Thiselton Gap, Leicester: Gentleman John and Big Ben met last year for the inaugrual crowning of a world champion in George Square with Jackson dominating and forcing a bloody end in a mere five rounds. The rematch proved to be all that had been hoped for but unfulfilled the previous fall. The two big men set to landing powerful blows in the second stanza with each taking pleasure in showing what their chin could bare. Through eight rounds the tilt was deadlocked but the jam soon broke and furiously so.
Jackson dropped his guard for a moment in the ninth and tasted a short uppercut as his medicine. The blow sent him to the ground quickly but the champ hopped up like a rabbit at first count. Still a bit stunned, Jackson deflected several more haymakers from Big Ben with his head before the round came to an end. The Champ seemed ill prepared to start the tenth and was knocked on his back twice more as Bryan took command. Looking surprisingly spry, Jackson avoided further trouble in the eleventh as he regained his senses and bided time. Big Ben took a turn inspecting the ground as Jackson laid him out twice with mighty crosses in the twelfth. The second blow left Bryan utterly senseless but the bell saved him for another go-round.
With the outcome in absolute question, both men swung hard for the final two rounds but neither gained further ground leaving the belt's resting place in the hands of the referee and arbiter. The eventual ruling stunned the largely Jackson crowd as the official announced his decision of eight rounds for Bryan, seven for Jackson.
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