BOXING.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 900, 20 August 1910, Page 12

BOXING.

(By Mkrcdp.i.l

.;:;) UP THE EBONY IDOL. ■•■''.■'.'■ September 2 and 3.—Australasian Amateur ■ : ■'•'■ Championships (Auckland). '.' ' ; i. September B.—Burns v. Langford. : . ..September 17.—W.8.A. Tourney. {■"Johnson—Gentleman!" ; ;'-;■■■;■ Perhaps no more stinging reflection on .'the state, of society in which we live i; could be found than..-; the .- somersaults •' '■',' which sporting .writers, have. 1 turned over - : .Johnson. They know what suits, do these .. -knights of the .fountain pen, and they ■ Berve it. The once-despicable negro is ■■ , now. up for worship; the once-admirable -*, v : Jeffries sis-down for kicking: The pooi\ ■-'•■■ •■ public—always right in the long run— , v -at-length sees Johnson of Texas as ho is,. ■'.': !and, as if to make amends for past sins, -. .girds the robes of fairplay about it, and ■••■■ falls .-down to worship the ebony idol. Let '-as'then either worship, or if.-the , fancy; -.". pleases lisj watch the other worshippers. . ' -It is good enough fun either way. . .• - American sporting /files just to hand are' '■;• full of. detailed.accounts of the Johnson-, '.; cmbroglio,.'but: there is not much ■ '■'in the* accounts, that was "not contained ■'■■ : - iii '- the cabled" reports. ,'• They emphasise • more than ever' the. shocking display, / "made by'Jeffries, and give Johnson every credit both for' His.prowess and for his -demeanour in the ring; ; - In-fact, on this .'latter head,.the■ American press is sur- '. :'■•'■ prisingly laudatory. -One paper to hand '. V ".goes 1 so far'as to furnish; a headline: !,. Johnson—Gentleman."-• V , ... ifJeffrles^Boor'!"-"' , .,';-;-. ■;'•'"■'■ , C This,, as a description of a negro by an i.' 'American paper,.is. praise .indeed. To. v,some'extent..this decided volte face in '•! -the-American,, attitude, is accounted for ;' vby the fact-that Jeffries.had, just .prior ■ :.'-,to the encounter,, made himself extremely ; -4 nnpopular. with. all concerned by his : .boorish behaviour, which from 'all ac- '■■ counts is putting it very mildly.. On Ithis head Mr. W.'E. Corbett; the "Kc•v"l feree's"..: correspondent _.-at the front *■'"■•; imtes; "under .date' July i, the night of v.T.the great battle:—"A remarkable, thing '- .-fe,the■ fact■'that 'hone-appears, sorry, for v-the'defeat of the large, hairy.-bodied 'ani-■:'.'.-.mal whose! name• was on, every lip right ' .. up to .the -lnpn'vent the two , gladiators ■■:,'' shaped, in. th'e ring ( and,,who was going ■'•,:> to make that 'deriied nigger'^turn' white,- ■■;■ :'-.>■ iu'n out of the enclosure, ■ and , -,do other ■f "i tilings which only.'lhe craven-heartsd "'-:-.' v could. , be guilty'of.: ■■Nine .out of >every .; , : ten ,: people one meets express themselves ■'■'! '•'■. as highly :pleased; at; the,result, l : and Jack :'■ Johnson "has i made Nn^any, more friends . : 'than-:.he ever,)could hayoydreamt of.niak- :,;' :':':'■ '-■■■■;■, ■'■-■•.-'.■[.■ '-. ■ :'vHorse Sense on Blacks and Boxing. ;,;.' ;•; '■!.: Of the contest itself, as before inen- ■_: ■;< tioned, nothing new' has been'x said,- so . .-,.'."Mercury" will not -dwell, longer upon :\. that sorry happening. matter can : :'< be closed by a few general .'remarks from ; i; :: "... -a- "Bulletin", correspondent, which ex- -:: plain-theniselves, and irhich'contain good ,; .plain-"horse" sense aiid are only too true.' .•.::;Saysthe" "Bulletin", writer :■—,.'. ;•!.',:, ; O'"'"■'■■! I feel there's an enormous (scope '.-:'. ■', ■ .for disagreement with :"0.K.". iii his ;.;::"'lengthy animadversion'on , the pugil-> ; :: '. . istic industry (8..21/7y'lo)..vHe scorns ■•.'■- ■ . ; and 'rejoices, as a'white ■ "VV'i'man, that fighting has finally been . ; ;: ? ■- branded : a black '.-man's.' , ; game, be-, .'v*"•-'.- 'cause:fist, fighting ;is.a\ miserable hu- •■ :)■■'':' inaii'imitation-of:a busjness'in'.whioli ...-■. : ;i -'.". .'rthe , brutes excel. i: .ln support of this ; - ; ."vi.riey; he instances; the fact: that, 1 as a- •„' i . pnncher, man is la , : wretcned:.failure . t ■': with the--lion or the' ',',-' .-■'. fr"s-jig&:?Vi?J)oes'4'iQtK"-fi make,nothing%i :*.■.: ; '-" i ;'6'f ; v.tliat'- c; , ;/ . : : Beaurepaire is* a despicable amphi- ■ ■ i':' 'V bian compared with a seal, and would .'■ "-be beaten out of sight by a barra- \■.' in a 100 yd. sprint.' Purther- \ -;i : .-more, Postle ;cah't run a' little, bit '.- .:.'■•.--as compared with an antelope, .and- • ■';;|'' -"-.George,Blake's--five-mile' record, has ■ ■■■;;;i-been: beaten by. !)000 ; ostriches'-and :.-'.,.: motorcars.' . Because , of :this- deplor-;i; '•■•- ■~ able,human, incompetence-must.swim- - ■ -~i,.; -'mingas'a , sportbe abandoned ,to coilj. V:'pedestrianiembe given-over to spring- '-. \ 'vibok;. andi high-jumping- be , forsaken , ;:, '. a pathetic compliment to the sur>-, : i'!''periority of tbe/roo? The low types'-' i -■■:;•..'•,-. '.'O.K." finds at a fight are.those*.he

