Richards Was Below His Top Form

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 229, 27 September 1941, Page 3 (Supplement)

Richards Was Below His Top Form

DON RICHARDS was below his top lx form when he fought Max Raynor to a draw at the Adelaide Stadium last week. After the first three rounds his timing was astray. He Was slow in taking openings. When he found his timing was out, he began to hesitate; • his work lacked snap. In my opinion, he was a trifle lucky to be given a draw, comments Robert Allan in the Melbourne Sporting Globe. It was evident that the eight months* lay-off had blunted the speed of Richards. Sharp bursts of intensive training will be necessary if he is to make a real comeback. He needs plenty of sparring with a fast lightweight to recover his speed. The fact that, after the opening rounds, Raynor often beat him to the punch was ample evidence that Richards was below form. After the contest the former champion was downcast because of his showing. "I am very disappointed," he said. "I realise that I need a lot more fights to get back to top form." Smart Opening Richards set to work like a champion. He gave the impression that he would not be troubled to stop Raynor. He had a clear lead in the first three rounds. But in the fourth Raynor scored with a snappy right uppercut and then hooked his left. Richards altered his tactics, waiting for the Sydney man to lead. _~T h en a right to the head hurt Kicnards—a blow which preceded erratic timing with his right, and a blow which also changed the course of the fight. Not once during the rest of the contest did Richards rehe had held in *>unde one, two and three.

Raynor, in top form, proved too strong at close quarters. Many of his punches were taken by Richards on his gloves or arms, but Max got in sufficient to make his opponent work toward the open spaces. Raynor made every use of his weight advantage. Forcing Richards backwards, and off balance, across the ropes, he hurt with rights to the jaw.

The Queenslander showed his resentment of this treatment in the tenth round, when he chased Raynor round the ring. It was one of the few occasions on which he was annoyed. And, incidentally, this was one of the fewer later rounds that I credited to Richards. Raynor'e In-fighting Raynor did the better work infighting. He scored just as often and always with greater power—at long range, and he did not miss so frequently as Richards. The former champion was , a fraction of a second too slow with his punches Low blows marred the work of Raynor. Certainly the punches in the fourth and fifth rounds were light, and those in the sixth and ninth sessions—for which he received warnings from the referee apparently did not inconvenience Richards, as there was no hesitancy in his movements.

Richards was credited with rounds 1, 2, 3, 8 and 10; Raynor with rounds 4,.5, 6, 911 and 12. The seventh was even.