Sunday Jumble Spoiler – 07/16/17

Visual Description:  A James “Buster” Douglas type deal.

HGRACE  =  CHARGE,  HARWTT  =  THWART,  OHHTUG  =  THOUGH,  CILOPE  =  POLICE,  NOMIEC  =  INCOME,  CENBOK  =  BECKON   —   Giving us:  HAETHTTHUPOCINMBE

Clue/Question:  The boxer was expected to win easily, but his opponent – – –

Pre-Answer:  Five Words  (4-letters) (3-letters) (2-letters) (3-letters) (5-letters)

Answer:  BEAT HIM TO THE PUNCH

(Who doesn’t like a good boxing pun?  Great Jumble!  There were no new clue words today, but 5 of the jumbles were new.  Hoyt has used “cenbok” some time before.  They all came to me pretty easily.  The answer letter layout was very impressive.  Nothing obvious about it.  As usual, the clue/question and the cartoon – and dialog – set things up very nicely.  The Don King-esque promoter was a nice touch. 

I remember watching the Buster Douglas upset of Mike Tyson, on HBO, a bunch of years ago.  Even though I had been a Tyson fan, he had grown arrogant and boorish.  The fight was in Japan, and there were some Japanese dignitaries in the ring, during the pre-fight ceremonies, and Tyson completely dis-respected them.  I was glad that Douglas beat him.  I also remember watching the relatively unknown,  but up and coming George Foreman stun Joe Frazier, in a fight carried on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, when I was 15 years old.  Everyone expected it to be a fight, as Frazier, the champ, was heavily favored.  But, the combination of Foreman’s brute strength, and Frazier’s straight forward style of “boxing”, made it a slaughter, that didn’t even last 2 rounds.  I thought that Howard Cosell was going to have a stroke, the way he shrieked:  “Down goes Frazier!  Down goes Frazier!  Down goes Frazier!”  It’s one of those memories that are indelibly etched in my brain.  Be well and do good, friends.)   —   YUR