A BOXING BUDGET.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 25, 6 March 1914, Page 2

A BOXING BUDGET.

RECENT EVENTS ABROAD.

Peter Felix, once champion of Australia, is now training J6rry Jerome. Jimmy Clabby, who has-agreed-to gor to Australia, under engagement toe' "Showy" Baker, will have his first fight under the present management of the Sydney Stadium on Easter Monday, when he will meet the winner of the M'Goorty-Jeff Smith contest. Bob FitzsimmonS) now 51 years old, managed to have a lamb served up to the slaughter a few weeks ago in a Pennsyl-1 vanian tour. The , was one i 1 Knock-out Dan Sweeney, of - Cleveland, who weighed 13st to Bob's list 131b. Sweeney had a little the better of the first round, but old Fitzsimmons ran rings round him (so 'tis said) in the other five. v .

Frank Thorn, once featherweight champion of Australia, made a great " comeback '' in beating Joe Russell 011 points ia Brisbane recently.. Thorn is said to •have put in a fine spurt over the last five rounds. "* •> •* i V

* The Eddie M'Goorty-Jeff Smith clash has been definitely fixed for March 14. Each man is putting up £2OO to gtiarai-' 'tee that he will not exceed list 61b in : weight at 2 pan. on the day, of the contest, besides £250 to guarantee that he will not pull out of the match. The latter sums had been deposited with the Stadium management before the last mail left Sydney: ANOTHER FALSE ALARM.

Thud! Bandsman Blake's reputation 'has been shattered by gyinnasiujn champion Bombardier Wells x and Englishmen will have to look elsfewhere for a hallmarked, blown-in-the-battle white hope. The enthusiasm' with yrhich Englishmen, periodically parade a new man as a world-beater and th§n find that he is only a "paper champion 1 ' is really amusing. Probably, after- boosting Bandsman Blake and then, finding Wells hammering a tune out of him in- four rounds, they will turn about and declare that ■ths Bombardier has .retrieved' his lost laurels. To colonials the position will merely be that a fine boxer, who is not endowed as a fighter, * a£&?ifrib'\has •••'bQCOine a negligible quantity in the serious business of. the ring, has thrashed a false alarm who happened to be a great deal than himself. As • for thfe may I refer to what I wrote SXJ3& on-February 13? Here is an ex tract r :~—"Englishmen are very sanguine that Bandsman; Blake will turn out to be a tojpjiiotcher. But what in the world have they to go upon at present? There's the rub. A few weeks ago the bandsman was pitted against the Dixie Kid, the negro welter weight, who has been in the game so long that not only his age, but even his real name, has been forgotten. Because the baudsman won, he was looked upon as a possible avenger of Bombardier Wells's defeat by Carpentier. But better metal than the Dixie Kid is needed to test Blake's ability." Enough said!

DAVE SMITH AND DUBOURG. Reports of the recent contest in Sydney betwen Dave Smith and Frenchman Jules Dubourg vary a good deal, but it is apparent from them that Smith did not box in his best form, although he was too good for his opponent. Smith, it seems, had not recovered properly from the shock his nerves received when he was so quickly knocked out by Eddie M'Goorty some weeks ago. Instead of using all his fine skill, lie forced the lighting in an endeavour to land a knockout blow.

Here is a good summary of the bout, from the Sydney ''Bulletin":— The wild cheering that greeted Dave Smith when lie appeared in the ring at the Sydney Stadium, for the first time after his disastrous meeting with Eddie M 'Goorty, evidently filled that boxer with a wild desire to out Jules Dubourg in short order. His anxiety was tempered with high hope owing to the memory left behind by Paul Til and the other French boxers who failed to make good in the not too distant past. So Sjnith came out, even as M'Goorty had advanced on him, and tried to :;u<ldenly overwhelm the Frenchman. But <;be thin, melancholy -looking Caul, was

