Grindal fought a lively scrap for eight rounds, ending in a disappointing draw. The crowd had been informed the winner would meet the winner of the main go...At Adelaide supporters of George Cook feel he was robbed of a win Wednesday when his fight with Bill Walsh was stopped and awarded to Walsh because of a cut over George's left eye. Even referee Paddy Basto had had Cook ahead on points going into the fatal last round...

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From the Chicago Daily News January 12-15, 1909... As the boxing world anxiously awaits the upcoming championship contest between Luther McCarty and Sam Langford, fight fans content themselves with battles for lesser crowns...Thanks to a scarcity of willing opponents against whom to defend his American title, Harry Wills found himself in the ring against the once formidable behemoth from Oklahoma, Carl Morris. Despite receiving low blows, head butts and rabbit punches, Wills took the fight to Morris and inflicted terrific damage to his head and bulky frame. By the opening of the seventh round Morris was a bloody, stumbling mess. Short hard blows put him on the canvas for counts of eight, and when he rose the second time, Referee Barry stepped in and saved him from further mayhem. "The winner, by technical knockout at 2:02 of the seventh round, and still US heavyweight champion, Harry Wills!"...Fred Fulton's loss to New York's pocket heavyweight John Lester Johnson is an early candidate for upset of the year. Fighting in front of his own hometown crowd, Fulton (210¾) boxes Johnson (186½), landing hard left jabs to his face. Fulton is playing to the crowd, easily taking the first three rounds. In the fourth he relaxes his guard for a moment and Johnson strikes! A punch lands on Fulton's temple and his legs wobble. Johnson goes for the kill, landing punch after punch. Fulton stumbles across the ring with Johnson in hot pursuit. Johnson catches Fulton propped up against the ropes and smashes home lefts and rights, rocking Fulton's head until referee Barton leaps in and stops the slaughter. Fulton staggers back to his corner unaware the fight has been stopped. Official time 2:44 of round four and we have a new NABF heavyweight champion...According to United Press International, "Jack Dempsey of Utah knocked out highly touted contender Billy Miske in five rounds of fierce scrapping in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Dempsey used a shift on Miske with telling effect, landing heavily and forcing him to clinch or go to the canvas. Early in the fifth round Dempsey caught Miske a terrific clip on the chin with a left uppercut, lifting him a foot off the floor and depositing him on his back where he was swiftly counted out. Dempsey's dancing and rocking baffled the St Paul boy. The Gate was $18,523. Dempsey fought for a guaranteed $5,000 for this defence of his Pacific Northwest title. Miske drew down about $3,500...At Manhattan's Hippodrome last Tuesday evening, Kenosha's Bud Gorman (18-2-2) was carded for eight rounds with Philly's Honeyboy Wilson (20-4-2) as half of a co-feature. Gorman shaded Wilson so there could be little dispute at the close of battle as to whom would take the winner's share...

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Details from the morning edition of The True Loyal American January 1909..."Luther McCarty put on an abysmal display against an opponent over whom he had all physical advantages in the stumpy Canadian Sam Langford. For seven rounds he simply sparred with Langford, using a long left jab to keep him away as though frightened of him. Few hard blows were landed by either pugilist and fans began stomping their feet and hollering at the referee to force some sort of action. Following a particularly dull frame in the seventh, featuring mauling and wrestling and half-hearted punching, Sam Langford sprang from his corner at the bell to begin the eighth and slammed a dynamite-laced right hander on McCarty's exposed jaw. The champion sank to his knees, took a three count, then wobbled erect, lurching into the windmill assault of the gnome-like Langford. Down he went again, this time failing to rise until the referee's toll of eight. It was at this juncture that McCarty's manager regretted his acceptance of the IBU's three knockdown rule. Seconds later another haymaker put the big cowboy on the seat of his pants and the fight was over. America has lost the heavyweight championship of the world!"

