PURDY THE VICTOR.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 224, 22 September 1925, Page 9

PURDY THE VICTOR.

UNIMPRESSIVE CONTEST. TROWERN OUTPOINTED, BUT GAME. BOUT SPOILT BY CLINCHING. Impressively unimpressive as a spectacle, but convincing- as a test of superiority, the fourth meeting- of Reg-. Trowern and Charlie Purdy, at the Town Ihill last evening, went to show that neither man carries anytnmg- like a solid punch, and that the undefeateo Purdy is in a distinctively higher clas3 than liis opponent, considered as a boxer and a l'iuj? general. It has been said that Trowern is a fighter and Purdy a boxer pure and simple. This may he the case. but Trowern displayed few of tiie qualities of a fighter last niirht. when be was continually out-g-enerallert ana outwitted, his rushes 10 the ropes with the evident intention for a knockout breaking- down time and again. Purdy, bearing- a slightly detached air, used his feet to advantage whenever Trowern pressed, and achieved mid-ring- by the simple expedient or pushing him away backwards. The early part of the bout, which went the full nfte.n rounds, was bright enough, but alter the eighth round the contest deteriorated to an unedil'ying exhibition of clinching- and wrestling. Occasionally Referee Matt Moore pri.-ed tiie men apart, but not nearly often enough. To have made them contest, the purse of £_00 by open lighting would have necessitated" more action on the pari or the refer., than was displayed by Die men thr.ns.lves. Mr. Moore's decision for Purdy was the onlypossible decision, and was'freely cheered. Purdv's Feather Duster. The Town Hall was lined to lire regulation limits when the men look their corners. There was a bur . of rhoormsr when Trowern entered, night thruugh it was fairly obvious thai Purdy was ligtu;ng before a crowd which, if not hostile, was pro-Trowern in sympathy. The two Auckland boys stripped m wonderful enndi:|on, Trowern "weighing '.'.l-'J and Purdy o.it}. At the gong, they jumped into it qui,•!<].'.- t < > riiii'-h, Ihe referee's " -teak : " coming urieen seconds later. lor 1:1,. pjusi pan they tapped their wav through the round. Purdy using his !eatl)»r-diister h-rt to the lace 111 quick succession. I'hi.i Trowern rushed him to tlie ropes, using Ins right effectively on two occasions, hut purdv wriggled away. and it wis his round. Four towels were swung- in Trowern's corner during the spell, aeainst Purdv's two. In tlie next terhi, Trowern missed hadlv Willi a vicious uppercnt. and Purdv returned with a light right to the head. The referee woke the house if, roars or applause when lie warned Purdv to r], )S e Ins glove, straight into a clinch ih.y went in the third. Trowern slamming away 10 the hoclv with bis right. When Trowern pushed his arm against Purdy's jaw the referee gave him a caution, whereat per. wire hoots from the partisans. Trowern new at Purdy in great style, his arms working speedily, while he disregarded the undPSistlii. shower or taps that were rained upon Ins unprotected jaw. Mc used hi- lert teipngiv 10 heart and body, and it was prubablv his round. A Fusilade of Punches. .coring nicely with a right uppercnt to the face. Trowern opened the fourth round in determined style, but missed by inches witli a right swing. Purdy continued to lap. The referee gave Trowern another warning—probably for holding—but ihe pair closed m a clinch, Purdv jerking his opponent's head bark with s'utf rights to tlie jaw. Py the end of the round Trowern was imitatma- Purdv's own trick of ducking in order to evade the fusilade of punches to tiie lace. A lecturette on holding wns delivered by Mr. Moore at the start or the, nrth, but the, men went on holdinjr. Trowern landing his left to tbe ribs with short-arm iolts and Purdy using right and lert to the 'front j or the body. With a Hurry or innocuous j blows, Trowern ru*hp# Purdy to the ropes, ! but the attack broke down by reason or j clever footwork on the part of ihe last ; named. A. lot or punishment was eluded j by Purdy 111 the sixth, his ring craftshnandiip standing him in good stead. There 1 were smart exchanges at the beginnin . of 1 the seventh canto, but towards the end it j settled d.own into a dreary series or ! clinches. Trowern ripping to the body. j " Keep 'im in the Cornor." two straight lefts to tlie face were ■ delivered by Purdy early in the next, and ; in tiie ninth he was the more confident or j 1 iio pair, using bis left nicely in defence. ! " Keep 'mi in mat corner ! " advised a rasping- voire rrom Trowern's corner aPurdy rerlined on the ropes, with the other trying to hammer him. Hut Purdv had enjoyed his little spell, and he merely pushed his opponent off, making him miss with a hard right uppercnt. Again Trowern tore In 10 make bis adversary back-move on to the ropes, and it looked as though

