Most newspapers appear to have favoured Gibbons, the NY Times even calling it an 'easy decision'. But Fleischer said this: "Lewis, actually outpointed the St Paul Phantom and those who had come to cheer Mike to victory turned to cheer the cocky Britisher instead. When the bout was over, Gibbons was bleeding from several cuts about the face, and his wind was none too good. Lewis left the ring without a scratch."
You pretty well answered the question already, at least as well as it can be answered now. Unless you can come up with more opinions of respected observers who had an opinion like Fleischer than opinions that favor Gibbons, we have to say that Gibbons deserves to have his name mentioned in the record books as the winner of the newspaper decisions. It sounds like that's what you've already been working on.
Mike Gibbons' thoughts on the fight: "After reading the accounts of my bout with Ted Lewis I have come to the conclusion that several New York sporting writers do not know anything about the boxing game, although they are looked on as authorities. I have been criticised for not knocking Lewis out, but when a man enters a contest with the sole intention of avoiding a knockout it is a very hard thing to do in ten rounds."
Here's a good write-up I found... Trenton Evening Times 5/19/69 (Gibbons') margin of victor was not very large and, at the finish, some of the skeptics wagged their heads and declared it to be "one of those things." So it is always apparently, when Gibbons fights in this city. He is expected to slaughter them all. As a matter of fact, Lewis deserves a world of credit for the resistance he made against the man rated as the ring's cleverest workman. Rallying from the effects of a hard beating in the first couple rounds, Lewis came along and fought with redoubled vigor in the closing rounds. He had the better of the eighth round by so wide margin that the crowd cheered him enthusiastically. In the two closing periods Lewis came out with fresh courage and gave the Masterly One at least as good as he took. It was a great recovery and as unexpected as it was complete. Lewis left the ring crowned a hero, while Gibbons must of necessity furnish new evidence of his mastery before he can be accepted as the world's middleweight champion. Gibbons did not stow the Britisher away, and there the fans found fault. In the first couple of rounds the St. Paul ghost went at his man, landing hard, snappy punches that jarred and hurt. The closest approach to a knowdown came in the third round, when Mike drove a vicous smash into the body and dropped Lewis to one knee. The Briton was up instantly, clinching and holding until the effects of the punch wore off.