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Notes from the desk of Frank Allnutt, senior sports reporter for the Toronto Daily Star January 23-26 1909...At Ottawa Arthur Pelkey, the former national champion, received a gift decision over Frank O'Malley when their fight was called due to cuts suffered by the latter when he was well ahead on the Referee's scorecard. The result was deemed a technical knockout thanks to a referral from Doc Hoople to referee Joe Popp on the advise of Police Inspector JW Murray...Charlie Gage, the CPBF champion, was in steady training for two weeks while promoter Tom Flanagan worked the wires to find a suitable opponent when a Buffalo pugilist backed out. After some effort Flanagan and his usual booking agent dug up a west coast wonder by the name of Lee Anderson...Gage got the decision over Anderson at the Armouries last night. The Toronto lad justified the confidence his friends and supporters have in him by boxing a clever, well-judged bout from end to end. Anderson, used a peculiar shifting style and Gage took no chances with him in the early rounds. The Seattle boy appeared to have a distinct weight and reach advantage. Anderson scored frequently with his left, but Gage evened matters with ripping body punches. Gage did most of the leading and was ahead in most of the middle frames, even scoring a good clean knockdown in the eighth. Some felt Referee Francis was too quick to break them apart when their hands were free to punch...In the semi windup Dai Griffiths has apparently ended the ring career of Laurie Mackenzie forcing a stoppage of their contest in the seventh round after delivering a one-sided beating to the local veteran...Monday In Montreal Wilfrid Gagne finally met Soldier Jones at Mount Royal Arena after several delays. Jones had first battled through a case of the flu, then weather postponed a second meeting before another open date appeared. Unfortunately for Jones, Gagne was in top form and managed a clear decision after ten rounds...Word from Vancouver is Tommy Burns came back from way behind to score a knockout of George Stanley in the 9th stanza of their ten rounder at Steveston Arena. A ringside poll had Stanley leading five rounds to two with one even when the knockout came. Burns was bleeding from a gash on his forehead and had been down for a short count in the eighth round. In his corner he was told he had to score a kayo to win or the fight would be stopped. Twenty-six seconds into that round Burns delivered a right cross to Stanley's chin that crumpled him up in a heap. The end coming at :43 of the ninth...In Coaltown a packed Rankin's Hall saw big Johnny Gillis of Sydney wipe the floor with the more experienced Al Lambert, putting him down multiple times and taking the six round nod...while over in Antigonish Clyde Parker made short work of his crosstown rival Sam Dixon, sending him to the canvas three times in the third round for a technical knockout...

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Monday February 22...Berlin Sportpalast. Paul Korner (14st 1lb) KO 8 Arthur Townley (13st 8lb).

Tuesday February 23...Salle Wagram, Paris. Ernst Rosemann (14st 11lb) W10 Einar Iversen (14st 13lb). Marcel Nilles (13st 6lb) W8 Jack Curphey (13st 1lb).

Thursday February 25...Premierland, London. 10rd main event. Charlie Weinert (13st 5lb) TKO 9 Dave Hawkes (14st 3lb). Paul Hamms (13st 13lb) KO 8 Frank Goddard (15st.0). Henry Hall (13st 7lb) W8 Matt Killeen (14st 6lb).

Friday February 26...National Sporting Club, London. Bombardier Billy Wells (13st 9lb) W10 Otto Flint (13st 11lb).

Saturday February 27...Scottish National A.C., Glasgow. Jan De Groot (15st 4½lb) KO 2 Colin Morrison (13st 7lb). 12 rds. European heavyweight championship. Lucien Brusque (13st 8lb) W8 Rab Dickson (12st 12lb).

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Monday March 15, 1909. Victoria Hall, Melbourne. Dave Sonter dominates Jack Darcy over eight rounds. Pat Doran takes nod over Jack Deshong in eight. Winners sign to fight each other.

Tuesday March 16, 1909. Lithgow Hall, NSW. Alec Pooley outpointed Gordon Coghill. Contest was fast and clever. Coghill, at the end of the fifth round complained of a foul punch, but a medical examination in his corner disclosed nothing and the referee ordered Coghill to continue. On the undercard George Cook (13.8) and Jim Tracey (13.9) fought eight hard rounds to a draw. Most sporting writers present declared the decision should have gone to Cook based on his overall aggression forcing the action.