.;;...';■ may discover at a: race, meeting dr..a , -...'.football match. They are not ring : . , : > ; ■;' .to any extent. If ..one sport. -. i i•'.:.■ .is.-more responsible than another for. !■;.■'. v : '.;their."(legradatiori,Vit.'is horse-racing— .•"••v.J* , :■'■{'a/business that deliberately^cultivates . ■■.•■■.- physical deterioration inv'the humans ... .wlo i take active/part in'it.,,. John- • 1 . -VJon's triumph at ■Eeno..is-a slap for . .;.. .":.•: the white, -since :} it' represents .. the , r ;■:■ v'- ; euperiority of the-coon. m- a: 'sphere . ■'■...■ " *in- 'which hundreds ■oi■ thousands- of ~ .. : .r- "fine/.yqung. palefaces are'.striving .to. ■: : : • ' : ' ,If. it is nothing for , the' white.. / ',:•,':."■, inferior.in courage and strength■',.' .'-' '-; : \ Tand 'coolness and..skill," thefiiegro's'.-. r;-'S... success is /of np. : conseciuence.;. ,but\ ■ ,v;.';.Cmeanwhile "0.K." not alter the '. ■■.<>;caie by.calling:those virtues, hard i, ' : Cil'. names. : .: • . .-• .■'.-'■!■..'. :, .■■"■'• '<'.'"' : -\' '■ '.' ■•U '- ■' ■■;."Packey"■ '•' M'Farlaiid, • -.of .Chicago,' r ..knocked! out '-"Jack" Goldswain, of :I>d'u•:::j;don, the 'English',,welter-weight :cham- •"-.• pion, in the third round at the Black- ;''.:'■ vfriars ring,, on June 18. "."■>, '•';.- ■'■■."*... ■:■ :~v'' A New -York cable says:— ■Mγ. M'ln-. ' ' : tosh has -, arranged 'for a-series of boxing ''<■■'. 'oontests- in -London, beginning on Sep- • • tember. , .lS; to decide the heavy-weight v. 'championship pf England. If Bombar- ■ 'Sdier Wells wins-he 1 will be matched with .::'■!.'-'itang, and. the winner will, meet Tommy .:". .:. Bnrns for Hie championship' of the Bri- :..'-: tish'Empire. ' ■.'.■'■■■

