[bigMatt]

The Cow Palace in San Francisco hosts round one of the UoLBA tournament, pitting the best heavyweights in the world against one another to determine the first UoLBA champion. Each fighter winning his opening 12 round match in this two night affair will advance to round two, held at Berlin's Olympia Stadion next Friday and Saturday night.

FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 1890 - Lucky fans here tonight will witness history in the making, as the first four fights of the UoLBA tourney commence. Tonight's action will pit #1 contender John C. Heenan (21-0) against fellow American Leroy Jones (20-0-1). Heenan has earned 19 early stoppages in his 21 bouts, 11 of them in the first round. Jones for his part, has 5.

Round 1 - The fight starts with both contestants looking to take the early advantage. Jones, well aware of Heenan's reputation as an early finisher, tempers his advance with caution. After a couple of scoring left hooks by Jones, Heenan slips through his defense to land a devastating right cross in the opening minute, turning Jones' head completely around. A follow-up cross lands again and after a flailing miss by Jones, a third right cross opens a wound above the right eyebrow of Jones. This is an ill omen for Jones, but he weathers the early storm to finish strongly, even staggering Heenan with a flurry at the end of the round. Despite the blood, ringside observers gave round one narrowly to Jones.

Round 2 - Round two starts with a more active Jones scoring quickly to Heenan's body. It is becoming apparent that Jones' strategy is to focus on The Benicia Boy's body in hopes to take the sting out of Heenan's punches. Jones corner has done a good job closing the wound suffered in round one. This lasts until midway through round two, when Heenan rips a devastating uppercut that staggers Jones and reopens his wound. The wound is bleeding more freely, and the referee brings in the doctor to review the damage. Jones is allowed to continue, but urgency is now the call from Jones corner. The round ends solidly for Heenan, whose stronger punches likely won him the round.

Round 3 - Blood continues to trickle from the wound above Jones eyebrow. He takes the initiative early again to score a couple of body shots. Heenan takes his time to find the right opening, and when he does, he takes full advantage, landing a big right cross directly to the head of Jones, staggering the other fighter. Heenan continues his advance, scoring seemingly at will this round, dominating Jones throughout.

Round 4 - Heenan wastes no time getting started in round 4, this time going to the body of Jones then rocking him with a mighty uppercut in the first seconds of the round. Jones was badly shaken and is now just trying to hold on. Heenan chases Jones around the ring, trying to land the shot that fells him. Jones backpeddles and clinches, managing to stay upright as his head clears. With 30 seconds left in the round, Heenan lands a right to the head of Jones that hurts him again. Heenan traps Jones in the corner, thinking he might be able to end it right now. But in a game of possum, Jones wings a solid uppercut to the chin of Heenan as he gets within range, staggering Heenan right as the bell sounds. This round was either even, or a narrow win for Heenan.

Round 5 - The trickle of blood evident from Jones eyebrow over the past 4 rounds has been stopped again by his excellent cut man. But in the opening 8 seconds of the round, Jones walks into a big cross from Heenan that momentarily stops him. Jones scores on two excellent jabs, keeping Heenan honest. Heenan looks for an opening and his patience again pays off, as he lands a strong right hook to stun Jones. Jones tries to manuever away from Heenan's powerful right hand, but Heenan pursues his opponent and pastes him with a shot right to the chin. Jones' knees buckle and down he goes. Jones is quickly up after the count of one, standing for the mandatory 8 count. Blood is flowing freely again from the wound above Jones' eyebrow. The referee stops the fight and again calls the fight doctor over to have a look at the wound. Jones corner is pleading his case, but to no avail. The fight is over. John C. Heenan advances!