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Show RITCHIE FAVORITE Fi mm BUTTLE Betting Is 2 to 1, With Thousands Thou-sands of Dollars on the Champ. By .International News Service. SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. S. With the great lightweight championship battle between Willie Ritchie of San Francisco and Tommy Murphy of New York only two days away, the sporting public of this city has como to the conclusion that tho title holder will surey bo returned victorious. vic-torious. Tho betting Is at odds of 2 to 1, with thousands of dollars worth of Ritchie money In sight and practically none to bo wagered on his sturdy little opponent. All indications point to tho lengthening of tho price before the men enter tho ring at tho Eighth streot arena on Wednesday evening. Ritchie seems to have taken the town by storm and tho Murphy booslers. who were much In ovl-donco, ovl-donco, apparently have all faded away or been converted to tho Ritchie cause. That the odds are false is tho opinion of the old timers who have been following follow-ing tho game closely for many years. They are willing enough to admit that Murphy should bo worth 10 to 7 on the short end, but at the same time they are not throwing their money in to wager upon his chances. The wagering is still at even money that the champion stops the challenger. There was plenty of action on tills layout, lay-out, but once more the Ritchie money came stronger than the Murphy end of It, which Indicates that they probably will yet wager that Ritchie wins within fifteen fif-teen rounds. Both fighters took things easy today after their strenuous Sunday programme. Murphy is said to be well under the 135-pound 135-pound mark and Rltchlo has only a few ounces of superfluous flesh to remove. |