THE BOXING REFEREE.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 166, 15 July 1924, Page 7

THE BOXING REFEREE.

SOME OF HIS DUTIES. ' PUBLICATION OF POINTS. ] AN INSTRUCTIVE LECTURE. An instructive lecture on some of the finer points of boxing was delivered this morning in the Town Hall Concert Chamber by Mr. T. Samson, the wellknown referee. There was a good E attendance of amateur and professional pugilists and officials. Mr. A. H. Gyllies , presided. 1 Common sense, promptness, a sound j knowledge of the duties appertaining to , the office, and a firm demeanour were . the essential points of success for a , referee, said Mr. Samson. Throughout ( his lecture he used "The Boxing , Referee" (J. F. Bradley), a handbook , compiled by the authority of the \ National Sporting Club, London. This j book was a recognised authority. Mr. s Samson advocated a wider interpreta- , tion of ths duties of the official second. , This office, he said, should be held by £ a prominent member of the associa- t tion, and should no longer be associated < with a man in a sweater who carried a < bucket and wagged a towel in the corner j between rounds. Official seconds should be men in evening clothes, who already ] had a fair knowledge of the sport, and their job should be to prepare for | the office of referee. They should be , junior referees, relieving the referee s of some of his responsibilities by super- j intending all operations in the corners, ( and keeping a watchful eye for any < illegal practices, such as oiling the body j and "tick-tacking" during the course of \ a contest. There should be nothing to , prevent a second of such status from f j taking points during the contest, with a view to a discussion with the referee | j after the decision, in order that he ( might receive valuable hints and in- j struction in preparation for the day , when he would become a referee. Hay- ( ing graduated to the position of referee ( per medium of this route a man should • ihe well instructed in his duties. Mr. , ; Samson eaid he would bring the matter j up at the conference of delegates. , Dealing further with the duties of a j referee, Mr. Samson urged that all in- c structions, warnings and disqualifications should be given in a firm and . loud voice, without hesitation, so that ; all could hear. The man in the gallery , could not hear what was said in an j undertone, and if he did not hear he ( immediately became sxispicious. This should be avoided; there was nothing j to hide. The Points System. The vexed question of scoring by points was treated by Mr. Samson in an easily understood manner. There was really nothing secret about points scoring, he said. If there was, something was wrong. In no other branch of sport were the points kept secret, and he thought the public had a right to know what points were awarded in a boxing contest. Mr. Samson went on to show the method of scoring approved by the National Sporting Club. This was worked on the basis of a maximum of 1 five points per round per boxer. If a round were a draw, no points need be ] 1 awarded. By the fr-5 method it did not ■ ■ necessarily follow that the boxer who won the greatest number of rounds would obtain the decision. In arriving at the decision it should be remembered j, that the winning of rounds was not the aim of the boxer —or it should not be— ' ' since points were scored for attack and j, defence, and rounds were only divisions of the contest. Any clean blow, hard or soft, should count the same as a blow powerful enough to knock a man off his '. ' feet. Mr. Samson thought the referee should publish his points at the end of a contest, by writing them on a 1 blackboard in the hall, for all to see. The Double Knock-out. ■ "What should the referee do in the 1 event of a double knock-out?" asked Mr. ■ Samson. If both men fell together, the : referee should start the count, and if ; neither was up by "Out!" the contest |' would be awarded to the man who was i : ahead on points prior to the double '' ■knock-out. A break, when ordered, should be a clean break, both boxers stepping back without hitting—not only ' one stepping back. If a man held on, while his opponent's hands were free, it : was not a clinch, and a break could not be ordered; the duty of the referee was to order the holding man to desist. , There .was so much holding to-day that this) should be clearly understood. ; Clinching wotild always he general so • long as the American style of swinging, instead of British straight hitting from , the shoulder, was in vogue. Swinging , tended to unsettle one's balance. Mr. ; Samson spent some time in demonstrating what were illegal punches—the shamrock, the rabbit, kidney and pivot- • blow. It should be remembered that going down to avoid punishment was , a foul. Bandages, examination of shields in the ring, beeswaxing of glovelaces after tying, mutual understanding and confidence prior to a contest, duties of judges, and appeals were among some . of the more interesting points touched . upon, by Mr. Samson. The fact that a boxer should not stand over a fallen ; opponent wae emphasised by the speaker, who stated that it was the , duty of the referee to protect the , fallen, end also to wave back the ex- , cited boxer who might unintentionally i foul his opponent when in the act of rising. i A vote of thanks wna carried by {i i hearty acclamation. i