Overweight Boxer Loses Title On Scales

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31450, 17 August 1967, Page 14

Overweight Boxer Loses Title On Scales

The national bantam-weight champion, R. Carstairs, lost his Canterbury title on the scales when the provincial boxing championships were held last evening.

Carstairs had only to make the bantamweight limit (Sst 71b loz) to retain the title because there were no other contenders.

But when Carstairs, naked, stepped on the scales, he weighed 9st. C.B.A. officials gave him the customary one hour in which to try to make the weight, but Carstairs declined.

His fellow club boxer, B. Kendall, the national featherweight champion and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, weighed in at Sst 131b—lloz under the featherweight limit Kendall, who also had no opponent, will thus represent Canterbury in the featherweight division at the New Zealand amateur championships at Greymouth next month. Carstairs said later that he would not box. again as a bantam-weight. "I am a natural lightweight now—around the 9st 31b or 9st 41b mark. I will box as a light-weight when I fight again,” he said. He told the C.B.A. president (Mr E. G. Pocock) that

he was aged 20, and still filling out. He assured Mr < Pocock that he would be fit to fight over three days at 9st 31b. Carstairs's future was further complicated when R. Thompson, also from the Linwood Boys' Club, won the Canterbury light-weight title unopposed. He was to have fought J. Sweeney (Woolston Workingmen's Club), but Sweeney withdrew just before the championships started. He had suffered an injury playing football last Saturday. . Carstairs could not oppose Thompson for the light-weight

title as he had entered the championships in the bantamweight division. Thompson should, by virtue of being the Canterbury champion, represent the province as a light-weight at the New Zealand championships. However, the C.B.A. could send both Thompson and Carstairs if it wished. Mr Pocock said that he had no comment to make at present. The Canterbury team did not have to be selected until September 2. Canterbury had selected two boxers in the same weight to national championships on previous occasions, he added.