HEENEY REFEREES

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 13198, 15 July 1943, Page 3

HEENEY REFEREES

; BOXJXG TOI'HXAMKXT NEW ZEALAND TROOPS ■New'Caledonia. June 27. Ni v, Zealander Tom Heeney, serving with Alii ed Forces, refereed the ;';ial' Of a boxing tournament held in on» of New Zealand’s areas in Xcw Caledonia recently. Just reilined from a trip to New Zealand. Tom Heeney was delighted to mingle with tie Dominion troops; and the i.,.,., ptioa they accorded him revived ineniori '8 of those days hack in 1927-2 S when Heeney was doing so well for himself in the boxing ring. Those who competed in this tournament were among the best boxers in he Division, as it so happens that !his particular area numbers in its sporting nu n a big proportion of former participants in pre-tyar days in New Zealand. Dob Purdie, 1932 Olympic Games rep rose in alive in Los Angeles, came out in the welter weight final. Purdie. who was Auckland’s and New Zealand's bantam champion in 1939, readier weight champion in the next two years, and fought as a light welch I. tit the Games, still fights with the old science, in spite of his retirement from big boxing. His footwork was the best of the evening, and it was his shrewd ringcraft which gave him the victory against J. Comerford, a much younger man. Comerford is a Westport boy who has been boxing for many years, in fact, since he was eleven. Had he been able to connect with some of those blows which won him the West Coast welter weight championship in 1910 he would have troubled his older opponent, but Purdie’s wiliness carried him through. J. A. Ward has done a lot of boxing as a bantam weight in Canterbury provincial towns. He comes

from Ashburton and met J. A. Pratt. Wanganui, in tho middle weight championship. Pratt, with a slight advantage in weight, was filter and was the better boxer. One of the hardest hitting bouts of the evening was that between L. E. Dodd who did well in Waikato boxing in 1911, and D. Crookston. Hamilton. Crookston was fighting far above his weight and only hi? game tactics with a higher degree of science gained him the verdict from a terrifically hard slogger and a much bigger man. Wild and heavy hitting characterised the bout between R. T. Hawkins Hokianga. and V. Barnao. Palmerston North. Barnao, a Dlanawatu champion 4 in 193 G, has retained the strength of his punch, but lost a lot in fitness. However, he was too strong for Hawkins in the heavy weight division. Outpunching W. A. Gamble, W. Lewis, a Wellington hoy. won the feather weight title on points. Both these boys had done a lot of boxing in their home towns. Bamble beiifg a student of Jim Musson, of Christchurch. Results Feather Weight: W. Lewis Sst. 121 h. heat W. A. Gamble 9st. on points. Welter Weight: R. Purdie lOst. 211). beat, J. Comerford lOst. on points. Middle Weight: J. A. Pratt list. 41b, beat J. A. Ward. lOst. 131 b. on points. Light Heavy Weight: D. Crookstou list. llh. heat L. E. Dodd 12st. Gib. on points. Heavy Weight: V. Barnao list. 71b. beat R. T. Hawkins 13st. 61b. on points.