HEENEY'S CHANCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 166, 16 July 1928, Page 13

HEENEY'S CHANCE.

"BATTLE OF THE CENTURY."

AS THE AMERICANS SEE IT,

MR. RICKARD'S EXPENSIVE SEATS

(L- row Our Own Correspondent.)

SAN FRANCISCO, June

Interest continues to increase as the date approaches for the forthcoming battle of the century," the heavyweight boxing championship event between the holder of the title, Gene Tunney, and Tom Heenev, the New Zealander. Extensive building 011 the infiekl and the completion of a new section of the grandstand will enable Tex Riekard to accommodate 100,000 persons at the heavyweight engagement in New York at the Yankee Stadium on July 26. Riekard adheres to his prediction of a gate valued at 1,500,000 dollars.

1 he so-called "ringside" sections' will gradually slope to a point considerable above the field level, until they join the bleachers or high terraced seat's. The world's foremost pugilistic entrepreneur will open his sale with the first twenty rows around the ring at £9. including the new Federal tax, which altogether with the State lew, will total thirt.v per cent. Each of these tickets sold will, \h ere fore, net the promoter a little more t\an £6.

A thirty per cent assessment, which is to ye tacked on fight tickets selling for moita than live dollars, on any form of amusement, would bring forth*a healthy howl, and possibly kill the listic event. But the "I-Was-There-When" Club members are paying it with little or no protest", so great has been the advertising of the American-Antipodean . boxing event. Rickard educated the populace properly from a promotional standpoint, ut least.

"1-Was There-Wben" Club members and merchants entertaining out-of-town buyers and friends insist on "ringside" tickets. That is why heavy-weight gigantics became "battles of magnificent distances" to more than tH modest bleacherites. There have been many protests when the folks are seated, in "ringsides" city blocks from the scene ok action and sans field glasses, but they come back for more and are pleased just so long as the pasteboards are stamped "ringside." proving the contention of I*. T. Barnum that a sucker is born every second!

The ever-accommodating "Mr. Rickard will for this reason withhold many rows inside of the first twenty until the last day. He will sell the applicants for seats "ringsides" until they are blue in the face, even though he has to cram them up to the bleachers. There will be several intermediate prices between the 45-dollar top and the 30,000 outer rim variety at 4.09 dollars, which will escape Federal levy, making the average 1.5 dollars. Heeney Goes Into Camp. There was no crashing of cymbals, none of the fanfare that usually signalises the arrival of a contender for a world's "Sieavy weight title- wlicn Tom Heeney, the honest blacksmith from New Zealand, arrived in the picturesque village of Fairliaven, in New Jersey, to start active preparation for his tilt with Champion James Joseph (<!e'ne) Tunnev.

Tom's departure from New York and his arrival at Rumsou farm kennels, the 700-acro tract that serves as his abode for the six weeks prior to the event in the ring with the champion, was as free of excitement as the advance sale for the light itself. He motored down to the Jersey shore resort with Manager Charley Harvey, and was met on the outskirts of Fttirhaven by the Mayor of the burg and such stalwart taxpayers as Mike Jacobs and Joseph Humphreys, who accompanied him to the camp.

Heenev has the finest training quarters ever pitched for a pugilist in the United States. They are on the fringe of a main automobile highway, and while lie can have absolute privacy should lie wish it, it was understood from the start that the public would be admitted for 2/ live days a week, and double that price on Saturdays . and Sundays. The Indoor Ring. An indoor ring has been erected in a private barn with seating accommodation for 1500 people. An outdoor ring has also been built in a clover field, where Tom disports himself when the weather is suitable for outdoor workouts.

