3.—Travers again led with the left, the blow alighting on Mace’s breast, when Mace caught him on the side of the head. Bob retreated, and went down to avoid. (Bos Tyler here appealed to the referee, who declined to notice the get down. “Go on.”)
4.—The Black, all activity, was all over the ring, Mace watching his gyrations keenly and following him close up. After a little fiddling, Mace got near enough, and planted his left sharply, but Travers, ducking his head at the instant, caught the blow on the top of his impenetrable skull. The Black tried to take a lead, but did not get home; Mace, getting to distance, planted a sharp left-hander in Bob’s face, who fell immediately in the middle of the ring. (Loud cries from Mace’s partisans of “Stand up! remember the 13th rule!”)
5.—Both men went eagerly to work, Mace got on a stinger over the left eyebrow; after some wild exchanges, in which Jem peppered the nigger handsomely, both were down, Travers first to earth.
6.—Travers dashed to in-fighting, when Mace again propped him beautifully, and after a scramble in the close, Bob got down anyhow.
7.—Travers, leading with the left, again reached Mace’s breast, when Mace stepped back and recovered guard. As Bob now broke in turn Mace followed as usual, and taking exact measure, popped in his left on the Darkey’s thick lips; Bob again sidled and skipped about the ring and as Jem was letting go a straight one the Black fell, as a bystander observed, “with the wind of the blow.”
8 to 14.—Similar in character, and an appeal by Hicks to the referee followed by a “caution” to Travers from that functionary. From the 15th to the 30th round Travers pursued the same dropping tactics, getting home with little effect at the opening of each round, but unable to prevent Mace’s stinging deliveries, from which his left eye was now fast closing, besides other serious disfigurements. Loud disapprobation was expressed at the Black’s shifty tactics, and in the 32nd round the referee got into the ring and went to Travers’s corner to warn him of the danger he was incurring. Bob assured him his fall was accidental, from the state of his shoes and the ground.
33.—Travers fought his man foot to foot in a fine rally, the hitting all in favour of Mace, and both down.
34.—Bob tried to lead once more, but Jem countered him beautifully, and the Black in getting away fell.
35 to 40.—Travers at the old game again, leading off, getting home slightly, and then scrambling or slipping down to avoid the consequences of standing up to his man. That Mace was winning as fast as his opponent’s shiftiness would allow was manifest. In the 57th and last round, after hitting out, the Black shifted his position, and as Mace was delivering his blow deliberately threw himself down. The referee now decided the battle against him, and Mace was hailed the victor at the end of one hour and thirty-one minutes. A scene of disgraceful confusion followed; Travers’s friends assailing the referee with the foulest abuse, and refusing to accept his decision. Travers shed tears, and declared he was ready to fight on, refusing to shake hands with his opponent. Travers was severely punished; Mace’s bruises were unimportant.
After some acrimonious disputation and letter-writing, the referee’s decision was properly upheld by the stakeholder, and the money handed over to Mace at Mr. Smithers, “Golden Cross,” Charing Cross, Norwich, on the ensuing Friday week.