down fourteen seconds, in which most of the ringside agreed with. The fifth consecutive knockout came in the form of his defeat of Jack Reed on May 23, 1912. Rise through the ranks On August 5, 1912, McCarty lost the fight via newspaper decision to experienced Jim Stewart. In the fourth, Stewart landed his right on McCarty's jaw with all his might, resulting in his opponent dropping his hands and grinning. McCarty started off with a rush, taking Stewart by surprise and slamming him back against the ropes with a volley of left and right swings and straight punches. Stewart stopped almost everything. McCarty started with a left jab to the face. In the ninth round, McCarty nearly floundered to the floor from weariness when Stewart made him miss. On August 6, 1912, The New York Times wrote that "McCarty did his best work with a left hook. He showed plenty of punching power with this hand. And occasionally he jarred Stewart with his right, but his work with this hand was crude. He was continually trying for Stewart's stomach, but he seemed unable to land in a manner which carried any speed behind the blow. He rushed continually, with his arms extended at full length, and wasted the power which the blow would have carried had he stood still and snapped his punches." Following his loss to Stewart, McCarty began his journey towards the top of the heavyweight division by facing future lineal champion Jess Willard (10–2–0, 7 KOs) at Madison Square Garden on August 19, 1912. At the weigh-in, Luther, 20 at the time of the fight, weighed in at 203 and a one-quarter pounds, one of the heaviest he had weighed professionally; Willard, 30, came in heavier at 224 pounds. On August 20, 1912, The New York Times wrote: "Willard's great height and reach had McCarty baffled in the first two rounds, but in the next two the Westerner tore in at a clip that gave promise of an easy victory, if not a knockout. Willard came back strong, however, in the later rounds of the bout, drove McCarty back with his accurate left jabs, shook McCarty from head to toes with terrific right uppercuts, and had him bleeding from the mouth, nose and forehead. Both of McCarty's eyes were swollen when he left the right, and Willard carried a large bruise on his left cheek." The