BOXING.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 116, 17 May 1924, Page 21

BOXING.

I RINGSIDE GOSSIP. I It was rather a pity that the Northern Boxing Association's special entertainj ment for the men of the Imperial Ser-H : vice Squadron on Tuesday night was not ' ! made more public, since the scats in the 1 Town Hall were by no means fully occu- j ; pied. With a view to making the even- i | ing a success, the N.B.A. voted the sum '1 of £50 for trophies. This was a com-:< mendaible action, since amateurs are too : often required to perform without any reward. The Naval mon thoroughly ap- ] predated it. All the bouts were eon- j i ducted under Imperial Service rules, and officers of the squadron assisted in the ] judging and refereeing. Bluejackets < and .Marines are real sportsmen, as they ~ : proved by their applause when any of j j ! the local amateurs was given the decision over a man from the squadron. ! There were outbursts of enthusiasm ji whenever a popular boxer from the' squadron entered the ring, the man's ' i own particular mess mates invariably 'A raising a great shout. | On the whole the standard of boxing \\ seen at the Town Hall was well up to i the standard general in Auckland,' I though one or two contests were tame, j 'Three Auckland amateurs, MacLaren, I .-'Sullivan and Bowden were given the i' award over Naval men, and in each ' case the win was thoroughly deserved. Milne, of Eugene Donovan's school, fought very pluckily against an exper- ' ienced ex-champion. Jeal, of the Repulse, ( and fully merited the cheers which were!' accorded him by the sailors. They know I' a good boy when they see one. Taylor, 1 1 who is well-known locally, made a great fight of it when matched with Boy (lst|< class) Bickle. An extra round was or-1 dered, and in this the little chap from \l the Hood gave a splendid account of i f himself. It was the best bout of the night. • 1 In connection with Tuesday's enter- j tainment, two performances are of c special interest to local enthusiasts— those of MacLaren and Bowden. The first-named, who came into prominence ■ when he was given the nod over Reg j Trowern on the occasion of his first public appearance, met Harold of the Repulse, a good boxer. Needless to say, ( MacLaren did not win easily, but be i earned every point. This young boxer, who is fulfilling all his earlier promise, is steadily improving under the tutelage ( of Fred Batchelor, and he certainly looks like this year's feather-weight . champion. Bowden, a newcomer, boxed , well for a novice and, like MacLaren, , punched with great power. If he can i overcome a certain cramped characteristic be should do well in the game.

J. F. W. McLAREN

is the very promising young amateur who has i been doing so well in recent boxing carnivals in AuckI land. His experience of the pugi- { listic art has been of the shortest, and what he knows .has been absorbed ! within tbe last six weeks, under the instruction of F. Batchelor, the local gym. instructor, McLaren first came info prominence by defeating the fast and clever Trowern, whose skill is known to Auckland enthusiasts. Since then he has won his other two fights, one against a local boy, and the last against a clever naval boy, in the Town Hall this week. That "he can punch hard was shown in his latest encounter, when he dropped the sailor boy in the second round, and McLaren's sportmanship was also in evidence, when he stood off and made no attempt to finish off his groggy opponent as the latter staggered to his feet. McLaren is the best stamp of amateur boxer —would .here were more like him.

Southern writers have had quite a lot to say of late regarding the deca- I dence of boxing—or, more properly, its ! alleged decadence. And, what makes it interesting to Aucklanders, is that they have dragged in, by the heels as it were, the name of Charlie PuT-dy. They refer to the Olympic representative as the best exponent of the "real art of boxing" New Zealand has had for some years. Bravo! We are glad to hear them say so. The question is asked as to how many "fans" to-day can remember Jack Dowridge, the wonderful Queensland featherweight, whose father was one of the old Mace school. What a match Purdy and Dowridge would have made, had they been contemporaries! For it must be remembered that, if Dowridge had ancestors of the battling school, | Purdy can claim the same hereditary bias towards the fight game. Aucklanders who have lived long in the city of the North may remember Charles Purdy, senior, grandfather of the young champion. Mr. Purdy is well on in years now, but in his prime he was a lusty fellow, with a useful pair of hands, and it is said that he never received the worst of it in any of the forcible arguments which were a feature of the "good old days" in Auckland town. Nor is the reputation earned by Mr. Purdy, father of the champion, any the less creditable, as regards physical prowess, and though neither ever entered the ring to show his, skill, Purdy. New Zealand's "hope" for Olympic honours, must thank them for vigorous instincts and a lively interest in matters pugilistic. There have, been times when Purdy's subtle artistry in defence, and adroitness in attack, have been too much for the uncultivated tastes of the gallery "fan," and he has failed to appeal. What the galleryite wanted was something of the siap-bnng-biff variety—in a word, "stouoll." But Purdy deals not in such tactics, though. on one occasion at least, when Billy Barnes roughed him round the ring at Napier last July, he might well have brought them into play. So it is that because Purdy is scientific rather than strong, and a will-o'-the-wisp rather than a knock out specialist, there is still many an Auckland patron who, loving the sound of glove on body as it slams home, the more often the more to his liking, will call loudly for young Purdy's blood, and voice the unpatriotic hope that in the great arena at Paris, with the eyes of the world upon him, Auckand's" feather champion will meet defeat. But the wise old birds, who have seen the lads in other lands, sit quietly by j md say little. j