Wednesday March 17, 1909. Nathan's Athletic Hall, Melbourne. After leading through seven rounds, Dimitris Nikolaou (13st 7lb) faded and was knocked out by Bill Walsh (13st 11lb) in the eighth round of their ten round contest. Walsh credited his superior condition.

Thursday March 18, 1909. Metropolitan A.C., Sydney. Harold Hardwick (13.13) stopped Colin Bell (14.10) in the third round of a ten round bout. Bell took considerable punishment in the second stanza and was being pummeled on the ropes when referee Dawson halted the fight.

Friday March 19, 1909. Sydney Stadium, Rushcutters Bay. Albert Kid Lloyd and Ern Waddy fought a strenuous 12 rounds. Their contest for the Australasian crown ended in a draw, according to referee Arthur Scott, although many were of the opinion that Lloyd had won on points, despite suffering four clean knockdowns. Lloyd landed much more often but his blows lacked the steam behind those of Waddy. The Melbourne Post had Lloyd winning seven of the twelve rounds with one even, while the Sydney Herald agreed with the referee's call.

In the only preliminary to the main go, Sid Neilsen (13.3) lost to Young Peter Felix (13.12) in what was regarded by the mob as one of the worst decisions ever rendered in a Sydney arena. Neilsen had expected to challenge for the heavyweight championship after his win over Colin Bell last January and was only persuaded to step aside and fight Felix thanks to a generous pay-off by promoter Hugh Mcintosh. A loss to Felix, in a fight he was clearly winning, according to Sydney newspapers, could be a huge setback.

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Scribblings from the pages of The St Louis Dispatch March 15-25...An action filled two weeks featuring cards from big stages and smaller venues across the US...Three stand out from the rest...Luther McCarty (205) is gifted a decision over Harry Wills (206¼) at Madison Square Garden as referee Tim Hurst sees their fight differently than almost everyone else. Even McCarty returns dejectedly to his corner after the final bell while Wills waves happily to his wife seated ringside. There is a loud gasp from the patrons when Hurst raises McCarty's hand to signal he is the winner. Wills is visibly shocked and manager Paddy Mullins has to hold him back as McCarty's corner shouts with joy and Luther is presented with the ABA's championship belt. Ringside reporters speculate that Hurst gave more weight to McCarty's stealing the last minute of most rounds and the overly cautious action of the now dethroned champion. It was a slow tedious fight but most felt Wills had landed the more telling blows and had done enough to retain the championship...At Brooklyn's Pelican Arena Billy Miske (186¼) carried the fight to NABF titleholder John Lester Johnson (182) and decisively outpointed him in six of the twelve rounds, putting him on the floor in the fifth and eighth rounds and landing multiple stiff punches in the tenth and eleventh that had Johnson covering up. Referee Joh scored it six rounds for Miske, four for Johnson and two even that most impartial out-of-towners felt should have gone to Miske...In Minneapolis Jack Dempsey tore into giant Fred Fulton and, "...Fulton is immediately on the defensive as Dempsey bores in. Only Fulton's powerful left jab holds Dempsey off but he takes punishment and goes down at the end of the second round. It's only a matter of time before Dempsey breaks him down, and at 2:52 of round three the referee stops the slaughter...". Asked by an awe-struck reporter what he planned to do next, Dempsey scowls, "Bring on that big dub McCarty! He's made to order for me. Fulton's best punch couldn't stop me. What's McCarty got?"...At Miami's City Stadium Latin American champ Valerio Ruelas (211¾) batters Tom Cowler (218) around before knocking him out cold in the seventh inning. The burly South American helps carry Cowler to his corner then shouts at the promoter to bring him Sam Langford...