The Millertoh Mill. ■' }-}?\. .'■■'■ ■-■ The • only matter of interest in ■ New Zealand. boxing circles of late was the announcement from Westport that, ~at iMillerton last ■ Saturday, Jamss Mitchell, a. : local-boxer, bent E. J. Picton, of .Christohurch, the' holder of the title, for the heavy-weight championship of New' Zealand and,a. purse' of .£65. Mitchell eon all the way, and-.secured a' knockout lin the fifth round. , . ■. '• The"Keferee" announces that. Frank Thora'has issued a challenge to; S.um--mers, -Douglas,. or : Mehigan to meet.him "a't'Sst. 51b. for' £oO aside..- ..This looks like an/opportunity-for thei local, association, . which is endeavouring to 'secure 'Australian boxers for its next big tourney, and for'ivjiom the" men' mentioned would/be just the ! tliing.-desired. : : Itis tindexstood that the associaioh- is nego-, •tiating for "Dick" ,X'ullen," but' ATistra-lian-!'-lies .'state •that .the American ■ is. pTob'ably'. returning;: to San. Francisco'.in On "prid'ay,'. of last week/ "Gus": Devitt was billed to meet W.' Billington, ; a Queensland ex-amateur- champion in ,Brstane. .. ' ' ' '-' ■ - ■

FOOTBALL.

" —.";'. »; . - ■'.' RUOBY. ■-.■.;

CBl AIUSTOBnHJS.S

N.Z.K.TJ. AND. THE PRESIDENT. ■ ■. /' .'CUBIOUS P,QSITIOR. '' .In conversation with Mr. R. Galbraith the other day as to the visit of the American team (says "S' r Hodred" in ■ the "Southland New.s"),-the writer elicited the fact, that the president of the Now Zealand Kugby was totally iinesrare of.the movements ._of the visitors fea>m an official standpoint, and , this eaises'the au«stion:as to wherein lies the fconour or interest in anyone holding the »bove exalted position. It .will be remembered that when Jfr. Galbraith was elected' president,' he announced his intention of attending several meetings of the management committee, (hiring' the season, but ho does not seem to. have been advised of: these, and consequently has been unable to fulfil his promise. Sir. Galbraith was complimented in many quarters on his intentions, and the in-, terest he evinced in tho working of the consequently -it- will come as'

a surprise to: find that the head of the ruling' body' is not consulted "even when he expresses'.' a desire to make himself acquainted: with the working of the union and take part in its deliberations. From another source the iuformatienjs gleaned that yet another injustice-"appears" to have been dealt out to the head of. the N.Z.K.U. ■-,AVlieri a difficulty was experi-. enced in getting a manager to.accompany the New Zealand team to Australia some time ago, Mr. Galbraith offered to accept'the-position provided that he did riot trench on the ground of any other claimant. This offer was made purely in.the interestsjof'the union and with a desire to help the Itugby cause, in any way .possible, but it-is stated to have been passed 'over and not even acknowledged until quite a number of weeks after it.was made. Again, Mr... Galbraith was anxious to ..greet the Americans, and assist to make their.stay in New Zealand as pleasant, as possible, but the Management Committee .do not appear to .■ have considered the' existence of the president, and, a Christchurch gentleman was appointed to pilot the visitors during their journeying, in the South Island—this Canterbury gentleman, by the way, is no stranger.to'N.Z.E.U. pleasurable appointments..' It-may. , -be that the president of the N.Z.8.17.' simply ranks,as a -fißuri!headj but if tliis'i.s the case'it should be eenerallymadeknov;n, and-then the misfake.'will.not. be.made of a', genuine enthiisiast. allowing himself-to be nominated and elected to. the office.