he were g-oing ror a knockout, but it didn't come oil, Purdy sidling into midring for a rew exchanges. Rushed to the ropes again, Purdy smothered up, and proved as invulnerable as a pillbox under machine-sun fire. The Closing Rounds. Tiring" now, Trowern found Purdy elusive in the tenth. Purdy was going raster than previously, while his opponent) had lost pace. More rushing to the ropes and further tapping by Purdy characterised the rest of the round. In tbe close work Purely was returning three blows for every two of Trowern's. A solid right to the jaw steadied Trowern in rouud eleven, and after a game or tag-in-tbe-corner be moved to the centre of the ring, where he caught Trowern with a beauttruny timed right cross to the jaw. The house roared applause. Slightly shaken, Trower:« missed with a wicked left uppercut, and tried to make a mes* of Purdy on the ropes, but came oil" second best. Round twelve was one long clinch, Trowern slamming his nslit to the body with resounding- bangs. With a tiger-like rush, Trowern forced Purdy into a corner as round thirteen opened, but. tlie e.\Olympic representative slid off the ropes faster than Lord Jellicoe came down the clinic at Wembley. Clinging in mid-ring ror a little, the pair exchanged an occasional blow to the body, till Trowern made for the ropes again, drawn as irresistibly as steel to a magnet. Purdy changed his tactics, dropped ills dreamy expression, and fought him off hy dint or a volley or blows to the head, and the crowd rose to its lect to cheer. Hound fourteen opened willingly, witli Trowern attacking, and scoring with Jort-right-ieft blows on the ropes. Then a spell while Hie referee fixed Purdv's glove. i Hoots.,i n was patent that Trowern wished to make the ending come a found too soon, hut Purdy was hy no means agreeable, and simply pushed him oir. io fight with both hand- In mid-ring. Though both wore tired in the final canto, they made an attempt at iightmc-. Trowern jumping into launch futile attacks, which Purely stopped with lefts to the jaw. As Purdy's band was upraised in tok-pn or victory, the crowd cheered generously. Amatour Bouts. Bantam-weight.-—F. Fraei . .10, heat C. Oliver .s.S. Two tame rounds were followed iiy an improvement in the thir.l. Fraei using both hands ro advantage, and Oliver defending vigorously. There was lirtb- worthy of mention in the closing term. Frnei holding tic advantage. Paper-weight.--X. l-'tv. (',.-!. beat X. MoCoimgie ('.._. Tbe iwn boys made a good tight of it over four .two-minute spells. Fraei, the smaller. den-mnstm ting that he could hit hard with both hands'. and particularly with his right. McGnnasrle had been worn d-.-.vn to :i feeble defence l,y the final gong, and the decision proved popular. Catch-weights.—l.. Buckley 10.R, won from ,T. McGlone 10.0. Referee Tlick Meale disqualifying McGlone afro, frwi-. warning him for something—perhaps for holding. He didn't let the crowd into the secret J, Smith (Taumarunui). 0.4. beat Bob Purdy fi ...i. The first round was fairly fast. the Taumarunui boy. having the better of it. Round two saw tl;p tenacious Smith rushing Bob Purdy to iho ropes, to score freely with left and right swings. P-.u-. v fought back with body blows, many of them sadly timed. In the third term the visitor made a determined onslaught, going for his man with both hands, battering him at long range, nnd then going in to inflict wearying punishment. Applause was gpuerou.. The fourth round was Smith's all the way. | ======___=