BOXING.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 407, 16 January 1909, Page 13

BOXING.

IBs MERonnr.i

COMING EVENTS. January 28—Tracy v, Murphy, Hastings,

The news that there is a prospfict of Burns and Johnson coming together again proved interesting roading to. all boxing enthusiasts in the city. So far nothing definite can have been- settled j all that: has been done is that 'Mr. H. D. M'lntosh has been known to have been in . conference with Sam Fitzpatrick, Johnson's manager, just prior to hii departure for England, and it is understood that the parties have come to terms. Burns, is reported to have overcome his wife's scruples and to bo willing for another try at' the black. Johnson appears willing enough, provided the terms are not less than those ■Burns stipulated for in the last contest, with, of course, tho big end coming Johnson's I way this time —that is, £6000."'win, draw, or lose. At the 1 6ame time Mr. M'lntosh publicly stated before tho recent. fight that he would promote no more contests, 1 and he repeated this in a' spoech made at'.'a farewell biinquot'just before ho left .for England! In tho face of this, "Tho Amateur,'' .who is responsible for the statement that the reported return match is to come off in London in August decidedly gives ono to understand. that'Mr-.' M'lntosh'intends handling the affair, in the ; Old Country.. ... ■: There aro others, too, who are willing to get -into the fight-promoting game.' Report has it that Mr. Jack Wren is ; more than anxious to get ex-champion Jim Jeffries to 'leave the, seclusion of his alfalfa' farm, and come into .the glare of publicity, again'by hitching up with Johnson for a fight in Melbourne next. Cup Day. Sb keenly does Mr. M r ren feel-about the matter that he is dang-' ling a bait of £10,000 win, lose, or draw before the big fellow's eyes, but .so far all in vain. Jeffries lias expressed himself as dono with the gamd, and lie refuses to be drawn from his fastness. :

The pictures of tho recent great battle have been looked for with eagerness, 'and .'are billed as starting at the Theatre Royal on Monday. Tho" Weekly Press" thus describes; tho show. — Tho. kineinatograph pictures of tho Johnson-Burns fight, 1 which aro now being shown at tho Christ-church" Opera House, hare drawn very large houses nightly." The'film is exceptionally, clear, "and having seon it exhibited, ono gets a better idea than columns .of-'-print ..can; give, -of '■ the' immense physical superiority oi :tne coloured | giant over his white'opponent. Tho first p6r- : tion of tho programmo is devoted to. a series of pictures showing this two men ' training,.' whilo the picture of the. fight itself, takes just on an hour to show. To those who toko any interest at all in 'the noblo art,' ' tho picture will • prove ostremely interest-' ing.'V- ■ ,V\;

,: In, connection with, theso pictures it is not generally known :that ' tho ' operator who 'Svorks the handle'' >has to: be something of an export. ,He has to reel off the fighti at exactly the same rate as it actually :took place' 1 , and this requires practico. Before the, pictures were put . on, at all -quite a nuinbej . of operators had to practice "under: the watch." Important? Well, .rather 1 Fancy a nervous operator throwing dff tho.fight in half an hour. -Most-of tbi best movoments 'Would nover he Beon.' On the other, hand, imagine. a slo# operatortta r iiig two hours to : unwind, the' film's.', What astodgy contest' it -would look, te bo sure! Lastly, : it may not he publicly realised that tho picture of tho fight makes : quite as'good a spectacle if it is reeled off from; end to i to'beginning, instead of . from beginning to end. IV could be;begun'from ,the ; call -of. "Box on l" or. from the time of the -police, interference*,'- and ■ vory few spectators, even, boxers, would liotico tho imposition at .thr first,time of showing. ; '."

