HEAVY-WEIGHT BOXERS.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 170, 19 July 1924, Page 1 (Supplement)

HEAVY-WEIGHT BOXERS.

MATCH IN LONDON. HOW DICK S3-ITH WAS BEATEN The Prince of Wales was present at the Albert Hall when heavyweight boxers of various types fought for hours on end (writes Mr. B. Bennison, in the "London Daily Telegraph). The occasion had a setting peculiarly its ownr something of a gala appearance did it have, many richly-gowned ladies by their presence and eager interest in the bouts suggesting that fighting has, with them, developed into quite a vogue. And the night was remarkaTjlc in that the main attraction was a contest between Jack Bloomfield, a six-foot young Londoner, of proportions most striking, aud Dick Smith, a well-worn veteran, elaborately tattooed—the father of our ring, toothless when he went into action, but, so we all agTeed, still much of a master, splendidly conditioned, and one who, in point of physical fitness, could well afford to make faces at age. But before the first round was over we saw that the old man, ever so big-hearted though we knew him to be, would have to yield to youth, for, after kind of groping his way in a style most precise j and engaging, Bloomfield ripped a stout right-handed punch to the body, and Smith went to his corner with a big tell-tale splash of crimson in the neighbourhood nf his ribs. And it was plain to see. as he submitted to a small army of attendants, that, be had lieen shaken; i clearly had he been set puffing and | blowing. But he came up for tiie next session on his toes, and, hugging tight to the severely correct idea, he jabbed his boy-ish-looking opponent with his long left no fewer than seven times. These were no more serious than pecks, however; the sort of punches you see when two men arc engaged in au exhibition spar. And Bloomfield never turned a hair. He carried himself as a man of phlegm—for once he arranged his fighting mind so that it was clear, and without the fogginess in it as on the occasion he burned his boats in his affair some time ago with the agricultural Frank Goddard The definitcness of his purpose I warmly admired; lie seemed to say, as the old warrior pushed his left hand into his Oriental face, "You may continue with your cffeniiuate taps, but just wait and see what happens"; and then, aa quick as lightning, and with his nicely moulded bod j- poised to perfection, he brought over a left hook to tbe jaw, and down went Smith, with, I was sure, the terrible little black demons'which tell a tale most dreadful— a tale that means disaster— dancing before his deep-set eyes. Beginning of the End. Eugene Corri, who was referee, counted off eight seconds; then Smith, perilously like a man in the throes of some horrible nightmare, rose. Instinct made him rise; he obeyed Ms sub-con-scious self; that was all. ' His finely tapered legs dithered; they were more than half-drunken legs; and there was a look of pain writ large on the face of Smith. But be preserved; he was gloriously obstinate. Yet it was pathetic to see him; he was a half-broken, slow-moving machine. Out he pushed his left hand; he moved his feet without knowing what he was really doing, and now and then he brought a feeble right hand into play. Before him was Bloomfield as fresh as paint, without a mark, the very embodiment of power, and obviously conscious that so soon as ha cared he could end the fight. • In the third round Smith was so punched that only the ropes saved him from sprawling; and at the beginning of the fourth round he took a right to tha jaw which caused him to reel all over the place, and Bloomfield, had he cared, could then and there have finished the fight. But out of pity for a game old fellow, it seemed he stood off. When lie realised that Smith insisted that he must be stretched on the floor before acknowledging defeat, Bloomfield smashed his right hand twice to the jaw and from the second punch—wicked in its power and exactitude—had his man down, and in a condition perfectly hopeless. Smith as he lay on his back had not been, robbed of his fighting senses; he pulled and tugged at himself so that he might regain his feet, but it was all in vain and he was counted out. Good, brave, old Dick Smith. He went to defeat with a tight upper lip, but to-day I am Bure he will confess that Bloomfield was altogether too much for him. Bloomfield in almost every particular fought like a champion. He boxed well, he punched terrifically, and as he was last night there can be no question that there is no British heavyweight his equal. We saw, last night, the London fireman, Phil Scott, beat George Cook, the Australian, on points in a fifteenrounder. The man from "down under" again proved that he is as hard as nails; very little more. As for Scott, he is a very promising heavy-weight. He has a great deal to learn; hut if I am not mistaken there is much of the right stuff in him. Physically he is, as the Americans say, "the goods"; but if he is wise he will confess that there are many lessons which he must master before he may claim to approach championship class. At the moment he has a weakness for putting too much store in his right hand; he should he taught better. I like the way in which he stands; he may be commended for speed, and at times he can punch effectively. It was a feather in his cap to beat Cook, who is a fighter of ripe experience, but it is to be hoped that his victory last night will not be misread. There is still an immense amount of plodding for Scott to do. Leslie Price, one of Tex O'Rourkc's "hopes," for a beginner gave quite an impressive display against Harry Gold, au Ealing giant; and it may be that he will yet make completely good. Price was appreciably better than when I last saw him. But Frank Goddard, though he beat Jock Stanley, of Deptford, goes from bad to worse. He began by tripping himself up, and got close to a dive through the ropes; thereafter. like Stanley, he perpetrated a travesty On boxing. I go all hot and cold when I thiuk that there was a time when Goddard believed that lie was imvim-i----ble. He appears to have forgotten what little he knew about bo_,inj.