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Shown is a page from the national magazine The Canadian Illustrated News, reflecting the state of the heavyweight division following several significant contests in late March of 1909...While promoter Tom Flanagan prepared the groundwork for Charlie Gage to defend his title belt against the resurgent Tommy Burns at the Toronto Coliseum, rival promoter Russ Maurer staged the rubber match between Montreal's Wilfrid Gagne and Toronto's Arthur Pelkey. As reported in the Ottawa Sentinel, "...Wilfrid Gagne (191½) outpointed Arthur Pelkey (212¾) in a 10-round contest at the Memorial Arena last Friday night. Pelkey scored well at times with good uppercuts, but Gagne showed good form throughout, and connected with heavy rights that rattled the big fellow..." The winner had been promised a crack at the Canadian title by a representative of the CPBF...A good card put on by Willie MacLellan at the old Halifax Forum saw fan favourite Clyde Parker put away Ontario's Dai Griffiths in three rounds, after embarrassingly having to twice rise from the floor in the second. In the semi windup Johnny Gillis stopped "Gale Force Joe" Burke on cuts in the seventh stanza of eight, and in the curtain raiser Dartmouth's Sam Dixon whipped a ring-worn Laurie Mackenzie over eight rounds, finally forcing the Toronto fighter to call it quits, hanging up the gloves for good...At Coaltown's King Street Arena Soldier Jones forced a stoppage of Bert Kenny 1:45 of round three of their carded ten. It was a slam-bang brawl while it lasted, with Jones taking an eight count in the first and Kenny down for nine in the second...At Calgary's new Civic Arena, Local boy Whit Pollack took an eight round decision over Cowboy Bill Taylor and claimed the Western Canadian championship...World heavyweight champion Sam Langford met with two promoters to negotiate for a title defence in either Toronto or Montreal for May or June...

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The latest rankings by the IBU appear in the pages of Mitt Slingers Magazine, April issue...Sam Langford sent challenges to both Luther McCarty and Jack Dempsey to meet him in the ring in May or June and both ignored the opportunity. So Sam offered the same to Billy Miske, now the NABF champion, in hope of avenging one of his few losses. Miske jumped at the chance, figuring he was certain to turn the tables on the Mighty Gnome again. The oddsmakers are sure to take into account the fact Langford has managed to win every rematch he has had in his long career...Conspicuous to even a casual fight fan is the rise of that fellow Dempsey, already widely known by his sobriquet of The Manassa Mauler. Dempsey has climbed over several other mainline contenders, including Jess Willard, Fred Fulton and Gunboat Smith amongst others and has his sights squarely set on the American Boxing Association's heavyweight championship held by McCarty. Many sportswriters saw a reluctance on his part to pursue that title while it was claimed by Harry Wills aka The Black Panther...As for Wills he has retreated to his New Orleans gym under the critical eye of the great Joe Jeannette, and impresses observers in his daily workouts...Canadian fans of the squared circle are pleased to see the steady climb of their champion Charlie Gage, fresh off his victory over another former Empire title holder Tommy Burns on March 31st, and his negotiations to fight John Lester Johnson this year...The Australian Ern Waddy and his manager press their case with promoter Hugh Mcintosh looking for a rematch with champion Albert Kid Lloyd, but willing to take on anyone who stands in the Adelaide lad's way. Mcintosh, that premier matchmaker, busies himself exchanging cables with the British Empire Boxing Council in London with the idea of filling the vacant Empire championship with a clash at Rushcutters Bay with Lloyd and Waddy in mind...In Europe Charlie Weinert is expected to challenge Jan De Groot for the latter's EBU title, but De Groot is contracted to fight Bombardier Billy Wells at the National Sporting Club in London before the summer. In the meantime another Aussie, Dave Hawkes has plans to meet Otto Flint or Colin Morrison in Paris under the promotion of Albert Nivelle...Valerio Ruelas the UBAL title holder is carded to fight Gunboat Smith at the Marathon A.C. in Chicago with a purse of $3,000 split 60-40 on the line...

