AMATEUR BOXING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 59, 11 March 1930, Page 13

AMATEUR BOXING.

TOWN HALL BOUTS

AN ATTRACTIVE PROGRAMME

The all-amateur night provided at the Town Hall last evening by the Northern. Boxing Association did not attract the attention it incited from followers of the sport, for the attendance was a very moderate one. No fault could be found with the sport provided, either for variety or quality. Two of the sixround bouts were very keenly contested, showing a high standard, and all five ot the shorter bouts were full of interest. The light- and welter-weight matches provided interesting studies of different types of boxing, the brief heavy-weight session indicating that in this class the quality is likely to improve, and the concluding feather-weight bout showed f\. Purdie up as a boxer who lias improved out of sight, and in possession of a fast, well-timed right punch that an experienced pro. might envy. The bouts were refereed by Messrs -Frank Burns and Neil McLean, with the assistance of judges. Results: — Four-round Bouts. M. Mclvee, 10.14, beat F. Cliffe, 10.8. Clifi'e substituted for N. Boag, who had his nose broken in training. Cliffe, a heavily muscled boxer, was cautioned for hitting as they shook hands. He at once took the offensive with left and right hooks and kept McKee back-moving t> escape the weight of heavy punches. McKee weathered the first two rouiulj, and placed several straight lefts t'> Cliffe's face. Cliffe started to bustle for the k.o. in the third, but was steadied up by a couple of right swings to the head. He kept on top of his man, tiring him with straight lefts. In the fourth, Cliffe's lefts worried McKee, and a heavv right to the body stung him. Half way through the round McKee scored well with left and right swings that turned the scale. McKee was able only to see it through, but the verdict went to him 011 points. J. Brentnall, 9.7, beat W. Smith, 10.3 J. This bout at catch weights introduce: a novice in Smi'h, who had both reach and weight on Brentnall, and used the reach effectively in the first round in r. nice straight left. Brentnall, despite great experience, soon found it a misI take to mix it with red-headed Smith, but Brentnall's fast left got him points to keep the crowd guessing as to the result. In the fourth round, however. Smith used his left solidly and often, and the decision for Brentnall must ha ve been by a very close margin. R. Martin, 10.14, beat M. Conmee, 9.10. The sturdier of a sturdy pair of lightweights, Martin, early found Connies open to a straight left, and pasted th ; naval man's right eye, with an occasional visit downstairs -by the right. After assimilating some body punishment in the second, Conmee sent Martin down with a right swing to the head as the other man was off balance. Up at once Mdrtin returned the compliment, only li see Conmee rebound to his feet. Conmee did his best work in the opening of the third round, when he found Martin's face a number of time? and steadied up the other man. Martin's left got there first in the fourth round and drew claret,« Conmee being unable to reproduce the sparkle of his third round. A Slade 13.8 knocked out C. Gait 11.01. This bout was short. Hardly had they got started when a right swing tothe side of the head caught Gait off his balance and he went down, but was unhurt. Slade kept on top of his man, and ae they were mixing it, brought a nicely timed right hook to the point, which had Gait out clearly for the count. R. Purdie 8.8 beat A. Spragg 8.9. Purdie, the present New Zealand feather champion, looked like getting a quick decision in the first round, when he had his man down for seven, with a fast right hook to the jaw, but Spragg recovered to see it through to the bell. Again in the second round a fast right uppercut had Spragg down for seven. Spragg, boxing gamely, saw the third and fourth safely through, though he took a deal of punishment. Six-Round Bouts. H. Johns 8.13J beat T. Collins 9.1. This bout opened quietly, Collins scoring by beating his man to the punch. In the second Collins clearly showed the better as a clean and fast hitter, with the footwork to keep a fast opponent from touching him. Collins improved in the third, scoring with a right hook to body and head two or three times, and wetting a right uppercut to the face, but with straight lefts, swings, and hooks Johns kept the points in his favour. A fast rally in the fourth was all in John's favour, but Collins, who showed little effect of his peppering, came up strongly in the fifth, to score well with a straight left and right cross. Collins finished the more strongly in a mixing sixth and took the fight to Johns, who was weakening fast. C. Manson 9.0 beat C. Smith 9.2. Evenly matched, with Manson showing the snappier hitting style, but Smith scoring to the body in clinches, this pair were hard to separate for three rounds. Manson had the advantage of the first two, but a hard-hitting third went in Smith's favour, as he returned with interest straight lefts to the face, and steadied Manson with a right uppercut. Smith regularly ran into the straight left throughout the fourth round. Again in the fifth the straight left found Smith's face, but he eventually found a counter, and Manson's face, with a right to even things up. A hurrican finish left the.decision doubtful, and the verdict for Manson met a mixed reception. A special trophy was awarded to Smith: for his showing/ F. Lindesay 10.1 beat J. Gregory 9.10.. Gregory, a Gisborne boxer, was making his first appearance here, and in the opening round he showed footwork, . but neither did much cleanhitting. Lindesay scored in the clinches, but was cautioned for butting. Continual clinching characterised the second and the early part of the third, with Lindesav scoring occasional lefts. Gregory placed left hard to the head before the round closed. The fourth and fifth were similar. Gregory placed some effective right hooks to the head in the last, but Lindesay's consistent scoring in the earlier rounds gave him the decision.