 Oscar 'Battling' Nelson, the Dane who became world lightweight champion, a rough-tough scrapper. |
 Joe Gans was the king of the lightweights in the early days of the century, even boxing a draw with the welterweight champion, Joe Walcott. Gans featured in the fight that made Tex Rickard into the leading promotor of the day after a rough, tough Dane, Oscar 'Battling' Nelson, had beaten Jimmy Britt to claim the 'white' championship of the world.Rickard owned the leading gambling saloon in the small town of Goldfield, Nevada, and when citizens of the town were discussing how to put Goldfield 'on the map', Rickard suggested a world title fight between Gans and Nelson. He planned to stage it himself, making his debut as a promotor.Rickard put up the astonishing sum, for lightweights, of $30,000, and when the press came to Goldfield to see what it was all about, put the money in his window in gold dollar pieces. He publicized the battle as a grudge fight, and as a race fight. He built an open-air arena for 8,000 spectators. His hype succeeded and the match was a sell-out.On 3 September 1906, the fight commenced in the hot afternoon sun, scheduled for 45 rounds. Nelson had insisted on two-thirds of the purse, and a weight limit of 9st 7lb (133lb - 59kg), 2lb (0.9kg) less than usual. The elder Gans was weakened by the reduction, but outboxed and outfought Nelson, who needed all his strength and stamina to stay in the fight. Every time Gans began to tire, and Nelson looked to have a chance, Gans would stop his opponent's wild efforts with superb boxing, until finally Nelson's face was cut to ribbons. In the 42nd round the well-beaten Nelson deliberately fouled Gans by punching him in the groin and was disqualified.Goldfield was in the news, and Rickard made a handsome profit, going on to make even more lucrative matches.Nelson won the title two years later, knocking out Gans in 17 rounds in San Francisco. He in turn lost to Ad Wolgast by a knockout in the 40th round of a bloody battle in which there was a no-foul rule, in 1910. Wolgast preferred to fight with his own referee, Jack Welch. In 1911 he met Owen Moran, from Birmingham, England, who had knocked out Nelson. Moran was counted out in the 13th round, having taken a fierce blow to the stomach. |
From: History of Boxing by P. Arnold, 1988
