BOXING.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1186, 22 July 1911, Page 12

BOXING.

MAINLY ON TWO GOOD MEN.

(By "MEitcuitv.")

July 20 and -7.— N.Z. Amateur Championships. Eh? Johnson to Meet a Minnow? During the week we were advised by cable that champion Jack Johnson had been "matched" against Bombardier Wells, tho English champion, in •' twenty-round contest in London, for a purse of X'SedO, on or before September 30. From the magnitude of this proposition, it looks like an "11. D. M'lnlosh enterprise." If it is, then it i> not one that the leviathan promoter is to be congratulated upon—from a sporting viewpoint. As to tho business side—well, Mr. M'lntosh is the best judge, but it is hard to see, at this distance, how such a battle will draw the necessary "gate." The eventuality of such a match being made was touched upon by the. English sporting press at the time of YY'ells's recent victory over "Iron" Hague, and the boxing writers of the various papers were unanimous in the opinion that such an affair was the last thing that a,ny wellwisher of tho Englishman's could desire. Hero is one opinion:—

"One gratifying feature of the situation is the evidence afforded that there is no intention to match the new English heavy-weight champion against either of the coloured quartet. This would be a most undesirable calamity in any event, as the issue could only be a severe set-back to a promising boxer's aspirations. A champion, no matter how skilful he may be, must acquire experience before he can hope to hold his own successfully against a.ny one of tho fa- • mans four, who may bo said to stand supreme over all rivals." The "coloured quartet" are, of course, "Jack" Johnson, "Sam" Langford, "Sam" M'Vea, and "Joe" Jennnette. "The Minnow," and its Admirers. A recent number of "Boxing"—perhaps the most reliable of the English boxing journals—takes up tho attitude that Wells should undoubtedly wait for a year or two before tackling the champion, and says so as under: —

He is undoubtedly the best heavyweight we have possessed since Charlie Mitchell's day, and it is by no means impossible, with another year or so's experience and tho iinprovc.il physical development which will accrue during that period, that ho will prove himself to Iks one of the very best men the world has ever seen. Wells has still a few faults, none of which are ineradicable, and he should easily make himself at least the finest jictfri'ii in the world. The only doubt which can remain as to his proving himself the best nunrait lies in the doubts as to, his strength. The Bombardier does not now, and probably never will, look like the typical pugilist. Tho contours of his face ho cannot alter, nor can he reduce the length of his neck, but he has such nn abnormally long icacli and such skill'in'utilising it to full advantage that it is by no means certain that any opponent will ever bo able to get in "close enough fo take advantage of

these little handicaps. He ought, however, to learn the knack of sinking his chin more when in the ring. -So far, he has always stood up to his full height', with his head proudly evect, unmindful of tho possibilily of a swing getting-over and connect-' ing with his jaw. lie proved satisfactorily against Hague that he could assimilate with comparative unconcern even the very hardest punches which ■might' lain" on his ear or cheek; blows which might to liable to put even champions on the ground for a brief count, but there is a whole world of difference' , between , a,, heavy swing •■which laitflS'oiV'tho ear alia , ;anothcr which jqjn'ft (ssue-i wjljh^.tlj^angln. , of,, the jaw, and Wells would do well to recognise this by taking all duo precautions against leaving that chin of his in danger as he so frequently does. His main asset—his left haiid>-is admittedly one of tho soundest any boxer has ever possessed. It is longer in the reach than any ive remember, and • it is as accurate and as rapidly delivered as any wo recall, while it is ([iiito forcible enough to jerk back tho head of even such a thick-necked, man as "Iron" Hague, but there is an old proverb concerning the unwisdom of putting all one's eggs into one basket, which no doubt Wells is as fully acquainted with as we are. He has boon able to rely on it pretty securelv hitherto, but, now that he has wiped up the vast majority of his British rivals with such comfortable rase for himself, ho must not think that he will be able to use it to trump the cards of his American rivals in similar fashion, into a man, capable of cutting even Jack Johnson's comb. Tho great Johnson is, as wo all know, very largely a defensive fighter—probably tho greatest defensive boxer the world has ever seen — but still n defensive and by no means an aggressive combatant. He boxes on the retreat and tries to coax his opponents to come after him. Now Wells is long enough in the arm to reach Johnson; he is essentially an out-lighter, and, provided he could bo broken of that habit of his of leading for the ribs with his right, should be fairly immuuo from tho risks of an upper-cut. It is all very well to theorise- about the possible or probable trend of contests, we know, but, given the necessary, strength and stamina and a littln more experience of possible dangers, we cannot but think that Wells should stand a good-chance with Johnson in tho not-distant future—a better chance for instance, than he would probably have with Sam Longford (of whom more anon). So far he has only about these two outstanding faults to correct—viz., the erect and exposed chin and the righthand body lead from long range. His posturing with his left, as though telegraphing a hook or swing, is not so serious; firstly, because ho has broken himself to a large extent of tho habit, and, secondly, because he has acquired the knack of doing what he perhaps always designed to doviz., to uso the manoeuvre as a feint. Against Hague, Wells spread'out his bent arm a.s usual, but he did so frequently prior to sending in a straight drive. Before last Monday he had usually done it prior to a hook, and could never have deceived any experienced opponent that he was designing anything else. With the championship at stake, however, ho did leave his opponent in doubt as to his intentions, and put into force the very opposite of the thing that swmed apparent. Billv's punch, too, was a great one. It looked lackadaisical at times, perhaps, but.Hague, the tough "Iron" Hague, always knew that he had received it, even when Wells had merely put it .in to turn Hague's head into position for a right-hinder. This last, indeed, was one of. tho best moves he played throughout. He was always working to get "Iron's" head into position, ond would draw back skilfully at times to lure him into a swing which would leave an opening.

