12 Sports Aces, January 1943 — page 58: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

56 12 SPORTS ACES The glove landed in Rowdy Madden’s face. It was a bombshell. Rewdy tasted blood and danced backward. That left was dynamite, just as Frosty had warned. Gurner Borklund came swarming in to follow his advantage. He hit Rowdy in the midsection with that jeft again and Rowdy had to try to tie up the challenger. As he drew closer, Gunner hit Rowdy in the face with a right. It jarred Rowdy. But it didn’t hurt much. Gunner had had a clear shot at him, but the right lacked steam. Rowdy breathed easier as they clenched. The Gunner’s right was weak. Rowdy could spend his time worrying about that left. They split apart or then they closed again. Rowdy blocked the ieft and swarmed in close. He rattied the chal- lenger’s ribs with a flurry of heoks, He blocked the returns and danced away. ORKLUND lowered his head and followed. That left came leoping to- ward Rowdy’s head. He rolled with it, countered with a right to the neck. Bork- lund roared an oath and kept pressing, Rowdy backed against the ropes. He sprang off them, boited the challenger in the gut again, He started to fire a right, but Borklund stabbed that left. The thumb snaked out, laced across Rowdy’s eye. Rowdy turned to the ref. His eye was watering from the foul. The ref frowned. The crowd screamed, “Get the killcrazy kid!’ The ref shrugged and said nothing. The ref was on the crowd’s side, Rewdy turned back, tried to see through the blurred tears. A glove came up. and caught him in the mouth. Another blow nailed him over the heart and he started to fall. Rowdy spun half around. A hot poker seared against his kidney as he fell. Then he was down and the ref was counting over him. - Rowdy Madden was, at that moment, a man gone wild. He was the ehamp and he was getting the business, He did not mind losing the title if he couldn’t keep it fair- ly. But he hated to be fouled out of it. Rowdy was hurt. But he didn’t stay down. He leaped to his feet at the count of three. He charged across the ring, met the challenger before he could leave his neutral corner, Rowdy fired a left and it missed. He saw the Gunner cock his right, That was what Rowdy wanted. He was in close now. He would take the right knowing it wouidn’t hurt him. Then he would block the lteft follow shot and for just an instant the Gunner would be wide open. That would be the payoff, _ The right was exploding toward Rowdy. He saw the challenger already setting himself for the left that would follow. Rowdy made no attempt to block the right. He wanted both hands free for what was to come. . _ He shifted his head, to let the leather slide off. But it didn’t. The blow caught him on the side of his jaw. Rowdy’s grin faded and he was down, The blow had been so sharp it had caught him s0 un- awares that he had no chance to deflect it. The ring was rolling beneath him and somewhere a voice was tollmg a count, Rowdy rolled over on his face. Through the blur he could see Frosty’s expression. Frosty was upset. Frosty was yelling, “Get up! Get up, you bum!” Rowdy’s mind began to clear. Frosty wanted him to get up. Frosty was afraid, Frosty had told him the challenger’s right was gone. That proved what kind of man- ager he had. Frosty had been tricked. Probably some doll had whispered to him —a doll who would get plenty of pretties from Gunner Borklund, now that she had sold a bill of goods and made it stick. Frosty had been crossed up and now Rowdy was paying. Somehow Rowdy found the strength to regain his feet. He got up at nine, The Gunner rushed in for the kill. But it was too late. The bell caught him. Rowdy had to be taken to his cornen Frosty came up and slopped water on him. Frosty pulled the elastic band away from Rowdy’s belly and all the time he was sputtering. “You’re tryin’ to ruin mei” Frosty wailed. “Just when we're set for the big money, you go crazy on me,” Rowdy said grimly, “You better keep that yap shu€ or one of these days I’m Eomichooks (E(0)