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From The Barnsley Earwigger May 1-6, 1909...A great deal of activity in smaller clubs across the British Isles and Europe this month featuring up and comers like Phil Scott, Hans Breitenstrater, Lucien Brusque and the Spalla Brothers of Italy...The Olympia Club in London sees Hungarian Charlie Weinert take the measure of Marcel Nilles and glide to a points victory while scoring two knockdowns in their ten round contest...At the Scottish National A.C. in Glasgow Colin Morrison and Germany's Ernst Rosemann put on a spectacular battle, each visiting the canvas, before the burly Scot lands a crushing right uppercut spilling Rosemann on the floor for the full count with seconds remaining in round four...At the Cirkushygningen in Copenhagen, Einar Iversen delivers a savage beating to the former idol of France Georges Carpentier and puts him down three times in the eighth canto for an automatic technical knockout. When he regains his senses Carpentier tells his corner he has fought his last fight in the ring...At Eindhoven's Boksclub local star Piet Vanderveer outpoints Deutschland's Klaus Schmidt over eight rounds and fellow countryman favoured Gert De Vries is upset by France's Paul Journee five rounds to three...The main event at the Cirque de Paris is a carded ten round bout between Australia's Dave Hawkes and the veteran Otto Flint of Deutschland. Flint's reputation earns him the odds on favourite of the books, but Hawkes is not impressed and immediately goes on the offensive, driving hard punches to the body of Flint and forcing him to cover. Aside from brief moments in the sixth and eighth rounds, Hawkes dominates the action and punishes the German, putting him down for counts in the third, fifth and ninth innings. The end comes with thirty four seconds remaining in round ten when Hawkes crashes home an overhand right that seems to spin Flint's head around. It is some minutes before he is revived by his cornermen and the ring doctor...The star bout of the week was the 12-round contest at the National Sporting Club for the European heavyweight championship held by Jan De Groot challenged by England's own Bombardier Billy Wells. De Groot spent most of his time in posh London night clubs telling his friends he had nothing to fear from the Englander as he had stopped him not once but twice before. His trainers thought differently and pleaded with him to put in some work with his sparring partners, but their words fell on deaf ears. As for Wells, he was determined to make up for his dismal defeat five years before at the hands of then EBU champion Georges Carpentier. So he trained like a spartan for six weeks under the watchful eye of head trainer Syd Nathan and when the bell rang he was ready. The big Dutchman put up a brave effort but he was in no condition for a long fight. Tiring after six rounds of pursuing the elusive Englishman, he began to falter and take sharp combinations to the body and head. In the eighth he went down hard, and only his great physical strength enabled him to last out the twelve rounds, only to see the Bombardier's hand raised in victory! Wells had finally done it! He was the new European heavyweight champion!

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Clippings from The Melbourne Age May 8 to the 14th, 1909...Disinclined towards the offer made by Hugh Mcintosh and the Sydney Stadium Syndicate, and backed by the ANZBF, Al Lloyd wired Ern Waddy and offered to meet him in Adelaide for the vacant Empire title...In short order both parties met with promoter Andrew Toms, matchmaker at Flinders Street Stadium, and arranged to split a purse of £200 with another £200 in side wagers, sixty percent to the winner.