So much for Bombardier "Billy" Wells as seen through the roseate-tinted spectacles of liis friends. The above, is high praise, but it is praise with a reservation. And there, 'should bo no reservation in (ho praise of any boxer's capabilities if ho is to be looked to to beat Johnson. No doubt the hire of I he big puree has prevailed over, the wiser counsels of Wells's well-wishers, liven so, it is not to be supposed that the <£'S(I0O is to be disposed* of on the "winner-tnkc-all" basis, liver since winning his place at the top, Johnson has steadfastly stated that the only, terms acceptable to him were to be the' samo as those under which boxers forced him to fight—namely, .£0001) for his "cut," win, lose, or draw. So after all, apparently, only .£2OOO of the big stake would go" the bombardier's way, even if he did win. That, of course, and the championship. More Johnsonia. The cable man has left us in a state of glorious uncertainty regarding the re)>ort that Johnson had signed on to meet "Bill" Lang in Sydney next Easier Monday. Ilight on the heels of the message which stated that this deal hod been consummated, came another intimating that,

in .111 interview published in the "Sportsliinii," Jobn-on (icnied the gentle imputation, iiiiil added that "ho docs not want f;> go to Australia., pspccinlly to light Lang, whom ho previously defeated easily." Since then other wins from various sources have been received in Australia reiterating that the champion has signed on for Lang, and there it is as regards that proposition. Thou comes another cable from London, under date July 13, as under:—

"Cirent surprise has been oppressed ;it (lip 'Daily Chronicle's , publication of a Sydney cablegram, stating that ;i fight lias been arranged bctwcen.lohnain ;u,<l Langford, on tho Sydney Sports Ci rouml, on December 26, and that the Government are generally supervising thu arrangements and receiving 1(1 per cent: of the takings. "Johnson denies that ho has been approached, and says he will not fight Liingford without a bet of .C2OOO ami a substantial purse for his end." This latter is evidently a move on the part of tho new promoting syndicate, locally formed iu Sydney (yclept "Sydney Self-Defence and Sports, Ltd."), n copy of whose prospectus is before "Mercury' at the present moment, and whose habitat is to be the Sydney Sports Ground. The prospectus states that "the Government, who aro the proprietors of the ground, will be paid by means of a share of the gate receipts with the promoters on a percentage btisi?." ... ~ The new company referred to in the preceding paragraph evidently intends to do thinss on a big scale, and, should it come, into bein», should prove a formidable rival to the present Stadium management—to the benefit of tho competing I>oxers.< Tho terms under which its contests are to take place aro set down us 30 per cent, of Rale receipts to the promotors and trustees, and the balance of 70 per cent, to lie divided between the losers as per airangeincnt. As se.it•n» accommodation is said to lie 30,000, this looks good for the competitors. One novel point in tho conditions is that all decisions aro to be made by two judges and a referee—a great innovation in professional boxing. Coming Now to "Dave" Smith. Writing to "Dave." Smith, of whom more anon, the manager of the new proprietary says that the first fixture under Ills regime was to have been between Turner and Howard on Monday last— the winner to meet the victor of the Liuie-fc'qmres battle in Brisbane next month—and he inquires whether the New Zealand middle-weight will sign on to meet Turner, Howard, or Squires on the 70 per cent, basis mentioned above. Smith, however, has other fish to fry, and, moreover, has very decided views about going out of his class to meet heavy-weights-even second-raters. In which he is wise. Many a boxer has placed the prospect of acquiring n> certain amount of "ready" by matching up out of his class, and the majority have paid a bitter penalty. For instance, "Jim" Griffin. Spasm of Energy by Our Police.

"Dav«" Smith is still iu town. His touring company has boen disbanded, mainly through the action of the police authorities in barring the Smith-Kelly exhibition bout that was the "star" piece in the company's repertoire. Smith feels deeply uixtu this matter, and with good reason. The bout was purely an exhibition one—nothing more nor less than a vaudeville turn. There was nothing of the contest about it at all, and why it should liii\o been stepped is hard to understand. The action of the police was arbitrary in the extreme. It is apparently in'accordance with tho letter of the Act, but by no stretch of imagination can it be said to comply with its spirit. However, to return to the champion middle-weight. On Monday last he cabled to 11. D. Jl'lntosh in London: "What guarantee three lights' with Papke,. Sul-' liviin, Morceau?" and, at the time of writing, he was awaiting a reply. Papkc, of course, ho has met before, and honours are easy between them—one win apiece. Sullivan was recently beaten by Papke in tho tenth round in London, up to what time he was the middle-weight champioii of England, and . Marcel ll'cr'edtl' is , ;the .champion,,of,, that,.class of. prance,, ifyiuth' wdultl 'lie iiopulai , an Ixm/doii',,' 'Sin is a clever exponent of thn "Jem" Maco school, a clean, scientific boxer of just the style that the , -English enthusiast delimits to fee. The American methods are disliked in London—as elsewhere outsido America.

Brunson and Clabby found it so, and retired to their native fastnesses after one fight each. Papke was vigorously hooted throughout • his bout with Sullivan, and was constantly in trouble with tho referee over his doubtful methods. There would bo no. question of this unpleasantness in the Now Zealander's tactics iu the ring. In short, lie is a boxer, as boxing is rightly understood, and ho has proved that his methods are at least as effective »s the deplorable American- tactics lately scon to such disadvantage in Sydney. "Cyclone" Thompson, "Jimmy" Clabby, and Papke himself can bear testimony to this.