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Battling Nelson, "the Durable Dane," was born in Copenhagen, Denmark on June 5, 1882. In 132 battles, from 1896 to 1923, he won 37 of 57 by knockouts, won one, lost two on fouls, had 15 no-decisions, drew in 19, lost 15 and was kayoed twice. Nelson knocked out Gans twice in title bouts. |
 Jimmy Britt of California set up a plea that Gans had declined to make the weight and therefore had forfeited his title. Gans proved how baseless this claim was when on October 31, 1904, he handed Britt a terrific beating, Britt striking low when nearly out in the twentieth round. By way of good measure, Gans knocked out Britt in the sixth round on September 9, 1907.The Goldfield battle on September 3, 1906, in which Gans won from Battling Nelson in the forty-second round on a foul, and their second bout on July 4, 1908, in San Francisco, in which the Baltimore Negro lost the championship by a knockout in the seventeenth round, were among the most spectacular battles in the lightweight class. |
Gans also was stopped in their next bout in Colma, California, September 9, 1908, in the twenty-first round.The following year Gans died from pneumonia in Baltimore.Melodramatic also was the encounter in which Nelson met defeat at the hands of Ad Wolgast, the Michigan Wildcat. Bloody, battered, desperate, game to the last, the Dane struggled on only to hear Referee Eddie Smith proclaim Wolgast, born in Cadillac, Michigan, February 8, 1888, the winner in the fortieth round of a truly Homeric engagement. That affair took place February 22, 1910, at Point Richmond, California. |
 Nelson and Gans touch gloves (above) before their battle in Goldfield Nevada, in which Tex Rickard made a successful debut as a boxing promotor. Gans displayed too much skill for Nelson during the bout. In the 42nd round Gans crumbled to the canvas from a low blow and Nelson was disqualified. The bout was profitable to Rickard despite what was then considered a fantastic purse of $34,000. When they met in 1908, Nelson's boring-in style was too much for Gans who was down five times. Nelson knocked out Joe in the 17th round (below) and became champion. 
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 Bat Nelson met Ad Wolgast in a 45-round title grudge-affair in 1910. Foul rules were out except if, in the opinion of the referee, a fighter was completely incapacitated. Nelson, on the left in both photos, and Wolgast posed before the bout, which turned out to be bloody and brutal. Nelson was in a helpless state in the 40th round and referee Ed Smith stopped the slaughter. 
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From: A Pictorial History of Boxing by S. Andre & N. Fleischer, 1987
