The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-02-25
STOPS FRANKLIN IN EIGHT ROUNDS
 AT CLEVELAND
Officially Rated Number Two Challenger for
 Heavyweight Crown
BY JACK CUDDY United Press Staff Correspondent

DA ShSAA SoDDI
 United Press Staff Correspondent)
 Cleveland, February 25. = (UP)- Bob Pastor, New York, mercurial mauler, is back on the heavyweight heights today, officially recognized as the worlds No. 2 contender by virtue of his brilliant knockout vic- tory over Cleveland's coffee-colored Kayo artist, Lem Franklin.
 Fred Sady of Milwaukee, chair man of the National Boxing Asso- ciation's Rating Committee, an- nounced the No. 2 designation right after the 10-count ended over Frank lin in the eighth round last night before a crowd of 13,278 fans in the Arena - a record indoor Cleveland sports crowd that established new indoor gate figure of $52,547.
 Only Billy Conn now stands be- tween black haired, fair skinned Pastor and third tilt with Cham p1on Joe Louis because of Bob's Grand performance in which he not only upset the 1915 betting odds but actually belted out the big, broad shouldered Negro who was supposed to flatten Pastor in an early round.
 It was the first full-count kayo ever registered against Franklin, who outWeighed the New York veteran l97 1-2 pounds to 181, and who en- tered the ring riding a string of 19 straight victories, including IT kayoes.
 Rover RnSf
 Referee Joe Sedley counted out Franklin at 2:08 of the eighth round after Pastor had given memorable demonstration of the superiority of boxing skill over the sheer power of Slugger.
 Franklin, who had knocked out Tony Musto and Big Abe Simon in less time than it took Joe Louis, seemed destined to turn the same trick on Pastor in the first two rounds when he exploded laundering punches on the smaller mans head and body. He had bobbing Bob in such trouble several times that Pastors manager, Little Jimmy Johnston, was screaming from be- meath the corner, keep moving, Bob = Keep moving" And Bob kept moying - frantically, like distraught mongoose | with flying feet and flickering body.
 Pastor went to the canvas once in the second round. It wasn't full-fledged knockdown because Bob slipped before dropping to one knee While bouncing away from a hard right smash to the heart. Bob also suffered a gashed left eye in that frame.
 Pastor, who had gone q rouneD with Louis, again displayed his re- markable recuperative powers and then took command in the third which he never relinquished. By this time he had studied Franklin's awkward maneuvers and leaned the big fellows weaknesses. So he went about giving Lammin' Lem a boxing lesson. He had Franklin missing like drunken dive bomber, meanwhile smothering exasperated Lem with jolting leather.
 Sure of Victory
 Pastors killing pace and body blows had Franklin slowed to a walk in the fifth, and the New York veteran-sensing certain victory - was winking over the Negro's shoulder to Manager Johnston in the cllnches. Franklin rallied desper- ately in the sixth though he lost the round. That was his last stand. Busy Bob barraged him unmerci- fully in the seventh and continued the attack in the eighth. In the lat ter session, left hook to the jaw buckled Franklin's knees. Then pas- tor forced him into the ropes and rained leather to the head, until a hard right hook brought Lem lurching off the ropes into a nose dive to the canvas. He lay stretched out on the canvas, half supported by his elbows; then staggered to his feet just after the count of ten had been reached.
 Referee Smedley forgot to mark his slip "knockout'', and one of the two judges wrote technical knockout" on his slip. Whereupon the an- nouncer called out that Pastor had won on technical knockout" but this soon was corrected by the referee, and another announcement was made.