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THE ANACONDA - MONTANA |
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FISTIC CHAMP |
Johnson rose slowly from his chair and Willard met
him more
than two-thirds of the way across the ring. Willard stabbed
a
terrific left into the negro's face, sending his head
bobbing.
before the champion could recover his position, Willard
swung a
smashing right which landed full on Johnson's stomach.
John-
son was flung against the ropes by the force of the blow and
he
clinched on the rebound.
The cowboy tried to tear loose, but the black man held
grimly
with eyes closed and legs shaking. Just before the referee
broke
them, Johnson looked over Willard's shoulder toward the
box
where his wife had been, his eyes showing a dazed, tired,
puzzled
expression.
As soon as Welsh had broken the clinch, Jess rushed
again,
forcing the negro into Willard's corner, where the finish
came.
Johnson was slow in guarding and his strong, youthful
opponent
hooked a swinging left to the body. The fading champion's
legs
quivered and again the towering giant feinted for the
body,
Johnson dropped his guard and Willard won the title with
a
quick hard swing to the exact point of the jaw.
The negro's knees folded up under him and he sank
slowly to
the floor and rolled over on his back, partly under the
ropes.
Welsh waved Willard back and began to count. Up and
down
swung the referee's hand, but Johnson never moved. His
eyes
were glassy, only the whites being visible.
At the count of "10," Welsh turned and held up
Willard's
hand and a new champion replaced Johnson, who was still
stretched on the floor of the ring. Time of round, 1 minute
26
seconds.