Thiselton Gap, England: Joe Lashley claimed the world title from London hero and ring legend Ben Bryan in May and the murmurs among the fancy concerning the impropriety of a West Indian holding the cherished heavyweight prize had grown to shrill cries in the six months since. All hoped that former champion Thomas Owen would put a quick end to Lashley's reign. All were bitterly disappointed.
Owen had modest success in the second and fourth rounds when he was able to work Lashley's body to his advantage but the champ penned the rest of the story. Lashley was aggressive throughout and scarcely gave Owen room to breathe. The crowd howled for a foul when an accidental clunk of the noggins in the fifth left the challenger with a badly swollen left eye but the referee (an REC man) was all about fair play and would hear none of it. By the end of the sixth, Lashley had evened things out for Owen by causing his right eye to swell matching the left.
A mighty wallop in the seventh ripped the flesh open over Owen's right eye and sent him down in a heap. Blurry-eyed and wobbled, Owen struggled to his feet at a count of six and held on for dear life. Lashley beat his man nearly senseless in the eighth and again in the ninth. By the tenth frame, Owen was all but blind and nothing more than a side of beef hooked up for Lashley to butcher. With nearly a minute to go in the round, the referee called a halt in the action and waited for the constables to gather at ringside before waving off the fight. Owen's battered frame was poured into a carriage and trotted of to a local inn for what aid could be found.
Joe Lashley may not yet have London's heart but he certainly has its attention.
Other Doings:
In his first bout since losing the title to Lashley, Ben Bryan took a terrible beating at the hands of Housa the Jew. Supporters rushed the ring in the fourth round causing general mayhem and the authorities had to be summoned. The bout was declared a no decision and Bryan promptly announced his retirement.
BLOODBATH AT THISELTON GAP