Attell fought top rated boxer Frankie Britt near the end of his career on September 15, 1916, losing in a third-round knockout in Boston. The final blow was a short right to the jaw, delivered by Britt. Attell was reported in less than peak condition. Tellingly, though not unusual for an aging boxer in the era, particularly one with vision problems, Attell lost nineteen of twenty-four bouts between February 7, 1912, and October 30, 1916, near the end of his boxing career.