BOXING.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 170, 19 July 1924, Page 21

BOXING.

RINGSIDE GOSSIP. , Few tournaments held in the Town Hall have proved so thoroughly enjoyable and successful as the Auckland i provincial championship gathering, I , which attracted fairly satisfactory at- ' tendances on Monday and Tuesday i evenings. The management left little to \ be desired, bout following bout without I undue delay, and the decisions were, on the whole, correct and popular. The financial aspect of the tournament] | though not as bright as had been hoped j for, was satisfactory, and fairly heavy expenses were met. ! Judging by performances, Auckland ' should make a fair bid for at least two ! . New Zealand championships, Trowern, I i the light-weight, and Nelson McKnight, j the welter-weight from Frankton June- j i tion, being boxers of considerable ! | ability. Each won his bouts on the j | last night per medium of tho knock- j •j out route, and each showed ability to [quickly overmaster an opponent by dint !of scientific methods, rather than by i mere bustling or "rough-house" tactics, i Reg Trowern, round whom raged the recent storm of criticism and eulogy concerning his claims to a fight with Charles Purdy, ere the last -named left for Olympia, found that he could not draw the weight for his class, and had j perforce to enlist as a lightweight. This j did not minimise his chances one iota. I Though lie had taken on wej,*'t he had I not lost his speed—rather he had accelI crated it. With a natural bent for the Eport, Trowern has worked hard :to reach his present standard, which !is a greatly improved one when com- ' pared with that displayed by the young 1 champion last year when he fought a pulse-quickening bout with Purdy in the final of the feather-weight division, to lose by a narrow margin on points. It would be injudicious to say that Trowern is Purdy's equal even now, for a contest alone could decide that pointbut the plain fact is that he will be a very tough proposition for the lightweights at the New Zealand champion- ! ships, and, providing he can maintain | form, it would appear that his chances i are rosy for Australasian honours. In any case, he will contest the honours at Wellington with the hearty goodwill of every lover of the sport in the province. Of McKnight, much need notjbe said other than that he is a really 'capable lad, well-instructed and of j splendid physical proportions. The AusI tralian champion, Harry May, who ! created such a favourable impression jin the light-weight class two years ago, did not appear to better advantage, and the writer has not heard of any welterweight in the South who would appear ' to be a Berious opponent. *While on the subject of welterweights it must be said that Erie Armishaw has failed to fulfill his early promise. His showing on Tuesday night was distinctly unimpressive in the semifinal, when he boxed four of the dullest rounds of the evening with F. G. Stanley. When Armishaw faced MoI Knight in the final the result was a | foregone conclusion; he smothered up I and seemed utterly incapable of withstanding tho Frankton champion's ■ spirited attacks, which broke down at j times for lack of resistance. It was only a matter of seconds till the knock--1 out. Of greater ability is D. Armishaw, who won the featherweight title, yet he is not in the same street with Trowern or Purdy, who figured so largely in that class last year. Without grudging Mm his win, "at is not unfair to say I that, had Ted McLaren been a competij tor instead of a spectator with an injured knee, sustained on the football ! field while playing for Grammar seniors, I the list of champions might have contained another name. Whether this surmise be true may perhaps be argued at some later date when McLaren is in form again. A bout, between young Armishaw and McLaren would make a ' stirring preliminary to a professional contest. J. O'Sullivan, last year's fly-weight champion, bobbed up in the bantam class this year, to prove himself as clever as ever, and to take the title by default I from the other finalist, J. Callaghan, I who could not draw the weight. Showing a sportsmanlike spirit they boxed four rounds, O'Sullivan receiving a popular award.

-==_= __=_=-==-=__--=-=-*-— Tho fly-weight championship was ! annexed by F. Taylor, a good little I boxer who has come into prominence 1 during the last twelve months. Some jof his friends were surprised that he '' did not win his bouts by a greater mari gin of points, but he had' fairly solid 1 opposition, notably in Joe Smith, a ! plucky Taumaranui lad, who stood up ito him for four rounds in the final. I V. J. Parker, the middleweight cham1 ' pion, who won oir a foul in the final, • was not impressive, though he combines ■ a nice style with good physique. E. Stewart, tiie cruiser-weight champion, is a boxer with a hard punch, who knocked out both his opponents on the last night. Against a really scientiflc , man he might not have the same success. Strong and keen, but not possessing a great knowledge of ringcraft, G. Dun- ■ ston, the heavy-weight champion, will i have to watch his step at Wellington, By assiduous attention to training | under the eyes of an experienced , instructor he should improve, but at ..present he is below real championship ] standard.