. • Tho ; down for settlement ;'m;'the 'just now : . is the Tracy-Murphy clash at Hastings on the.2Bth of this month'."Murphy's .claims for distinction' jip; in ~the,'.: , fa'ct,; that.'.;ho.' is .younger: brother," to 'iho. one. aiid t only' Billy of that lunje, one ,timo world's • featherweight' champion, and,.that'early in ;tliis season-hose-;' oured a verdict'over the, Aucklaiidet, Gault., I hardly, think he is sufficiently advancod in, the'arts. and crafts, of the- game yet to' ; ftives Tim more than, ti rto for .the pilrso, which is a very respectable one, boing £60 divided, including expenses, but the event is looked ' upon' as being sufficiently, .attradtirb. to in-, duco soveral local sports to mako.the trip to' 800 it.' '' Commenting '..on the .Cripps-Grifßn .battle referred .to,' in .this column last week, the Molbonm correspondent 'of tlio.- "Referee',',, says'Tho 'defeat of Jim Griffin by Arthur t Cripps caused a great deal of surprise, in' Melbourne.' Some months ago Griffin confided to me that ho was-very, stale, and intended, going to the family hoAie at Inveroargill, New Zealand, for a few mouths' spell.. It was no wonder that Griffin felt the wear and tear of hard .worJc, for since Juno last I should say he' has averaged; quite two fights a month; A well-known patron of boxing in Melbourne who saw Griffin beaten by Cripps expressed the opinion jto ;me that Griffin' as a figlitor'liad "done his daslu" He.says that Jim appeared to feel, the punishment most where he used to be the and in his great fights in Melbourne one, , would think that the New Zealander would suffer himself to he cut to pieces bofore he would quit. Yet, in his match with, Cripps, Griffin tried very hard in the ninth, round to quit, and was only' prevented, from doing, so ' by his seconds, who declined to .throw. in : the; towel when appealed to do So,'. , The big -fight; last weok in .Sydney : was : the 'Prank Thorn-Boer .Unholss' battle.at tho Stadium on Wednesday, night,, in thepresence of about 12,000 people. Unholz. is,,an, exSouth African,, hence his nom-de-guerre of "Boer.,He has met and; made very decent showings against ''Battling''. .Nelson- and 3oe Gans in America, and has proved himself to ho amongst tho top flight, of lightweights. Thorn, of course,'is fcathcrwoight champion of Australia, and a .-yeiy: clever s aggressive boxer. The men met at just, under 9st: 71b.,'frith "Snowy" Baker as . referee. , The gate takings , amounted to £1000.. The fight quite justified the reputations of the participants, and proved a vigorous, soientifio_ set-to,-, lasting tho whole twenty rounds, with tho Australian hist too clever all the time. . Ultimately Thorn won handsomely on points. . 3oe Grimm, the Phila&elnhian iron -man, was defeated on points by Jo« Costa, ijt tho Gaiety, Sydney, on January 5. The name of "Snowy" Baker is becoming a very common one as. referee in boxing coniitests in Sydney, and this, coupled with, the fact that he is showing'nightly at the Tivoli with Tommy Bums, under Rickards's, management, gives point ,to the rumour, that' waß brought back by New Zealanders who. were at the big fight-, that the popular " Snowy " had broken his amateur status.

Bill, Ruires and.-Bill Lang liave "been matolie'd to meet at the Stadium,. Sydney..on ■February 3, for the lieavqy-wpight championEliin of Australia. P. P. Slavin, the great Australian ex-nugil-ist. writing somo time apo from KJonrlyke to a friend.' in Australia, ,in. reference .to the Burns-Snuires. contest, : said.:—'This twohanded fighting and these new. patent tricks of men like Burns may'be all right : witlithc class of men they, have got nowadays, .but I would guarantee that in the old .days either Peter Jackson or niyself, with a ptrnight left, would very soon have stopped, that; kind of 'flip-flap..' Surely the veteran waa justified in hip. wisdom by tho result if the bin fight. Air. Corbett ("\mntenr" of the "'Referee") is busily engaged in getingout a boolc for the company controlling the ".Sunday . Times," " Arrow." anrT " Referee," on the .Tohnson-

•■Rrirnp- visits to. Australia. ;It is.to bo honed that: the book .will lie: decently written. . The load., screaming stvle, bristling ..with " pug " slang phrases, .'the . .lumberingsentences stranded with, subordinate, clauses, the: t\ale unsatisfactory; " (leßcrintive," and - the cheap guesswork of. most of '/the sporting: papers (tbe'" Heferee,'' for instance) ; iB tidying,iourstyle, tt hurts; the, susceptibilities and bothers, the intellect to. .understand what it "is *11, about. •;. So the best class of readers laro, wading " sporting"; papers.' less .a'.tid less. Burns was adroit,enough to noticc ,this | when Jio'coriipiled his book' on boxing.. .It is •written .in fine forcible. English, .and was evidently achieved under Burris's direction.;am! supervision bj\ whig journalist wb'p; know' (lis business. ' , ; ~ •