LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 259, 1 November 1932, Page 13

LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE.

HUGHES BEATS OXLEY.

CHALLENGER'S BRIGHT SHOWING

SPLENDID MATCH ALL THD? WAY.

Hard fighting on the part of the challenger and clever boxing on the part of the holder characterised the professional boxing contest between Archie Hughes, of New South Wales, and Ted Oxley, of Pahiatua, for the lightweight championship of New Zealand, which' was stagedby the Northern Boxing Association at the Town Hall last evening. At the end of fifteen splendid rounds the decision was awarded to Hughes, the holder of the title, on points, but there was. a. large section of the house who were of opinion that the verdict should have gone the other way. It was a great'contest After, the first round there was never a dull moment, arid time and time again the crowd burst into excited applause. For the most part it was a case of boxer against fighter, although there were occasions when the boxer fought viciously, and times when the Sghler boxed splendidly. A feature of the contest was the fine spirit in which it was fought, and the instructions of the referee', Mr. N. McLean, were obeyed to the letter.; Both men weighed in at 9.6. In the early stages of the match' if looked as if Oxley would be the 1 next holder of the title. He fought with extreme confidence, and his punches were hard and well directed. Hughes/showed great cleverness in defence, and after he had got the full measure of his man he scored repeatedly with left to the head, which, if not hard enough to do any great damage, made him many points. At close quarters the Australian's greater experience stood him to good stead, but he appeared surprised at the way the challenger kept firing punches at him. Oxley fought very much better than when he last met the New South Welshman, and his solid rights to the heart took a lot of steam out of the titleholder. Oxley has now appeared three times in Auckland, and although he has not yet had a win he appears in the light of a good drawcard for the future. It needs only a few more contests like that provided last evening to bring the sport back booming m Auckland. Narrow Margin of Points. The decision at the end of the fifteenth round in no way met with the unanimous approval of the crowd, and Oxley is entitled to believe that only the narrowest of margins could have prevented him from winning the championship. Probably a draw would have been the best decision, but the judges, Messrs. G. Bush and 1. Burns, and the referee gave the vei diet to Hnches. Oxley did enough last night to earn another.shot at the title, and it wi 1 come as no surprise if success comes his wnv at his next attempt. ... , Prior to the start of the match W. Hogg, former New Zealand amateur welter champion, who recently turned professional and R. B. Martin, who has rSdto join the professionals, •were introduced to the crowd.

How They Fought. The first round was quiet, both men c mfidcntly in the . fourth, but Hxifc'Ucs lofpndca woll. The Australian got home with a solid left to the ribs, and jolted his right to the jaw, the pair breaking about even for tho round.

Hughes Makea Points. Huches made a lot of points -with his lefT"n the first half of the fifth round K willing exchange near the finish had the crowd cheering, Oxley getting home with a right rip to the body. It was Hughes round Dy a small margin. The sixth round opened quietly, but brightened midway through. Oxley continued to play a stift right to Hughes' heart. In a toe to toe exchange Hughes sent a rally of lefts into the New Zcalander's face. It was an even round. Hughes boxed his man coolly in the seventh, and landed frequently with his left to the face, but the punches were not heavy enough to inconvenience Oxley, who finished strongly. Hughes did most of the leading In the eighth, until Oxley steadied him with, a solid right-cross to tho jaw. Over the latter half of the ninth session there were 'some exciting exchanges, neither- man giving ground. There was wild excitement in the tenth. Hughes appeared. to be waiting a chance to get .in a telling blow, and midway through the round he sent two hard rights to the head. Undismayed, Oxley worked out of a corner cleverly and sailed -into the Australian, landing left and right to the head, and appearing ; to-surprise his opponent with the speed of his comeback. Hughes fought viciously in the eleVenth, but his margin was not big. Hughes made points with his left in fhe twelfth,- and attacked merrily in the thirteenth until a right-cross to the jaw shook him badly. The last half minute of the round was fought at a great pace, Oxley showing up well, and the crowd was yelling at. , the gong. Hughes! stabbing left had Oxley's nose bleeding in the fourteenth, but the New Zealander was cheered for some hard two-handed fighting over the second half of the session. Oxley went hot after the champion in the fifteenth, and Hughes had to give ground. It wrfs a great' finish to a great fight. THE AMATEURS. V. Bruno (7.9) drew with J. Donovan (7.2) nfter a merry bout. 11. Xealo (12.1) beat "A. Broadhead (11.11)) on points. G. Cook (10.3) beat .T. Hill (0.11).. This was an entertaining affair between two novices. In the third Hill was almost out, and the referee stopped the bout in the fourth. A special exhibition bout between the Gordon brothers—"Tornado" (3.0) and "Sharkey" (s.l)—proved highly popular. At tho finish there was a shower of coins into the ring. It was announced chat Mr. Con Welson -Had donated a trophy to each youngster. E. .Tones (9.1 J) drew with R. Aitken■hend (0.5) after a good bout. T. Hogg (8.11) beat R. Andrews (8:11 JO on. points." Boxed at a fast clii> throughout; this was one of the brightest bouts of the evening.