Evening star., 1941-04-05
Almost Blinded,
Baer Hits Deck
Twice al End
$4,000 Pay $4,000
To See Lou Prove
He Can Take 1t
BY GALE TALBOT,
Associated Press Sports Writer.

NEW YORK, April 5.-Maxie
Baer, at 80, finally is through as a
top-ranking heavyweight. and Lou
Nova stands out in bold delief as
the man ready to fight Joe Louis
for the championship. 1t will be
quite a battle when they eventually
get together.
Nova, using a wicked left as his
principal weapon. stabbed Baer into
a dead tired, helpless technical
knockout in the eighth round be-
fore more than $4,000 spectators
who paid above $4,000 in Madison
Square Garden last night.
Both Baer's eyes were puffed al
most shut and he protested only
momentarily when Referee Arthur
Donovan pried them apart in 2;l3
of the eighth round. The former
champion plainly had had enough.
He had shot his best rights and
found that they were not enough.
Nova May Replace Conn.
Promoter Mike Jacobs, stalking
around the ring afterward, said he
didn't know the score for sure. Nova
might fight Louis almost any min
ute, he said, or again, it might be
Billy Conn to face the champion.
1--we got them both under con-
tract" said Mike. mo, it isn't GER
tain that Conn will get the first
crack at Louis. Nova looked pretty
good tonight, didn't he? And what
about that return fight Louis has
with Abe Simon? Hadn't we better
wait and see who wins that one?"
All of this might give some vague
idea that the heavyweight situation
is somewhat less than settled. There
is no question, however, about the
licking Nova gave our gallant Make
last night.
They went at it hard from the
first bell and it was a thriller while
it lasted. A spectator collapsed and
died in an early round as the two
big fellows slugged each other
around the ring.
Baer, weighing 22O24 to Nova's
20234, grimaced and clowned as is
his wont in the opening rounds.
Several times he stood and invited
Nova to come in and fight and
Nova invariably accommodated him.
Make powdered his fellow Cali
fornian with his vaunted right,
knocking him half down in the
fourth round. But Nova steadily
moved in and gradually reduced
Max to the vestige Of once great
fighter.
III say this much for him,
though" said Nova in the dressing
room, "he still can hit like ton Of
brick. I don't want to brag, but I
| don't think Joe Louis could have
taken those punches he hit me"
Nova was unmarked and compar-
atively fresh. His chief handler.
Ray Arcel, merely held an ice pack
against an infamed left ear as Nova
did the talking.
"All I want now is crack at
Louis" he kept saying. I'll be
heavyweight champion as soon as I
get that guy in the ring"
Stamina Nova's Chief Forte.
The main thing Nova displayed
last night was a world of endurance
and an ability to take it, the same
qualities he showed in beating Baer
by a similar technical knockout two
summers ago. This time, however,
he was a little more cautious about
letting Make hit him on the jaw.
Make hit him only about dozen
this time all told And after the
fourth round, in which they stood
and punched each other dizzy, Max
was all through. The veteran came
to pieces slowly right before the eyes
as NovaS left thudded into his face,
Finally in the eighth, with Baer's
knees ready to buckle, Nova began
swiping him with a right. Down
Make went for nine count, on his
knees. He was up. but another right
conked him for a toll of two. This
time when he struggled to his pins
Referee Donovan was waiting for
him.