■- - '■ .-V-' ,•■ ~: • - % •:-,'• Letter from the Argentine, '•'-. ■'• ■'"■ Writing'-,from .Buenos 'Arres. Mr. i). Kenrys. an ex-member, of-the Wellin.ston Football Club, dves a few interesting facts of ths condition.of tlie Rugby game in the". Argentine. ; There are twelve senior Steams in Buenos ,Ayres and five country senior teams ' and numerous junior teams under, the jurisdiction of the 'liiver Plate Bmrby Union. The 'dubs adopt.,the Eii'elisli style of nlno;ng tlie men on 1 the field, viz., full-back, four'.. three-rtuarter*. two luilves, and nisht forwards. The game has (recently been' given a stimulus by the vifit of an English team, which has proved much too eood'.for the-best that can be produced in. tne Kenltblic. The English representatives, whose colours arc white, are nnrler the• cnutninny of J. E. Eaijliael. 'According-"to Mr,■ Henrys, they' are a very fine lot of players, but ,he does not consider' them, as: good. n.« Hie last JEng- ■ ish team that toured New Zealand. A Creditable Record. The following ; are the figures for tho English Northern Union team's tour of Australia ,and; New. Zealand:— -- , ..'.■■ 'j' ' . '■-_■■ Points.

' Played, 18/'won','l3; lost,'*; drawn, I*; points for, 527;..agai.n5t;.;294. "■';: Wel!inJton , s:Easy.,Ascendancy.v- .";• Ar'Mifam'nK' on ■■ Saturday" the Victoria. College team disappointed: their .'support-, ers by a decided, lapse from'the excellent' form "displayed: a week, earlier in their uphill "tussle with" Old Boys. At the outset of- the game with ;Wellington,-the teams soemed-4plerably. evenly matched,; vbutr'iGollege iniproyeias-time went' 'on, wMlextWir opppneiifeJiOn the other hand, ■ developed ' au increasing inclination to attack. - Against .this College were .able .to pit nothing better, than u stubborn, and well-sustained . defence. . They were.able to. stave off overwhelming defeat, but the .honours .of, active and en:terprisingj.play rested/ beyond a doubt, with,their opponents.-; : :*;.■ ' ,' V.Tho outstanding:feature; of the game iwas the fine-all-round, play of the AVel-' ■lington forwards*- -'-Jn line-out, ■ scrum, arid ; footwork .-■in. tho open, they were. .equally~go'od;"andthroughout,- the game ' ithey'm'aiiitaincdVah'easy-ascendailey over the. opposition :pack.. ' -The Wellington backs as a.combinatinn were by no means so good"-as,'-their, forwards. On ope'occ'a-j «ion. at least, when' the;.'ball- came out to "them from ■' a' scrum - beneath , tho" College goal,- they were beaten for -what had. looked like a. certain score.

..Of the College hacks, the weakest unit was Howie, at full-hack. 0" several.occasions- he let in a dangerous : attack that might have been averted by a quick savt. :It .is to be said,, however, that the College backs were thrown upon their own resources more than was just or reasonable..; Their forwards were a poor barrier, and it was seldom theigame that the'-',. College'..back.' .division*, were granted anything -in -.the. sKa'pe; ofi'wbrking esope. ■L'hey started, many m,ovemcnts,\but usually; they collapsed early under pressure of the Wellington tncklers. '. . 'Wilson,, the College wing-forward, played a rattling game.. Ho was on the spot at' every- critical moment, but ,usu-_ .ally his supporters were just-a little too far. behind:to efficiently back him up. Among tlieiCoHege backs, Ryan was prominent. Several times he brought relief to his side with a. timely and well-placed kicki his tficklihg.:was sure,, and ,in the occasional attacks initiated by College lie was. a-prominent*.actor. • : The" 'Wellington forwards ; wera good without exception. •• Among their ■ backs none was more prominent than Durie. His rushes took a lot of' stopping, and he set a standard in attack'that would have resulted in a big score for his side had it been common to his comrades of the. back division. ■■'>; Matches at 'the. Park., ... . : During'the past, few weeks the Athletic senior; fifteen . has shown great improvement, ai(d following on its sensational defeat., of Ponekeit put up a good battle against Sf..'Ja'mes;last week. At one stage it almost looked as if.' St. James would he defeated,'.-.but: the defence proved too sound, and: though Athletic wore desperately, close to' hho.Hne at times they did not.succewl in'scoring. St. James were not. playing' with their strongest team, but the-'same" remark also applies to the other three teams'that played on the Park.. ... . '■■'■• .--..'

