It was a very short battle and was virtually won in the first round, and before a serious blow had been struck. The men faced each other, and it was a long time before any effective move was made. Spring’s attitude was very much the same as the typical “English” attitude of to-day: that is, left foot some eighteen inches in front of the right, left knee slightly bent, left arm out ready to lead, right thrown across the mark to guard. Neate’s position has already been described. It was very stiff and awkward and effective only against a slow boxer. The men exchanged and stopped blows without one landing for some minutes. Once, when Neate sent in a specially hard smack and Spring stopped it coolly with his elbow, he grinned good-naturedly. Then he lowered his hands to tempt Bill Neate to come for him, raising them again the instant the other moved. After a few blows on either side which did at last get home, Spring landed twice on the face, so that Neate turned. The next instant he whipped round, just as though panic had seized him and he had then thought better of it, and rushed the champion to his corner. Tom Belcher cried out to him to go in. “Now’s the time!” But Spring kept perfectly cool, and with deliberation guarded each furious blow that his opponent sent in. Neate tried several times to break through that guard, still keeping Spring at bay in his corner. If he had gone on trying, he might have succeeded. But Spring’s coolness and skill daunted him. He hesitated, and in a measure lost heart. He experienced, at any rate, a momentary feeling of helplessness; and as he hesitated Spring dashed in and fought his way out of the corner. The greater will was Spring’s. Neate closed now to save being hit, and lifted his man nearly off his feet, but Spring was cleverer than he at wrestling and in a moment had twisted him round and thrown him, falling heavily upon him. When they set to for the second round both were very cautious once more. At last Neate shot out his left with all his thirteen stone odd behind it, but Spring threw back his head to avoid it, and countered instantly with a tremendous smash between the eyes, which drew blood immediately. Neate sprang in for his revenge, but once again his opponent made the blow short by moving and sent in another hard one on the head which swung Bill round. For a moment it looked as though he would fall, but he staggered, and got his feet firmly planted again, and went for Spring. The champion, however, caught him by the neck, gave him two or three hard half-arm blows and hurled him to the ground.