PRIZE-FIGHTING.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19787, 27 November 1929, Page 15

PRIZE-FIGHTING.

1 n THt tDITOR or THE FKISS t Mr.—ln July, lS'-T, your columns contained a cable from that u as th«• .mi*. ..n,- of Million's terrific pounding of Walker. .sir Hail C'aine has writ--1 ton a remarkable letter calling on sonic- } one. speaking with the authority of public conscience. to call a halt to such j orgies of «.<v»ge. corrupt, and degrading inhumanity." He .ailed on bishop and pr;e«t. and not only on those loving honest sport, but also on every healthyminded person to try and stem this blot on our civilisation. F>ri< fly, he said that while man. whatever his class or condition, is full of personal courage and pride in the display of his powers of personal endurance, he would ask such men to say, in the sacred name of humanity, that gross exhibitions of merciless siivafrv and loathso; .e traffickf ing in human suffering must cease in I England. i Sure!v this was in every way commendable on Sir Hall's part, yet in your sub-leader, "Boxing and the Public Conscience."' in same issue, you attacked him and upheld prize lighting. which, however, vou toned down to "boxing." At the time I got together some particulars t'.ir reply, but did not send letter as discussion was closed. However, some will serve as well for the present recurrence of this question. The sport of modern boxing, as distinguished from pugilism, dates from n'heu the public had become disgusted with the brutality and unfair practices of the professional "bruisers." and the laws against prize-fighting began to be more rigidly enforced. Of the dangerous blows, which often resuit in a knock out, or in seriously weakening an adversary, the following may be mentioned: —On the pit of the stomach, called the solar plexus, from the sensitive network of nerves situate there; a blow on the point of the chin, having a tendency to paralyse the brain; a blow under the ear, painful and resulting often in partial helplessness; and onr directly over the heart, kidney, or liver. AH these are admittedly dangerous blows, yet are deliberately used in tights, and frequently result in death. Thus in Australia was a man recently knocked unconscious, and he never re- | covered. In the United States fatalij i ;»* s average one a week. Kor every ' death probably some ten are more or less injured for life. This constitutes a terrible record' The following brief notes of recent tights may be quoted:—"The loser was so shockingly battered as to be unrecog- j niaable as a human being. . . They j stood toe to toe for the greater part of the fifteen rounds, and exchanged punches so fast that it seemed human endurance could not stand it, but it did, and the fight ended with the pair exchanging a hurricane of blows. . . was found dead in his hotel room todav. . . "In the Dempsey-Sharkey tight we read: "In the seventh round Pempsey won the bout quickly after a second's fighting, with a left hook to the jaw {one of the dangerous blows abovenamed). The blow landed as Sharkey j was sagging to his knees, signalling to the referee that the previous four tattoo blows to the kidney (another danger spot ! had been low. Dempsey virtually knocked out hi* opponent whilst the latter stood inactive, and thus won the fight." It is gratifying to know there are some stout protesters against all this brutalitv, and the Rev. Mr Henderson is to be commended for having brought the matter before his Synod. It is pleasing, too. to learn that recently the Corporation of Glasgow refused application for us** of Kelvin Hall for boxing matrho*, whieb were denounced as **the dirtiest form of capitalism in existence, and attracting the most undeiirahlr characters on the face of the '•'"■•""-V"- "w. H. HF.NN-IXr,. Akaroa, November 23rd, 1029.