[Cap]

From The Winnipeg Free Press - December 1898....Fight cards in Halifax, Toronto, and Calgary showcase several young prospects like Bill Mackinnon, Frank Osborne, Charlie Fraser and Alberta provincial rivals Clonie McFadden and Gus Burill...At Halifax Arena fans get to see their boy James Burke in action, now campaigning as 'Sailor Burke' after fledgling promoter Willie MacLellan had noted a remarkable physical resemblance to the New York middleweight going by that nom de guerre...In the main event George Byers ends his storied career with a convincing decision over Montrealer Phil Miller...former Western Canadian champion George McRay gives the hometown cranks a happy ending to their evening at the fights with a one-sided stoppage of American journeyman Jimmy Danforth...Toronto's Johnny Jackson invades La Belle Province and upsets the huge French-Canadian Joe Montferrand in short order...Fight promoters and boxing clubs are scrambling to uncover a new headliner to challenge current Canadian champion Sam Langford but most have already fallen by the wayside or are just too green....As reporter Milt Dunnell of the Toronto Telegram sees it, "... Bob Day, Chummy Banks and Ross Delaney may have the punch but don't have the pugilistic skills to match the Nova Scotia battler and others like McRay and Jackson seem to lack the firepower to match Langford."...