IN THE RING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1324, 30 December 1911, Page 12

IN THE RING.

(Br MEitccHT.) THOSE TWO TAR BABIES, "The Visitations of M'Vea's Left." Onr.o again is "Mercury" in the proud position nf licing able In siy, "What, did I 101 l you?" His small piece of conceit nml temporary "swelled head" is occasioned by his picking of tho winner of the MuVen-Jiiingfnrd match.

So fur, very little information has tillered across In lis hut, from what, little we. have received, it would appear Hint the contest, was' fought, along similar lines as was thai in Paris wheu Iho two "Hams" battled out their famous draw.

lu the present case, as I lien, 1/augl'ord appears to have Miflcfed severely from the visitations of McVea's left. We are told thai his eyo showed decided signs of wear after the encounter on Boxing Day, and those who saw the pictures of the' Paris balllo will remember tho eyo that the. smaller "Sam" sustained then. And, for a black eye to show on a bruiinetto complexion like Langford's, 'it has to be eonielhuig beyond the ordinary block eye.

In one respect, however, the present encounter differs from the previous one. The cables tell us that McVea, tired at the finish and that Langford came with a hard rattle which, in the- opinion of a section of the spectatorate, should hnvo gained him the verdict. In Paris the reverso was Hie case. It was McVea who finished the faster and stronger.. The present report presents Langford in altogether a hew light. He has always beeu considered essentially a short-distance fighter. His tactics have always been to tear into his man with such speed'as to_ wear him down early in the game, and it has been said for years that any boxer who could live through these first few torrid rounds, without sustaining too much damage, would be ablo to outlast him. It has been supposed that pace, rather than endurance, is his "long suit" but, if the present report is a correct one, this supposition will have to bo rerfiodollod, for apparently although outboxed, he outstayed McVea. We must wait for the mail for fuller particulars. Meanwhile it is safe to assume that a "return" will be negotiated. It was apparently too close a thing to be altogether' conclusive, and tho promoters, the public and Langford will all clamor for another meeting. It remains to be seen what McVea will do.

Battle and Foot Race Combined. The big affair of Inst week in Sydney was the collision between "Bandsman' like and "Cyclone" Thompson. Ihe '.Englishman sprang a heavy surprise by beating the American in a peculiar battle and foot race combined. It is described as under in tho Sydney "Sun":— '■ Notwithstanding that he broke a lot of ground and was on the run most of the time, Bandsman Itiee was well ahead of "Cyclone" Johnny Thompson when the linal gong clanged on their fight at the Stadium last night. As a fact ho won every round of u tiresome—to look at—b.iltle, the only variation being a matter of degree as to the number • of points by which he led. Tliev were hard at it all the time, and although Thompson made himself look tho aggressor, he did very little scoring. Tho manner in which he persisted in walking in was a matter for wonder. Jlis condition did not appear to be of the best, but nevertheless ho was always troubling, if not hurting, his opponent. He would stroll in »nd receive perhaps half a dozen clouts. lie would continue walking, and bo always going forward, independent cf. the quality or quantity of the punishment handed to hi in. Rice's punches seemed to bo hard enough, but they hod as much effect on Thompson's head as water 111!'-! on ft duck's back. Had in-fighting been permitted, or the contest been to a finish, Thompson uiu;t have won. But a clean break .was insisted on, and . Itiee's knowledge c-f boxing enabled him to pile up points and keep out of danger. During (he, second half of tho bout, however, he was never comfortable. Although not doing much scoring, Thompson worried Mm'iit teriiorlik« fijshion. ilo was .ilways there, and ltice got tired of punching him and getting ready immediately to resume the punching. The American did not fight well, but his swings •were alwuvs dangerous, and Kico could not afford to take a risk. A single punch would havo done the trick, but by using his feet after the fashion of a professional pedestrian and bringing his ring knowledge to ben" Rice prevented the landing nf i hat blow. When the twentieth round had concluded ho was well to tho front, and the referee had no other course open to. him but to give him tho verdict.

The Matching of Lester and Smith.* •_ A match of groat interest in the boxing world yciiorally and (o New Zealanders in particular was in process of negotiation for New Year's night when the mail left Sydney, and may even now be finally cliuched. The projected contest is between ".Tuck" Lester and "Dave" iS'inith, the conditions stipulating that the former is not to scale more than 12 stone 7lbs. under a forfeit of .£259. This sum had been lodged by "Tommv" Burns, Lester's manager, at the "itefefee" office, and in this journal "The Amateur" remarks about the matching:— "It looks to ino as- if the Lester side has taken on a large order indeed, and it also looks to me as if the Smith party size the position up thus wise, and still 1 have to remember lhat Tommy Burns is no fool, though well aware that he is not averse to taking a gambling chance, within reason, about anything. It was in this way that 'Dave' Smith got Jack Howard a bit Weak. The Tasmauian heavyweight had to go to scales and null not more than the limit fixed for Lester —a condition which certainly never made for Howard's good. • "On appearances it would soem that Lester is less likely to get inside the 121 stone me than-.Howard was, though Howard is some inches the taller of the pair.

However, • . the American side may know, or should know, what they aro at and for the present we might'leave the matter as it is.

Ti lis <.i is , quif , e . thp Tnost interesting match that could have been made just now, and though each of tho principals had no knowledge beyond (he suggestion ?J 1 c< ?!! tc r on t-' lO Previous Monday, Loth will, bar that poundage condition, .winch i am bothered about, «trip fit enough for anything, despite the short notice of little moro than two weeks, as himtl) only let up in training for tho necessary brief rest following his great draw with (flabby, mid 'tis U, c jamo with Lester, who is thoroughly recovered from tho eflects of McVea's attentions in Brisbane recently. >

Did Johnson Really Do This? Under tho heading "An Extraordinary Story," the "Sun" publishes the following cablegram :— Tho sporting newspaper "Boxing," in its last issue, affirms a story that Iras been current of late that. Jack Johnson was the ally of the Iter. I - '. B. Meyer in his crusade against the Wells-Johnson fight, and wanted the battle stopped becauso he was 100 lazy lo train. In proof of this, the journal refers lo the world's champion's refusal to journey lo Paris land settle the contest when ho had the opportunity.

Bo.ung is ono of the most reputable of the papers devoted lo the sport in England, and is hardly likely k> nr.ko such a statement unless tu'ro of its ground.

If fho thing can 1m proved, it is but a lilting sequel to tho whole absurd story of the match, and Hie outburst of public hysteria which it occasioned. Tho entire businesa Ims been so farcical throughout that it only lacked this Oilbcrliiui conclusion lo make it comploto in its absurdity. It is now nicely rounded off, and, for fho sako of (ho name of British self-respect and sportsmanship, it should bo allowed to stay dead and buried. Gault and Peter Cook.

(In Jiiliiuiry I. at Hastings, tho lliiwko's Bay Assorialion is staging an affair of some inlerr.-l, I lie participanl.s being All'. ('Hull, of Aurkland, and Peter Oik, of \Ve.-l. Maiiland, an old' I'nc of our lain- visitor. "Billy" ITnmistii. These Iwo have met live time..-, the "mid" going to llanuaii; so, ou collaleral form, the bout: should be a, good one. (,'ook was in Hannah's corner on the nracision of his win over Qaull at the Town Hall last moutiii