(Thursday, May 13) In the presence of a huge crowd of spectators, including stars of stage, sport and politics, Albert Lloyd the current Australasian heavyweight champion was given a decision against Ern Waddy the South Australian champion after a most strenuous struggle. The contest for the Empire boxing title was fought over 12 rounds, and although Waddy strove hard to finish off his opponent, the verdict, which met with a mixed reception, was given to the new title holder.
Long before the doors to the hall were opened there was a large throng milling about the entrance buzzing with excitement, and when the proceedings were begun it was found that many would have to be turned away.
Interviewed in his dressing room after the contest, Lloyd, wearing the Empire belt over one shoulder, said, "It was a hard and vigorous fight and I think I won convincingly. Waddy is a hard puncher and hard as nails."
For his part Waddy, still bearing the marks of combat said,"I did my utmost to defeat him tonight. I felt it was close, but the referee thought otherwise. My wife wants me to take some time away from the ring and my trainer agrees, so it looks like I will be investing more of my days on the farm."
In the main preliminary, Colin Bell battered Gordon Coghill to take a decision after ten rounds, having put Coghill on the floor four times.
Saturday, May 8. Nathan's Athletic Hall. Dimitris Nikolaou (13st.4lb) dispatched six foot four Jim Tracey (13st.8lb) in six rounds of furious action.(8)
Monday, May 10. Victoria Hall, Melbourne. Pat Doran (13.12) knocked out Jack Howard (13.6) inside three rounds (8). In the semi windup Melbourne's unbeaten Jack Grindal (13.8) lost a 5-3 decision to Dave Nelson (13.7) the Queensland pugilist, having been sent to the canvas twice for eight counts. Nelson may next meet Doran at the same venue.
Tuesday, May 11. Wallhalla Hall, Toowoomba. Yng Peter Felix (14.4) narrowly defeated Harold Hardwick (12.11) five rounds to four in an eliminator to provide a number one challenger to Kid Lloyd for the latter's Australasian title belt. It was a dull contest with few hard blows landed.
Wednesday, May 12. Timaru Hall, New Zealand. George Cook (13.6) stops local favourite Alec Pooley (13.13) in four fast rounds carded for eight. In the most interesting preliminary Tasmania's giant Jack Leahy (14.5) edged out Harry Pahau (14.8) over eight.
Friday, May 14. National Sporting Club, Sydney. Sid Neilsen (13.1) sporting a record of 24-5-4 with 12 KOs, knocked out Melbourne's Bill Walsh (13.10) at 1:43 of the fourth canto of a scheduled ten. Neilsen later asked for a rematch with Yng. Peter Felix. The curtain raiser saw big Jack Quinlan (13.9) of this city dispose of Brisbane's Jack Deshong (12.9) in the fifth round.(8)

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LOS ANGELES, Naud Junction Pavilion — Referee Charlie Eyton handed a twelve-round decision to Jack Dempsey over Luther McCarty tonight, but if that was a victory for the "Manassa Mauler," I am a Dutchman with a broken leg, for the true verdict was carved in the battered face of the man who left the ring with the referee's nod and the American championship belt. McCarty, the long-limbed giant, outboxed and outlasted the kid from Colorado in the early going, lacing him with straight lefts, uppercuts and a masterful defense that made Dempsey look like a wild amateur missing his swing at the plate. While Dempsey, as always, proved himself a whirlwind of raw strength, he was getting the worst of the boxing and a fair amount of the punishment until the twilight rounds, yet Eyton, seeming to favor the aggression over science, rewarded the fighter who was doing the chasing rather than the landing. It was a close, grinding affair, but when the final bell sounded, and the referee raised Dempsey’s hand, the roar of the crowd was not one of approval, but of confusion—a sentiment that suggests this decision will be discussed in the smoke-filled rooms of the boxing game for many moons to come...In other action, Latin America's heavyweight king Valerio Ruelas made a chopping block of Gunboat Smith, finally forcing a stoppage part way through the eighth round of their ten rounder at Chicago's Marathon A.C.. Smith was dropped early in the fight and from then on assumed a simply defensive posture, trying to last to the end, but an old cut reopened in the seventh canto and bled so profusely in the next round that referee Dave Barry was obliged to call a halt...At New Orleans big Jess Willard had no answer to the brilliant ringwork of the Dark Panther Harry Wills. Willard lost round five on a blatant low blow. Wills dropped the big man in round 8. Willard's left eye was closed shut just before Wills put him down again in round ten. Jess lurched to his feet but was on queer street and went down again from a right hand. He tried to rise but couldn't beat the count. Harry weighed 214 and Willard 246...Fred Fulton survived an early surge by Jim Coffey, dropped the Irishman in round three, then proceeded to demolish the New York pugilist, laying him out cold in the sixth round. It was Coffey's first kayo loss since July of last year but it virtually eliminates him as a viable contender for higher honors...Kenosha's Bud Gorman stunned Boston fight fanatics with a technical knockout of Bartley Madden in just two rounds of their scheduled eight last night. Madden was still on his feet and clear eyed when referee Moffit Flaherty stepped between the fighters and called it for Gorman. There was a near riot and local police had to escort Flaherty from the arena...

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Canadian Press Wire Tuesday, May 18 1909....