Milburn Saylor who was disqualified in the ninth for a low blow. He faced Phil Bloom in New York, the press decision favouring Welsh, before he returned to Canada for a knockout win over Canadian Champion Arthur Ellis. Back in the United States, Welsh, although struggling with his weight was able to best Johnny Dundee in New Orleans, followed by a points victory over Frank Whitney in Atlanta. Welsh continued his journey east, stopping at Philadelphia for a match against Sam Robideau. This would be his third win in three different cities in just ten days. Five days later on 15 January 1914 in Kansas City he faced Mickey Sheridan of Chicago, who underwent "thirty minutes of torture and considerable humiliation" in an easy points decision for Welsh. He faced two more opponents in January, Earl Fisher in Cincinnati on the 26th followed by Leo Kelly in Saint Louis on the 29th, both were press decisions for Welsh. With his weight now coming down and his bank account swelled, Welsh and Pollok refocused on Ritchie. The American sportswriters were calling Welsh a 'has-been', so the two men devised a new strategy, if they could not get Ritchie to agree to a bout, they would beat as many of Ritchie's credible contenders until he could no longer ignore Welsh. The first target on his list was Mexican Joe Rivers, who had already had two failed attempts at the lightweight title. On his build-up to the match, Welsh suffered his first defeat since 1911, when Jimmy Duffy took the press decision over eight rounds in Saint Louis. Undeterred he continued his preparation for the contest with Rivers on 17 March in Vernon. Rivers started as favourite, but his inexperience showed and Welsh dominated the entire fight winning on points. After the fight, at a celebratory dinner, Welsh was shown a newspaper reporting King George V's enthusiasm for boxing. Welsh wrote to His Majesty thanking him for his support, the next day he received a royal response by telegram. Nearly every major newspaper in the United States and the United Kingdom printed the correspondence in full, giving Welsh much needed column space. In the spring of 1914, Welsh contacted Ritchie and asked him if he would face him in England, providing he got a satisfactory guarantee of money. Ritchie agreed that he would fight for the right money. Welsh cabled the Olympia Theatre,