With the guarantee agreement set, I drew up a contract which called for the contest to be staged on September 19, 1954, in Bangkok, with Teddy Waltham, secretary of the British Boxing Board of Control, as neutral referee at a fee of one thousand dollars. A Thai official and myself were to act as judges. With this set, and accompanied by Diamond, I went to the Thailand Embassy in London, and there the Ambassador affixed his signature on behalf of his government, Diamond signed for Cohen, and I signed for the World Boxing Championship Committee, of which I am an honorary member. Thus for the first time in the history of boxing, an Ambassador signed a contract for a boxing match. I was proud of my achievement and prouder still of the manner in which the affair was handled. Boxing received its greatest recognition in recent years when Their Majesties King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirkt, the Thai cabinet, ambassadors and ministers from foreign countries, with high-ranking officers from the Allied Forces stationed in the Far East, all sat in a specially constructed grandstand to watch the fight—despite another torrential rain that kept up until about half an hour before the bout went on. A gathering of 69,819 that paid $200,952.24 saw the Thai champion go down to defeat. As on my first visit, I was quartered in the spacious Resident Palace, a lone occupant except for a valet, two maids, and a cook to look after my comfort. I was given a military car and chauffeur and an English-speaking Police Lieutenant aide, throughout my stay. Outside my residence, two sentries were on duty day and night. On the day of the fight, despite another heavy tropical rain storm, as before, all roads leading to the battleground were jammed throughout the day. People headed for the stadium on foot and in vehicles of various sorts, and to take care of the heavy traffic, two thousand police and members of the armed forces were brought in from the provinces to help the Bangkok force. People from the bordering countries of Cambodia and Laos crowded streets already full of Chinese, Hindus, Filipinos, and Siamese. Outside the stadium, hawkers were carrying huge rolls of cellophane and plastic sheets, which they cut and sold in large strips to take the place of rain coats. These street merchants reaped a harvest. Their merchandise went like hot cakes at 15 bahts (50 cents) a strip. With these over their heads and shoulders, the fans entered the arena and sat in varicolored chairs—blue, white, brown, red, orange, and yellow—arranged in rows.