not to be overwhelmed by any sudden rush. He is an excellent boxer, and he has pluck and capacity for punishment.; In a few rounds he demonstrated that he was quicker with his left than Smith, and had he possessed a punch; Smith would not have lived seven' rounds. As it was, he hit Smith whenever he liked, but-didn't hit him hard enough. If he had had an axe the business wouldn't have lasted two seconds. Smith fought what can be der scribed only as a rotten fight. Hisanxiety to retrieve his reputation was painful, and led him to take risks that, had the . clever Gaul been able to hit hard, or hadjhe taken his club into the ring with [him, would hax-e led to Smith's downfall. The Frenchman has a good guard, and, moreover, has the knack of bending to the blows he cannot dodge in a manner that robs them, of all their effect and half their sting. Over and over again he made Smith's swings and swipes and wallops look, crude and amateurish. Dubourg would have won the fight had 1 he ''gone for" Smith. But he was a stranger fighting in a foreign land, and seemed to feelVl the strangeness. So he didn't' lead, nor did he follow up .wliat_ advantages he scored, ,11 or did he bite Smith once. "What 'someone who, should do is to - whisper in his ear that it is wrong to. be polite in a boxftig ring. His .game is to bash the Other fellow on the jaw and 'put it all over him, aiid wallop him off the premises, and make him feel as if the pyramids of' Egypt , had dropped on him'. Dubbuxg is quite a. , different type of fighter from the ones who have preceded him from his own . country; He is full of grit, lie, is scrupulously fair, he is skilful*, ami he ' ean take punishment; arid, judging by' his exhibition on Saturday night/ lie-, requires only confidence to develop? into,' a first-class fighting' At--present ; lie is only a boxer 1

AUSTRALIA IN THE COLD: , _ The movement _to form an international: boxing board is 'advancing, but in a way which, will not please Australasians. Writing on. this subject,, -- the London representative of the Syd-, ney,"Sun" says:— vii . ' - . ' f Australia will have, ; to bestir herself if she wishes' teFnaVe. anyvoic'e' inde-; cidiirg on what lines boxing championships sliall be conducted. Prom a-very, ; influential quarter a move' has beenr> made to create an International Council that shall control these contests." Tli6 French sporting authorities rushed the sityation by forming' a federation which really represented nothing or no>bodjr outside France. They haye to achieve their object in gaining command of the boxing arena, but, their action has stimulated English enthusi- ' asts to take step 3 which may-lead to> the formation of \s, real itfternatlbnai . body. It is proposed that Britain,. : France, and the United States should.unite in- thrawing up rules. and- regulations to govern all championships. No. -/ one Ijas given £he slightest thought- tor the p#u*t has? played and at present taking in the arena. Though nearly every English boxer of any rioted • is in the .the .promoters of. this* seheme are calmly - ignoring Australia's light .to be- eonr suited. They are going on the, assumption. that 12,0,00 *m}es fi «>of sea make 12,000 reasons ,why Australia should be= left out of account., . It, therefore,.behoves those wlio take an interest in. boxijig something which will dis- ■ pel this false conception of the- preeminence 'of England in - the Englishspeaking boxing world. ' Luekily, it takes a long time for-any movement--lof this feort td come to a headj but [it will not do for Australians to procras- ' tinate if they want to take part in> - deciding how ring championships are to be arranged, and- managed. I understand that this matter is one of- the '. reasons why, 1 Snowy' Baker is coming: to England. " .

PEDANTRY, OR WHAT?

The members of the Ghristchurch. . Sports Club who gathered on Tuesday evening for the club's annual meetingwere considerably surprised—and most of them were annoyed—when they found that the meeting could, not bell eldbecause an absent member had raised the objection that the club's - - rules had not been complied with strictly. Here is a copy of the letter, forwarded to the chairman by Mr T. Aschman, which caused the meeting tobe put off: — "Permit ine to direct your attention to the following facts:—(l) I have received "no notice for the annual general. ■ meeting. That it was to be held tonight I. learned by accident. (2) The notice,sent to other members is dated February 26, 1914. (3) Rule 17 of the Rules of the Christchurch SportsClub says, inter alia:- 'At least seven days' notice must be given membersof any general meeting, at which six members shall form a quorum.' I submit that the requisite number of dayshas not been allowed in sending out the- / notices, and that no business of the annual general meeting, can be conducted until the rule lias been complied with. The only communication I have received from the Sports; Club this season is a balance sheet and a report. The latter bears -no authority of chairman, secretary, or any inem- ' tier of the committee."

It was stated that nonces had been sent to all members of the club, so; apparently Mr Aschman's had been miscarried. The point that seven- days r J notice had not been, given was correct, but, as six or six and a-half days' notice had. been given, the insistence on the strict, letter of the rule seems something like splitting straws.. The fault-arose through the club having a temporary secretary, the new secretary not haying taken up his duties at the time.; the date of the meeting wss fixed. Asf for the committee's report , bearing > no authority, the chairman explained that he did not think it neeessarv to- sign it.

Taking the matter by and large,fMr Asclnnan seems to have been too insistent on matters of detail. Pedantry ami insistence on the observance of every letter of every rule do not conduce to enthr.siasin •in any Sport. - ' A. L. C.