. It- seemed rather curious on Saturday that, while the Poneke backs seemed to be running all over Orientar.in tho second spell, the Oriental team'"scored two tries to-.the one try rogislered • by Poneke. This points to weak defence on Poneke's part. .. At all events their defence was weak.\by, comparison with that of their opponents...: K.was extremely""- interesting to see the Oriental men staving olf the determined onslaughts of the. 'Ileds- on several occasions : in the" 1 , second spell, when the Poneke'men were right on the line. In such a strenuous game it was only to be expected that some hnrd knocks iwotild lie received, and a player on .either side -hail to. "retire, but there did not appear' to be any. uniiec'essary rough-'play. ..' ;T"Walsfi 'was in great- form on Saturday last, and got'.'in^some,'splendid work, in the second spellj making several' openings for-lho backs..' Kynn.".at J flve-eightlis, handled the ball rather better than was expected he would, and Mitchinson showed his best form at parts of the game. • The Oriental backs wore in good fiirin. and AV. SuUivan, who let the team down on an occasion ( ; when ho played full-back in' the 'first round, made finite a respectable showingj at wing-three-quarter . in place of Pyle. Altogether, the back play on both sides was excellent, when one considers the state of the ground and the ball. : "•• Amusing and Interesting. •••' '. . At the last annual re-union of the Queensland Referees' Association, held recently, Mr. K. J.. Board, who was one of tint founders and tho first lion, secretary and .treasurer of-the-.Q.R.'U., in 1893, gave,-by invitation, some most interesting and amusing reminiscences of tho Eugby game and 'its referees many years ago. Ho dealt • elaborately with the 'changeevin-ithfr•ruleiiA^nd.the diffi-

cultics of referees prior to the formation of the association. Warming up in the, subject, lio touched un . tho oaiiy , troubles with clubs which lodged objections) to certain appointments, then the "strike" of referees, the disbandment and re-forination of the tissoeiation, and a number of incidents in the game, nol tho least interesting being tho pelting of a refnreo off the ground at. Ketirou Park with missiles, tho Teferco having to take refuge under one of tho beds of an adjoining hotel. British Team in South Africa. ' Despite the showery weather a crowil of. f>oo people assembled to witness the fifth match of the .British Rugby team's tour against a combined lilteen of the Western Province (says a Johannesburg exchange). The ground was soft,, but the game was contested at a good pace. At tile start tho Englishmen attacked, and for a time pressed the homo side strongly, but they were forced back. Then the fcoloniul three-quarters got going, but they eh'uld not break through , the excellent defence of the'-British side. Play continued to be very exciting anil full of incident, both - lines being frequently in danger; but the defences prevailed, and lmlt-tiuift was i cached with no score by '■ either side. . Immediately after tho change of dnds a fine rush by the visitors ended in Pillman scoring a try, which he converted himself. After this reverse the colonials pressed vigorously, but.the British forwards frustrated their efforts in splendid style. Tho play was of.the keenest description, and eventually, the Western Province men scored a penalty goal. Following this they made several dangerous. attacks on the British line, but-the visitors defended splendidly, and nothing'further was done, the result thus being a victory for tho British side iby 1 place goal (5 points) to 1 penalty .goal .(3. points). The feature of the match was the fine defence of the visiting threequarters, who rarely- obtained the ball from the scrums. Jones showed considerable resource, and most of the British attacks were initiated by him. Williams, at .full-back, lacked and tackled in fim form, and Pillman also played an excellent game. ■ ,

Against. - ■ • - -Result ■ •■for.'. Against. N.S.W. .............'.. Lost "' li 2B N.S.-W. .!...:....„ lost 20 27 N.S.AV. .. Won ' 1.23: 10 Metropolis ...■.'..''Won; , 3i 25' Australia .....'...V... Won ■ 27 20 .-. Northern Branch Won- .-■.•' 2-t 8 : • .Northern Brancli. AVon 40 .-, 20 Queensland ......... Won' 33 V .9 "Kangaroos" ....... Lost... / 10 -22 Queensland .......:. Won; ■ -15, : .4... ■Australia.;;.:...;... AVon.;T;;22. Australa'sia, .....v. Drawn ;::-13' ., 13' Australasia Lost.:' 15' \ _32 ■.-• Maoris .....V.. Won : ;.2D ; .0 , Auckland ■;..... Won • | -'52 ;. !), Kotorua ............... Won ■ 54 . ■' 18. •• Ne\y'Zealand ...V./Won 5a .20 ■ N.S.W. ■ ..:.....:...•... Won :50 ' . ; 12- .