12 Sports Aces, May 1943 — page 57: what you’re looking at

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

THE PUNCH PROFESSOR 55 + Bre Ors Gor Gor Oe Gs right. Fast as he was, the lane closed a bit faster.. Spider Johnson took the force of that lethal right on the shoulder he chunked his jaw behind, but Matty’s Sunday punch caught a piece of his jaw, stag- gered the Spider. The whites of his eyes rolled and he fell into a elinch. The bell clanged before the ref could pry them apart. “You had him for a second, lad,” Spike said. “He felt that. Get him this round.” Matty nodded. Confidence flowed through him. The fanciest of them slowed to a walk when you tabbed them with the old sockeroo. He went out for the seventh and erowded the Spider. He sunk a hard right hook in the Spider’s guts and crossed with a sharp left to the head. The glove thudded home to the jaw, Spider Johnson dove to the canvas, rolled over, seemed to struggle to get up, and flopped back to the rosin as the fans rattled the rafters. UT Matty Rourke was puzzled. In the dressing room as Spike cut off his gloves, Matty frowned. “That Spider certainly folded in a hur- ry,” he said. “I didn’t tag him as hard with that left as I did with the right in the sixth. He must have a bad spot on that one side.” _ Spike’s eyes were cloudy. He looked at Tim McCarty. Tim said, “Yeah, doe, a glass jaw, I guess.” He kept looking at Spike. The door opened and Henly, the pro- moter of the fight, came in. He was fok lowed by a tall stern-visaged man with the straight stiff bearing of a military man. Henly said without preamble: “Babb, I won’t be able to pay off on your end of the purse. Colonel Eisen has ordered me to withhold it pending inves- tigation.” “What investigation? What are you talking about?” The tall military-appearing man an- swered Spike Babb. “As chairman of the Commission,” Col- onel Eisen said, “I must inform you that we are not satisfied with tonight’s fight. Whispered rumors came to us several days ago that something not according to Hoyle was being concocted. We get such rumors before every big fight and naturally we do not attach too much sig- nificance to them. But we never ignore them. ~ “Tonight’s fight, gentlemen, looks queer. I think we all agree—and a can- vass of experts at the ringside brings the | same composite opinion—that Spider Johnson weathered harder blows than the one that knocked him out.” Spike Babb eyed the Commission offi- cial. “The knockout punch ain’t always the hardest sock, Colonel,” he said. have been worn down before now until they practically fell over.” “Not after they had led the whole fight; not by such light punishment as Johnson took!” Tim McCarty was watching Henly. The former newspaperman drawled softly, “So you knew something shady was being pulled. Is this something else Benson en- gineered ?” “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” The promoter was indignant. He blustered, “Be careful of your tongue, McCarty. There is such a thing as slan- der ! > “And there’s such a thing as slimy liz- ards that let themselves be used by skunks in high places,’ Tim McCarty said. He faced Colonel Bisen. “Just what is the specific charge?” Colonel Eisen hesitated, finally said, “We make no charge as yet. In the light of what happened, however, we intend to make thorough investigation. If there is any slight proof that Spider Johnson de- liberately threw this fight to Rourke— well, the Commission will take drastic action.” “If Johnson went into the tank, nobody connected with Matty Rourke knew about it,” Tim McCarty said. “We welcome an investigation.” : Matty Rourke said grimly, “I believe this is further effort on the part of B, J. Benson to ruin me. I should weleome a complete airing of this business as well as other peculiar occurrences to me.” Eomichbooks “Men ° (E(0)