THE SQUARED RING

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 210, 18 June 1936, Page 3

THE SQUARED RING

WON BY THE FEET. MANY BOXING CONTESTS. (By «'Referee.") American boxers, those who amount to any consequence anyway, place great reliance upon road work, either running or walking. They claim, and rightly, that if their legs and feet are not in perfect condition they cannot possibly do themselves justice. This is a maxim which no boxer can afford to overlook. Most games that are fought with the hands are won by the feet. They set the pace, govern the action, control the strategy. All the subtlety, and precision of punch are so much waste effort unless they get their impulse from the swift, judicious play of feet. The hands, though the actual connecting link, really only complete the rhythm of the arm action, which the flash of feet has inaugurated. It is this perfection of the relation of the parts that gives the co-ordination so very necessary not only in boxing but in all other phases of sport. There is no dissipation of power, no idle effort, no superfluous display, no art for art's sake. Everything is severely businesslike.

How Much Appreciation? But how many New Zealand boxers appreciate the cardinal precept that it ' is the play of the feet that gives the first impulse to the visible action as indicated by the flashing arm and the well-disciplined hand ? Road work is regarded in some quarters as a shibboleth which should have been cast overboard with other lost causes. But sound and perfectlyconditioned legs mean as much to-day as they ever did. A boxer who attempts •to get by with a few rounds in the gymnasium may do so against a weak opponent, but where the fight goes the full distance what is often mistaken for arm weariness is just plain leg weariness. Decision Remains. Although given time by the NewZealand Boxing Council to think the matter over, Billy Aitken, professional feather-weight champion of the Dominion, refused to shift from his decision not to meet Clarrie Rayner in a title match at Blenheim. His case came before the council when members, in order to give Aitken every opportunity to put the matter right, decided to allow him a little time to change his decision. He was offered a tentative date, and told the council would appoint an outside referee. Aitken's refusal to meet Rayner at Blenheim constitutes a breach of the miles which require a champion to meet any challenge providing it fulfils all the required conditions.

Kelly's Bad Luck. Immediate prospects of a contest Lt the Stadium between Maxie Rosenbloom, former cruiser-weight champion of the world,-and Leo Kelly, have been practically abandoned (reports the Sydney "Sun"). A small metallic foreign body was removed from Kelly's left eye, but there is an additional complication which is of a more serious nature. Kelly is having complete relaxation and his eye is being given delicate treatment by specialists.

Rosenbloom expressed - regret over the situation. He said he had been placed in a particularly difficult position, for he came to Australia to fight Ambrose Palmer, who meanwhile retired and then Kelly suffered this misfortune. The latest report is that Kelly will probably be able to fight again in about a month. The Stadium is certainly in a dilemma again, and the manager (Mr Jack Munro) stated that ultimately it would probably be decided to match Rosenbloom with George Simpson, a. cruiser, who arrived from America recently, Simpson his twice defeated Kelly. Springs A Surprise.

Ralph Aitken's win by a knock-out in the sixth round of his bout with Bob Coughlan, of Palmerston North, at Patea came as a big surprise to the large crowd. In the early rounds Coughlan, who weighed in at 9st 51b compared with Aitken's 9st 41b, appeared to build up a substantial lead on points. The first and fifth rounds were reported even, with Coughlan taking the second, third, and fourth. Coughlan, possessing the more rugged physique, wasted no effort, scoring with smartly-delivered lefts- and rights, perfectly timed. The climax came sensationally when Coughlan had retreated to a neutral corner. Aitken connected with two successive short rights to the jaw and heart and Coughlan droppod for a count of nine. He forced himself to his feet but dropped for the full count. The audience was left bewildered the short blows in the close Work being seen by very few spectators. Strickland Beaten. Larry Cains, of Leicester, beat Maurice Strickland, of New Zealand, on points in a ten-round heavy-weight contest at Leicester. It was not a great fight, and although Cains won comfortably enough at the finish he was carrying a lot of weight, and in the earlier rounds was not so quick as Strickland, who several times employed a right to the face which got through Cains's guard. At the end of the first three rounds the New Zealander was probably leading on points; but from that stage he could rarely get his right effectively to work again ; with the exception of one or two body punches in the eighth and ninth rounds. Meanwhile Cains was exploiting his straight left to the fullest advantage. Indeed, in the sixth, round it was nearly all Cains's left. He kept thrusting it into Strickland's face and the New Zealander could not get past it until a few seconds before the end of the round. There was, however, no strength behind any of the blows that were exchanged during the fight and neither man ever looked likely to go down.