A BOXING CHAMPION

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 12, 9 October 1928, Page 12

A BOXING CHAMPION

ANOTHER WIN FOR JOHNNY LECKIE

RADFORD KNOCKED OUT IN FIFTH ROUND Johnny Leckie, professional featherweight boxing champion of New Zealand, who in fifteen months has won fifteen out of the sixteen contests in which he has engaged, placed another victory to his credit at the Town Hall last night when he knocked out Norman Radford, the Yorkshireman, early in the fifth round. I'he contest had been fairly even up to half-way through the fourth, when the Englishman dropped his guard for a moment, and, like the crack of a pistol shot, over came Leckie’s deadly right flush on the point, and down went the Englishman for nine. Going after his man like a tiger, the New Zealand champion again crossed his rieht to the point, and only the gong saved the dazed Englishman. The plucky Yorkshireman presented an easy target in the fifth, and the Dunedin lad effectually ended matters with a terrific thump to the heart and a right swing to the jaw. The weights were announced as Leckie Bst. 13}1b., and Radford Bst. 13ilb. Both men were given a rousing reception from the crowded house as they entered the ring. Charlie Purdy, Billy Melton, and Teddy Green were introduced to the house, and were cordially greeted. The pair got to work right away, Leckie scoring with a light left to the head. The English lad did some pretty head waving, and made an elusive target. The New Zealand champion landed a low punch in the opening round. Radford was warned for claiming in the second, and a little later for holding. Leckie was starting to clap on the pace, but the Englishman steadied him with a couple of right swings to the head. The Dunedin lad missed with a vicious left uppercut, and the round was slightly in favour of Radford. In the third round, Leckie again landed a low punch, which made Radford wince. A right to Leckie was a telling blow. Radford slammed the left downstairs, and w-as showing a good deal of shrewdness in all he did. Radford did some clever work in close in the fourth, but Leckie landed a beautiful right cross, which lifted the Englishman off his feet. Radford coolly got on one knee, and tapped himself on the chin to recall his scattered senses. He rose at 'the count of nine, but Leckie went in to finish matters, and it was not long before another right cross found the Englishman s point, and only the gong saved him. Radford’s seconds worked over him feverishly during the interval,, but Radford was so rattled by the. two deadly blows he had received in the fourth round that he presented a wide-open target in the fifth. Carefully measuring his distance, the New Zealand champion slammed in a terrific right to the heart and then crossed the same deadly weapon to the point. The Englishman’s legs buckled like a concertina, and he took the full count stretched face down on the canvas. Mr.' Earl-Stewart had an easy task as third man in the ring. Amateur Preliminaries. The evening’s entertainment opened in most promising fashion. The light-weights, J. Jackson (9st. 61b.) and S. Creighton (9st. 101 b.), waded into each other from the word go. They were stout fellows, and hit hard with both hands, and most of the blows landed flush to their mark, as both only thought of attack, with never a moment’s consideration for defence. Creighton put his man down with a hard right swing to the side of the head in the first round, but Jackson scorned to take a count, and was on his feet in an instant. It was a desperate slugging match throughout the four rounds. The pair were well matched, and had the hearts of lions. Streaming with blood, they wal-

loped one another when everything had deserted them except the will, which said, “Fight on I” At the end of one of the most thrilling fights, using the word in its literal sense,- ever seen in a Wellington ring, the judges were unable to separate the pair, and the popular verdict of a draw was recorded. Thunders of applause followed the game lads from the ring. H. Thomas (Bst. 121 b.) and A. Hill (9st.), two fast and clever featherweights, were next seen in action. Thomas took the aggressive early, but Hill sparkled up to make the opening round fairly even. Hill tapped claret in the second round with a straight left, but this only served to sting Thomas into using both hands to good effect. Hill was using his feet well. The third was a willing round. Both used the left to good effect and soon signals of punishment were hoisted by both. The last round saw Thomas get the better of willing exchanges, and he went on to win a spirited contest by a decisive margin of points.

The middleweights, J. Connors (lOst. 101 b) and R. Chalken (lOst 101 b.), had a sharp and sudden combat The latter, who hails from Auckland, adopted a peculiar crouch, with the left poked out before him. Connors, who had the advantage in height and reach, soon got the Aucklander’s measure, and dealt out such heavy punishment with both hands to the head that Referee Earl Stewart stopped the unequal battle before the first round was over, and hoisted Connors’ right hand in token of victory. The winner is a promising boxer. G Thomas (9st.) and P. Christophers (9st. 101 b.) took the ,ring in a lightweight argument. Thomas opened aggressively, but his opponent liked the hard going, and by the end of the second round had Thomas hanging on for dear life. Christophers came to light in the third session with a well-planted straight left, which Thomas kept running into. The fourth round saw some heavy milling, but Christophers kept plugging away doggedly, and went on to earn a very popular verdict. It was a good display of clean, hard hitting, and that it pleased the crowd was evident from the hearty applause that followed the lads from the ring.