A short distance awav from t) • camp proper one can take a free peek at Host Raymong Hoagland's 140 prize beagles and pointers. Heenev is able to do his five miles of daily road work without going off the Hoag'land estate. The challenger lives at a private cottage, and his staff is billeted and fed in comfortable quarters adjoining the indoor gymnasium. On his arrival everything was in readinftss for Heeney to start work in earnest, but two or three days passed before he buckled down to intensive training, at which time Promoter Riekard sailed a crowd of .New York newspaper nien down to Tairhaven on the good ship Maxine to review the proceedings. Anti-British Feeling. As might be expected, many Americans do not take very kindly to the prospect of the title changing hands and passing to a Britisher, as the odds appear to favour Heeney, The Anglophobe sporting they are many—offer daily jibes at , the New Zealander. contending that lie is no match for the formidable and overestimated American sailor. One smart writer, Harry Grayson, writing from New York, had the following to offer readers of the sporting columns: "If Tom Heeney isn't the worst gymnasium worker in the business, he'll do until that individual stumbles along. In his first real workout at Fairhaven, Gene Tunney's challenger in the 192S edition of 'the battle of the century,' scheduled for the Yankee Stadium on the night of July 2fi, looked like an apprentice who had obtained a late start in his line trying to do the work of a skilled mechanic. Tunney has never knocked his camp followers out of. their seats, even at the peak of his preparatory toil. It took Jack Dempsey to do that, both before and during a battle. But the easiest day's schedule ever followed by the present champion was thrilling compared to what the Hard Rock from Down Under unfolded in his initial drill on the banks of the Shrewsbury. The Anzae cannot be judged by his workouts, however. Poor showman that he

is in a light, he's many times worse when squared off with a sparring partner or when going through the motions on a gymnasium floor. Manager. Charley Harvey is trying to make Heeney wear a lieadguard, and in his two rounds with Mercurio the Now Zealander spent more time adjusting it than in attacking his sparring partner. The gear annoyed him to such an extent that he removed it as Brown replaced Mercurio.

If for no other reason than it is bothersome. Heeney, no doubt, strings with Tunney in his stand against head protector*, l'unney is one of the few lighters who never wear* one. He contends that its thickness tends to make a fighter misjudge the carry of the other fellow's punches -when it is removed." Heeney Unperturbed. Heeney continues to - pursue his method* of training irrespective of carping criticism 1 of tfftiart sporting scribes, who all along have gifen him no square deal. These writers, have endeavoured to rile the New Zealander, but lie has gone on nonchalantly in his preparations tor the heavyweight event, and he is convinced that he has an even chance to annex the much-coveted title from Tunney. Unbia*ed observers join the Gisborne blacksmith in his belief that he will be able to' turn the tables on Tunnev on July 26.

Heeney was much cheered by a message from Vancouver that rangeland admirers' of his in New Zealand had shipped to him a special frozen lamb in the hope that is would aid niin to defeat Gene Tunney, and he was further cheered by news that his three brother* were on their way to New York from Auckland, New Zealand.

-Many of the leading Conservative American journals have been following tiie preparations for the fistic event ■very closely, and they have devoted considerable space to the doings of Jleeney 'in his training quarters, and. aside from this, some entertaining articles have been published relative to the New Zealander's liLstory in South Africa and England, the stories of hie prowess in South Africa being served up in attractive style, covering some of his startling adventures on the veldt. s More Reminiscences. In one of these newspaper articles, Heeney recounted several listic events prior to his sailing for South Africa from London. Heeney, in the course of his reminiscences, wrote: "One last fight I had before we sailed. I licked a big ex-Deptford policeman named Jack Stanley in a fifteen-round go at the National Sporting Club in London. This win was specially pleasing, as the Hon. •f. Gordon Coates, Prime Minister of New Zealand, my homeland, was present, while half a dozen Maori footballers also held a delighted watching brief. The presence of these native- New Zealand Maoris, as loyal supporters, brought buck memories of my own Rugby football days, when the Maoris would put on their native dances after the games. During the tour of the 'All Blacks' team in England, the spectators were thrilled by the wild and rapid movements and the weird yells of the dancers. I thought of them again when I landed in New York and saw my first baseball match. I could see no head or tail of the game, but did enjoy the dancing act of the two funny fellows—Nick Alt rock and his partner." "Down at Speculator, where Tunnev i® carrying <jut his train mg, t re ports haye been sent out that the champion displays a certain sluggishness in his ring methods, savouring of a possible defeat when be enters the ring to encounter Heeney. Further, it is related that the champion has an abundance of waist averdupois that he hns been finding very difficult to remove. In a. word, he wear* a "bay window"' that is proving most disconcerting to his prospects of retaining the world title of heavyweight champion."'

Many writers declare that Tuntiey a man who disclaims the right nf any trainer to tell him anything about how to conduct himself, whether in training quarter-; or in the ring an adversary. One writer says: "Mr. Tunney's trainer, Mr. Lou Fink, like all other employees of Mr. Tumiey, is monosyllabic. suspicious and drab a* a clerk in the United States Bureau of Wehrnts ami Standards."