'a Tiger On The Trail'

Brown is training zealously for his crusade. He now weighs 139, but Trainer Bill Gore wants to put pounds on him. "Joe is liable to lose weight so fast," he says, "he could fall through his drawers and strangle himself."

Brown also has a lean frame of mind. "Him?" Gore snorts. "He thinks he's unbeatable. The way he stalks a fighter, he looks like a savage in the jungle carrying some spear." Says Brown: "It's always been my theory that anybody I can hit I can put out. I can hit Lane."

The price is 2 to 12 Brown and the short end looks good to short-end bettors. A consideration is that the fight is in Houston, which is the sphere of influence of Lou Viscusi, Brown's manager. Another consideration is that Lane's other manager is Jack (Doc) Kearns, a man aware of contingencies. It is felt that the considerations cancel each other out, like paired senators.