There he lay while the referee
tolled off the count of ten, and as the official took Billy's hand
in his and raised it aloft in signal that he had won the fight
the fickle crowd cheered and screamed in a delirium of joy.
Cassidy crawled through the ropes and threw his arms
around Billy.
"I knew youse could do it, kid!" he screamed. "You're as
good as made now, an' you're de next champ, or I never seen
one."
The following morning the sporting sheets hailed "Sailor"
Byrne as the greatest "white hope" of them all. Flashlights of
him filled a quarter of a page. There were interviews with him.
Interviews with the man he had defeated. Interviews with
Cassidy. Interviews with the referee. Interviews with everybody,
and all were agreed that he was the most likely heavy
since Jeffries. Corbett admitted that, while in his prime he
could doubtless have bested the new wonder, he would have
found him a tough customer.
Everyone said that Byrne's future was assured. There was
not a man in sight who could touch him, and none who had
seen him fight the night before but would have staked his last
dollar on him in a mill with the black champion.
Cassidy wired a challenge to the Negro's manager, and
received an answer that was most favorable.
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