Special to the Times-Bonanza & Goldfield News Members of the UNLV boxing team will participate in the re-enactment of the Nelson-Gans title bout of 1906 Saturday at Goldfield. Their opponents will be boxers from the University of Nevada, Reno. The first bout is to start at 1 p.m. Advertisement

GOLDFIELD -- Boxing was a big deal in early 20th-century Goldfield, and that fact is the basis for this historical city hosting a re-enactment of the 1906 light heavyweight title bout between Joe Gans and 'Battlin' Nelson Saturday.

Boxing teams from the University of Nevada at Reno and UNLV will participate in five bouts at a baseball field a few blocks off Highway 95 here, in honor of the centennial anniversary of the event.

When famed boxing promoter George Lewis "Tex" Rickard organized the light heavyweight bout between Gans and Nelson on Sept. 6, 1906, the Goldfield Daily Sun reported the paid attendance was 6,972, generating $69,715 in total receipts, a large sum in those days. The purse was $33,500 in $10 and $20 gold coins, displayed in Rickards' Northern Saloon, according to The Roadside History of Nevada by Richard Moreno.

The fight went an astonishing 42 rounds before Gans was awarded the world championship after a foul by Nelson the newspaper said, "was so palpable, that everyone within sight of the ring saw it."

At the time, Goldfield was the largest city in Nevada, with 15,000 to 20,000 residents. Mining millionaires held a great deal of influence and power. Today, Goldfield has a population of about 300. The first bout is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.; the ring will be set up by the Nevada boxing team, starting at 9 a.m.

UNLV won the College Nationals boxing championship in April, scoring 34 points. The Air Force Academy had 33, Army 33, Navy 31 and Nevada-Reno 25. At 132 pounds, Nevada's David Schacter decisioned Todd Wilson of VMI, 3-2; at 147, the Wolf Pack's Thomas Genarro decisioned UNLV's Jeff Watkins, 4-1, and at 156, UNLV's Greg Morrell decisioned Maryland's Larry Mitros, 5-0.

Henry Namauu of UNLV stopped Army's Steven Soloja at 1:59 of the first round.

Namauu will fight at heavyweight Saturday and throughout the 2006-2007 season. Morrell is back at 156 (super welterweight).

UNV's lineup, according to coach Skip Kelp, will include:

Jason Morris, 112 pounds, a silver medalist at the Nationals, contested in Reno;

Jason Crocco, the president of the Rebels' boxing club, and a silver medalist at Reno, who will box at 185 pounds;

Daniel Reece, the 2005 national champion sidelined in 2006 by a shoulder injury; he boxes at 147 pounds;

Morell and Namauu.

"This will be our first fights of the season," said Kelp. "Normally, it would be in August, because the boxers are back in school. Fortunately, our veterans have been in the gym. We're looking forward to the whole theme (of the re-enactment)."

Mike Martino, the Wolf Pack boxing coach, will have:

Super heavyweight John Lorman, a 240-pounder who will tangle with Namauu;

Genarro, who will box at 147 pounds;

Jason Case, a rookie boxer, who will fight at 165 pounds;

Francisco Torres, an All-America boxer in the 2005-2006 season at 150 pounds.

"I am also going to bring a bronze medalist, Kenny Dyer-Redner, who I think we will match against Crocco at 180," said Martino. "We may bring a couple others, and we'll probably bring some freshmen to watch the event, just for that experience.

"I only mentioned it to a few of them. They've committed to coming to this event," Martino said. The school teams compete in a few bouts in the fall, they then have matches every weekend from the end of January until the national championships, March 29-31, he said.

Both UNLV and Nevada are part of the National Collegiate Boxing Association Western Regional Conference.

Martino said his national champion Shacter will be overseas on a foreign exchange program.

Amateur judges, a referee and U.S.A. sanctioned boxing officials will judge the event, the coach said. Unfortunately the re-enactment is the same weekend as a big bout in Las Vegas between Marco Antonio Pereira and Rocky Juarez.

"I just think it's great. We were able to assist the area down there with a celebration of the 100^th anniversary of this bout and it gives us an opportunity to show the boxers to the community down there and also to promote local tourism," Martino said.

The centennial anniversary of that fight will lead up to the centennial of the Jack Johnson-Jim Jeffries fight in Reno in 2010, he said. That fight featured Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion.

"We look at this as an opportunity to celebrate this event and in 2010 do this (fight) in Reno," Martino said.

Mark Waite contributed to this story.

Gans-Nelson film to be shown at Historic Mining Park

The Tonopah Historic Mining Park will have an open house with free admission to the park from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. A film of the Joe Gans-'Battlin' Nelson bout will be shown in the theatre room.

A dinner ceremony will be held in the Tonopah Convention Center later Saturday. Tickets for the bouts in Goldfield will cost $20 and can be purchased at the gate or in advance from Paula Elefante at EDEN (Economic Development Authority for Esmeralda and Nye County) at 751-1923. To purchase tickets by credit card, contact Pioneer Territory at 1-877-848-5800.