EVEN WRESTLING

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 258, 28 July 1936, Page 11

EVEN WRESTLING

McCready Retains Empire Title CROWD CHAGRINED Blomfield Loses by Fall in Eighth Round By a single fall in the eighth round of the most evenly-matched bout seen at Wellington this season Earl. McCready beat “Lofty” Bloinlield last night and so retained his title to the British Empire wrestling championship. After being driven to the ropes by Blotnfield’s savage attack and released by the referee s intervention, McCready felled the New Zealander with an elbow-jolt, and, leaping on him, pinned him. An angry, demonstration by Blomfield s chagrined sympathisers among the vast crowd that packed the Town Hall followed the fall. Boos and jeering greeted McCready when the referee, Mr. A. Jenkins, raised the winner’s hand , in token of victory. The demonstration continued after the wrestlers had left the ring. The wrestling was in the main orthodox rather than spectacular, one of the most interesting phases being when McCready by sheer strength withstood Blomfield’s dreaded octopus clamp. Blomfield throughout the contest pressed the holder of the title hard, and was. setting the pace in the last round until McCready abruptly turned the tables on him. Attired in a gorgeous black and white silk dressing gown emblazoned with fern leaves and kiwis on the breast and N.Z. in large letters across the back, Bloinfield, Dominion champion, weighing lost. 101 b., made a striking figure when he entered the ring. Earl McCready, holder of the British Empire title and cup, so far undefeated in New Zealand, weighed in at Hist. 131 b. The opening phases showed McLreauy light on his feet as a cat. Blomfield, a slightly slower mover, was none the less amazingly agile for so heavy a man. Hie Canadian took the offensive, experimenting with a head scissors, to which Blomfield, as soon as he was free, replied with elbow tactics, and pulled McCready s cars so violently that he rubbed, them ruefully when he broke away. Straight wrestling, however, remained McCready’s plan o campaign, and he tried the first of the numerous standing splits he applied to the New Zealander at various stages ot the contest. Elbow-Jolting. Each round was opened by a succession of elbow-jolts by Blomfield, but McCready was well able to withstand them. Breakin 0 * away from a powerful body scissors, McCready converted a toe-hold to another standing splits. Blomfield grabbed at the referee, but that elusive man slipped clear. At the close of the second round Blomfield threw McCready twice with headlocks, but the champion rebounded unshaken by such handling, , A duel of solid jolts showed that Blomfield could take a good deal of punishment. McCready freed himself from a three-quarter nelson, augmented by uncomfortable kuee-jolts, and, applying an arm-stretch, stamped Blomfield s face hard on the mat. Blomfield in turn secured an arm-stretch, and bounced so heavuy on McCready’s biceps with both knees that the Canadian yelled in pain. Fierce elbow-jolts in the fourth round sent McCready to the floor, but twenty seconds later he was pounding Blomfield to the mat with the full weight of his body, striving for a pin-fall. Switching to an arm-stretch, Blomfield managed some more biceps-bounces, to McCready’s obvious rCSS. Three times McCready slammed Blomfield heavily to the mat with headlocks, and then dumped him mo’t efficiently with a crotch-hold. At this stage of the fifth round a fall seemed certain, but Blomfield turned quickly on the mat and wriggled clear. McCready obtained a crotch-hold for a second dump, but Blomfield seized the ropes.. McCready caught him in a rocking-chair splits, and, . although Blomfield again snatched vainly at the referee, bumped and rocked him until the bell. Blonifleld's Flying Tackle. Peeved at being thrown with headlocks, Blomfield bowled McCready over with a flying tackle, repeating the manoeuvre when the other tried to rise, and finally launched himself at the Canadian a 3 he knelt on the mat. He marched McCready round the ring by his ears, until the referee protested. In the seventh round, with still no tall to either side, Blomfield pitched McCready into the ropes, pushing him back with his foot when he tried to disentangle himself. McCready landed a lusty elbow when Blomfield again took him by the ears, but Blomfield, from a doublebarred toe-hold, applied his celebrated octopus clamp. To his surprise it simply failed to take effect. McCready showed displeasure and was palpably, inconvenienced, but evinced no inclination to yield a Blomfield rushed McCready into a corner early in the last round, and r roceeded to batter him with elbow-jolts. McCready appeared in a bad way, with B.omfield grasping his hair, and landing blow after blow, when the referee attempted to separate them. At first he was unsuccessful. Then Blomfield stepped back—and McCready sent him to the floor with an elbow-jolt. He jumped on the fallen man to pin him. The referee willed McCready’s arm away from Blomfield s

throat, and struck him on the back with open palm, awarding a tallAs McCready limped to hfe corner, and Blomficld’s supporters helped him to his feet, the tense crowd, swirling outside the ring gave vent to pent-up emotion. Many cheered, but a large section set up hooting and cat-calls, which continued until both wrestlers had disappeared to their dressing-rooms. Amateur Preliminaries. The curtain-raisers were of particularly high standard, marked improvement being shown since the preliminaries have been wrestled under strictly amateur rules. Results are:— Bantamweight: L. Ruby (Kilbirnie, B'it. 81b.) beat J.' Lock wood (Petono, Bst. 31b.), by one fall. Ruby obtained a fall in the second round with a double arm-lock. Middleweight: G. McDonald (Kilbirnie, list. Glb.jand A. Smith (Karori, list.), drew with one fall each. Smith took the first fall with a crotch-hold dump late in the opening round. McDonald felled Smith with a leg tackle and pinned him in the third. Flyweight: In the final of the Kilbirnie club’s intermediate junior championship, A. Tomlinson (7st. lib.) beat H. Dooley (6st. 111 b.). Dooley brought Tomlinson to the mat early in the bout with a flying body-scissors. Tomlinson took the second with a half-nelson and arm-scissors. Tomlinson, with a jackknife, obtained the final honours. Lightweight: G. McDonald (Kilbirnie), 9st. 61b., beat J. Head (Carterton), 9st., by one fall. McDonald forced Head’s shoulders to the mat. with a headlock. The second round was without fall, as also the third, in which Head set the pace. Light-heavyweight: H. R. Godfrey (Police Gymnasium), 12st. 41b., beat R. Scott, 12st.. by a single fall. Scott introduced rough tactics, and tossed Godfrey out of the ring. In the second round Godfrey tried for his newly-invent-ed hold, a combination of wing-hold and leg-scissors, but the two were parted on the ropes. He tried again in the third, but the referee intervened. Finally he took the fall with splits and body-press. Amateur bouts were refereed by Mr. J. Creeke. TORRID AUCKLAND BOUT By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, July 27. A professional heavyweight wrestling contest between Joe Woods and Paul Boesch ended suddenly in a decision for the former./ The first fall was obtained by Boesch early in the fourth round by pouncing upon Woods for an easy fall. The fifth was a torrid round, characterised by a willing exchange of forearm jolting, Woods being warned for a second time for punching. He felled Boesch with some hard punches to the jaw and evened the falls with a body-press. Boesch was unable to resume, and Woods was declared the winner.