BOXING

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 66, 11 December 1929, Page 8

BOXING

by

-Right Cross.”)

PROSPECT OF BIG FIGHTS

There will be plenty of excellent entertainment for followers of boxing in the Dominion during the next few weeks. Pete Sarron and Billy Grime will meet at Wellington on December 17. This-should be an argument worth going a long way to see, particularly after the Australian s victory over Johnny Leckie at Napier on Saturday last. The Wellington pubhehave ’ not Hee'* the American fu.fy ex.en.-ld but they have seen enough of him to make them yearn to see more. , Sarron and Johnny Leckie are matched to meet at Napier on New Year s night. The American knocked the New Zealander out when they last met in Sydney a few weeks’ back. Johnny Leckie s object will 'be out to even up the score. Ted Morgan and Phil Stone, the.two hard-hitting Wellington professionals, will oppose each other at Westport on December 20. If this aggressive pair wade into each other at Westport as they did when they met at Wellington recently, the West Coasters will get a real thrllL Lou Bloom; the American, and Jack Jones, the Welshman, will enter the ring at Invercargill on December 16. Tommy Donovan, the hard-hitting, bustling Taranaki fireman, will take on Tommy Crowle, feather-weight champion of Australia, at New Plymouth to-morrow night. Crowle took the title from "Cocoa” Jackson a few months ago. , Making America ' Sit Up.

British boxing stock is soaring in America (writes John Fearless In the “Athletic News”). Market quotations will soon be’ pretty high. Nelson Tarleton, of Liverpool, genuine contender for Teddy Baldock's title, has thrashed Archie Bell at Mauison Square Garden, New York. ■ The Brooklyn boxer gave paldock a severe battle at Albert Hall. Now Tarleton actually won seven rounds. We shall now look forward to Kid Berg beating Tony Canzoneri, the Italian-American, at the same venue on November 15.

I am looking forward to Berg beating not only Canzoneri; but also Sammy Mandell, present holder of the world's lightweight crown. I ain also pleased to know' that Dorn Volante is fighting at the Garden the! same night. Baldock is waiting td go back to the, States for a match with Kid Chocolate. He seems very foolish to. have -returned home and miss a lot of money.

British Boxing Board. One of the oldest tags tells that Rome was not built in a day (states an English writer). We know that a controlling-body for boxing is ’ vital. No sport can hope to be carried on satisfactorily unless it has a real governing body.. Efforts are being made to establish the authority of the present British Boxing Board of Control. Unfortunately it has not the unanimous support of every promoter and boxer's manager in the country. There must be a reason for this lack of co-operation. Either nou-members do not agree with the principles contained in the constitution, 'or else they have little, confidence In the council elected.

This Is a matter to be regretted. Everybody actively connected with boxing should oe a member if the sport is to be governed on lines, similar to. the Football ,Association, the M.C.C., and other national sports associations.-; •'.‘.lt is ridiculous for individuals continuously to make* distinctive criticisms. Personally, I cannot be converted or convinced that boxers’ managers,-agents, ringmasters, promoters, etc., can control the sport. Frankly, they are the people who need controlling. Boxing was unofficially controlled in pre-war days by the three sporting daily newspapers then published. Also they supplied 70 per cent, of the referees. Which reminds me that Jimmy Wilde, whom I regard as one of our most eflicient referees, has been granted a Class A certificate. But as it is not “starred” Wilde is not allowed to handle championship fights. This is an absurd comparison when one remembers some of the referees who have been grafted “starred” passport-looking books.

Recent happenings have not inspired confidence in the Control Board.

How Grime Outpointed JLeckie. The contest between Johnny Leckie and Billy Grime at Napier on Saturday night must have been a very close one, as there were many amongst the 1500 spectators who did not agree with Mr. Earle Stewart’s decision for the Australian.

Leckie's weight was announced as being Ost. lib., and Grime's as Ost. 4jib. (states the “Hawke’s Bay Herald”), but as the two met for the first time in the centre of the ring, the former appeared to be at a far greater disadvantage than the weights indicated, Grime, although of much the same height, being broader than h\s slight adversary. Leckie was the aggressor throughout the'bout, continually darting in Jightning-like left's, much to the Australian’s discomfiture, but be had .met, his match in the in-fighting, where Grime used a short right to considerable advantage. Realising his superiority in the clinches, Grime continually exploited this phase of the game, with the result that the pace was slackened, . but, nevertheless, the contest was full of interest and, at times, thrills.: Up to the twelfth round the Napier man was leading on points, but in the remaining three rounds Grime made the pace, and his opponent had to be smart to keep out of range of his large variety of blows, of which his right was always the most dangerous, Evidently the referee’s view was that it was the last three rounds that won Grime the fight. Through parochial Influences Leckie, was the crowd's favourite,, and when the referee at the end of the fifteenth round held up Grime's right hand as a signal that he was the winner, the crowd quickly,, showed that it was not in agreement with'the decision. Using the argument that .it was mostly in-fighting,, where' the Australian may have had a bigger advantage than Leckie's unquestioned superiority in the open, Grime’s supporters believe the balance was thus in his favour.

-It was a good, willing contest throughout, and there was’little between them at any stage of the journey. Deckle opened the final round in an aggressive manner, and although they went into a clinch he soon got out of it, only to stop three or four rights in the face. Deckle was keeping well out of the clinches, but Grime landed a left well and then a right, but his rush was stopped by a right nnd a left. Leckie was then forcing matters, but Grime was too clever to allow himself to get within reach of them. When he saw an opening Grime scored with a left swing, and in the clinch in which the gong found them, lie was administering punishment with rights to the body.