African power goes on trial

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33442, 25 January 1974, Page 10

African power goes on trial

If Games village gossip counts for anything,] African power will dominate the boxing to the : extent of all 11 gold medals going to Africans. The spreading of propa-( ganda is commonplace be-; fore any major sports event, (and by all accounts the! Africans have not been lack-' ling in this regard. In this case, however.' There might well be more than 'n element of truth in ; the propaganda. At, .Edinburgh in 1970. Africans took eight boxing gold medals. At the Munich' Olympic Games last year, they were again to the fore. ■ The Kenyans and Ugan-'

dans have particularly impressed in their training, :while the boxers from 'Ghana and Nigeria also have 'Shaped as formidable fighters. It might be only in the middle-weight division that boxers from other countries (will break the threatened African stranglehold on the 111 classes In 1970. the English middle-weight, John Conteh, took the gold medal for this division. Conteh. who has gone on to become a top-i ranked contender for the world professional light heavy-weight title, may be. succeeded by another British boxer at these Games. Carl Speare (England) and; Frankie Lucas, who has' lived most of his life in England but is representing St. Vincent, look the most.

likely to battle for the honours. i Both men are powerful, : and fast of foot and fist. They have met several times, and when Speare was ; preferred for the England team, Lucas looked to his home country for a chance 1 to compete in Christchurch. ! The Scottish light-weight, John Gillan, won a silver i medal at Edinburgh and is , regarded as being among the i top amateur boxers of his ; division in Europe, where • 'boxers from the Eastern ; European countries regularly carry off the major international titles. With their all-important height and reach advantages. [ as well as their traditional punching power, the Africans appear to reign su- : preme in the lighter diviJsions.

i Another Scot, the light 5 fly-weight, John Bambrick, | , won a bronze medal—the . only one to go to a British < 1 country—at the 1972 Euro- > pean championships and he 1 will figure prominently. > New Zealand, with a team < > of nine boxers, should fare ’ best among the welter- , weights. Ron Jackson, of I • Upper Hutt, who won the > title for his division and the ; scientific award at the . ; national championships, had ' : a string of impressive wins 1 i last year, including seven at ( the expense of overseas op-] ■ ' ponents. Jackson, whose younger : brother, David, is the light . welter-weight representative. 1 at the Games, has been in : great form in his prepara- ; • ition and has sparred impres- -• siveiy with representatives j of other countries, | <