The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-12-14
THOMAS PROVED TOUGH IN TEST
 WITH STORYTELLING
Six KnOckdOwns Before Bout Is Stopped; Loser
 Won Three Rounds
By LEsIIE AVERY

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 United Press StaR COrrespOndent)
 New York, Dec. 14-(UP)-Me- thodical Max schmeling, as delib- crate as e farmer blasting Stumps from @ field, detonated one charge of right hand dynamite after an- other on Harry Thomas chin last night to clear the stout Minnesota boy from the road to the heavy weight title.
 A crowd of 16,125 that paid $74,- 10023 to see Maxie oil up his rusty ring weapons on Q practice target, roared it's approval when Referee Artie Donovan humanely stopped the fight near the end of the eighth round. Thomas had been hoored six times.
 Reassured of the potency of his right-hand after l8 months of ir1- action, Maxie will leave on the Europa tomorrow to spend Christi mas at home in Germany. He will fight Ben Foord of South Africa in Hamburg Jan. % in a second prep" match. Desiring a third tune-up be- fore meeting Joe Louis for the title in June, Schmeling conferred with Promoter Mike Jacobs today re- garding an opponent for @ Miami match in March.
 Thomas was a hard boy to hit and gave me some trouble until ! hit my stride" Maxie said today. T needed a fight like that because I wanted to make sure my fists still carried the sting that knocked out Joe Louis in 1936. My timing was of at first, and m glad 1t lasted as long as 1t did, because I needed the work"
 Thomas, a former college football player and professional baseball catcher, took three of the first four rounds on the United Press score sheet. He belted the Germans head and body with wild rights and lefts from the opening bell, but Max managed to get an uppercut in the first stanza, that, Thomas said later, hurt plenty.
 The German threw his first hard right in the second round, and 1t landed flush on the Minnesota farm boys chin, stunning him momen- tarily. Donovan warned Thomas for low punching in this session
 Thomas came back strong for the third, rushing Maxie almost of his feet with a two-fisted attack. He rained punches to body and head to win the round. A jolting left hook was Harry's margin In the fourth.
 In the fifth schmeling really got his sights trained, and three times he staggered Harry with right hooks to the jaw. A cut Thomas got on the chin in the second began to guish blood. But he fought back gamely and staged a late furry to hold the German even. It was Har- ry's last stand.
 In the sixth Max landed at least 6 dozen short, jolting rights that turned Thomas legs to rubber. With his awkward defense gone, Harry was an open target, and Schmeling continued to dress him down for the kill in the seventh. A hard right to the jaw had the Minnesotan on one knee just as the bell ended the round. It was the first time he had been of his feet in 72 professional fights over the last i've years.
 As they came out for the fateful eighth, Schmeling exploded another right to the chin that sent Thomas swaying to both knees, but he was up chasing MaXie before the count reached two. Another chopping right dropped him 6 second time, and again he was ur fast. He got up from the canvas twice more, but after the fifth straight knockdown he only managed to stagger to his feet. His gameness might have car- ried him through the round-there was only six seconds left-but the crowd was screaming and Referee Donovan mercifully stopped the slaughter.
 Schmeling weighed 196 pounds, Q quarter pound less than Thomas.