In the Ring

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 48, 25 August 1923, Page 17

In the Ring

BY "MILO"~

DEMSKY DEFEATS MAY

POINTS VICTORY FOR AUS

TRALIAN

MATTERS OF GENERAL INTEREST.

Those who have seen Paul Demsky, ' the Bussian-Queenslander in action, must surely have been impressed by the confident manner in which this admittedly clever boy boxes his opponent. A great defensive boxer, he, nevertheless, is almost invariably on the attack; •shooting out a hard straight left and then bringing over a right cross, at the use of which Demsky is an expert. In fact, it was this same right hand which dropped to the boards two of the cleverest and hardest hitting feather-weights that the Commonwealth has produced, Bert M'Carthy and Jerry Sullivan. Fresh from his triumph over the former of this pair and backed by a lengthy 1 record of k.o.'victories over, the leading men in his class in Australia, Demsky came to New Zealand, and per the medium of his then trainer and manager, Ike Kutner, announced that he was prepared to meet any light-weight in the Dominion.

Critics averred that we had nothing here to extend this youthful K.O. artist, and that any local boy could go the distance with him was: looked upon.as being almost an impossibility. However, it was not Jong before the Wellington Association decided that Pat Gleeson was the best it could do for the new arrival, but, unfortunately, Demsky's fellow-Australian was found to be indisposed. Then, to the surprise .of ail, Billy Preston was chosen to fill the breach. Some people thought that Billywould be on his feet in the fourth round, if he was lucky; others maintained that Demsky was philanthropically inclined, and; in justice to all concerned, would let the bout last, at least nine of the scheduled fifteen rounds. No one even (suggested that Preston would go the distance, and' to all but, the popular Billy himself, the issue was a foregone conclusion. ■■ Prepared • for what is generally known as "early doors,"-. the "fans" took-their seats, some «veh retaining their.hats in readiness-to leave the hall. But what had been though to be almost impossible, happened, and a very badly punished, but a ■ nevertheless determined Billy Preston, staggered to the centre of the fifteenth round, and was still on his feet: and endeavouring to keep out of trouble when the gong^ announced the end of the struggle. The decision, of course, went to Demsky, who had given a splendid exhibition: of boxing, but -who had utterly failed to effect a knock-out with his _ much-feared right .hand. Enthusiasts were still of the, opinion that the Russian was a hard hitteT, and, in consequence, a great crowd rolled up to the '1 own Hall to see him do battle with Pat Gleeson; who was very little favoured: as the winner, and who it .was anticipated by many reputed judges would not be. so fortunate as Preston. Again, a surprise awaited the spectators'; for the Irish lad decisively outpointed Demsky and gained a popular decision. When the pair met in a return bout, a few weeks later, a very much-questioned verdict went to the Russian boxer, who again failed to establish himself as a heavy, smiter. : Even Paul Hannah was able to , take that" allegedly, "terribli right without flinching, and Harry May and Stewart. Smith both must have ignored thia supposed weapon of destruction, since each was in turn awarded the decision. Wellington enthusiasts will remember that in Demsky's recent fight with Blackburn, the Auckland boy came in-aggressively all the time, and although he 1 took left and right flush on the jaw on more than ; one occasion, this did not. serve to keep him off. Advice is now to hand regarding Demsky's return bout at New Plymouth on Saturday with Harry. May. As previously mentioned, the latter boy gained the;verdict over Demsky at Auckland, in what was, probably about the third professional fight of the New Zealander. There was some suggestion made at the time that, Demsky was not "trying," and, in_ fact, for quite. a considerable time, his end of the purse was with-

held. However, the Russian boxer at last succeeded in gaining a return match, and before his departure for the venue of the battle he expressed the opinion that'he. held-the beating of May, whom he anticipated would not see out the fifteen .round journey. The Aucklander had a totally different idea, however, and he fought Demsky to a' very close decision, although the' latter is stated to have been the superior of his opponent in all departments. Demsky weighed 9st 7£rb, while May' tipped the beam at lOst lib. Commenting on the bout, the Taranaki " Herald " says: " Both, men connected in open fighting in the opening round, and they did equally effective work at close quarters connecting hard and cleanly to the ribs. In the second, round May: did most of the leading; and honours were slightly in his favour, but Demsky, who was very evasive, frequently dodged, underneath May's swings, and evened up the points. In the fourth round May just managed to get away from a dangerous looking right, and was quick to take advantage of an opening to connect with a straight left. In the fifth round May led very nicely, but Demsky also got in some effective work, landing on two occasions with powerful rights. May was finding Demsky hard to hit in this round. The sixth round was evenly contested. May drove hard to the ribs, while Demsky connected with two rights and a left' to the face, drawing the claret. Demsky scored heavily with several, well-timed body blows in the seventh round, which ended.in his favour. The eighth was a hard-fought round, both men getting in some clever and effective work. Demsky missed by the narrowest of margins with a right hook, and a moment later May also succeeded in just getting away from a vicious upper-cut, retaliating with a hard right to the point. The round was even. > "May had the best of the opening exchanges in the ninth, but Demsky replied with a lovely left to the jaw, and for the remainder of the round, which was easily Demsky's, May appeared to be somewhat distressed. Both early landed home lefts in the tenth, and May later drove a fine punch to the jaw. The round was' perhaps slightly in favour of May. May fought with more ginger in the eleventh, which was his round. He was, however, inclined to ' slog,' with the result that Demsky, who always kept very cool, was able to more 'effectually keep out of his reach. The twelfth was a hard-fought ; and even round. May was not in such good condition as was Demsky, and in the thirteenth he missed badly on several occasions, and Demsky invariably scored oft his mistakes. May was much benefited by'the spell, and quickly scored with a right, Demsky replying with a right and left. Later Ma.y knocked Demsky's head back with a beatifully timed-left, liul hsuaura wep? m EeMsky's &v<?ur.

favour of Demsky, who scored with solid lefts to the jaw and a snappy upper-cut."

"What a pity it was that plucky Brian M'Cleary was allowed to be battered into several hours of unconsciousness after he was obviously beaten. The referee of the Heeney-M'Cleary fight (Mr T E. Robson) made a. big mistake in allowing M'Cleary to'be knocked down" a third time. And he made a bigger one in standing between the two: men until M'Cleary had struggled to his feet. When MCleary went down the first time -he rested on one knee until the count of nine, and then rose, ■-dazed and groggy. Heeney was on him in an instant," states the "Sun.» "Both hands smashed at the helpless man with the full force of a tremendous power and battered him against the ropes until he sank to the boards. The referee climbed through'the ropes and motioned Heeney to stand aside. It was the end of M'Cleary 'and there was no'need to wait for' the count. But, instead of awarding the bout to Heeney, the referee stood between him and M'Cleary until the latter struggled to his feet; he stood there until M'Cleary was standing upright, and then stepped aside and -allowed Heeney to smash M'Cleary to the boards once more. For a referee to stand between a man, who is getting to his feet after being knocked down, and his opponent savours too much of some American methods. And allowing M'Cleary to be smashed from helplessness to unconsciousness was an unnecessary cruelty that showed great lack of judgment. Probably Mr ; Robson was carried away by the excitement of the moment." "Milo'.- would point out that the referee, who is the third man in the ring, always has a close-up view of the contestants, and .should certainly be more in a posil On,l°, udge as to whether a contest should be stopped, than even the wisest nngsider. The critic states that for a referee to stand between a man who is trying to regain his feet and an opponent savours too much of some American methods.". This is certainly a revelation to Milo," who was always strongly of the opinion that this was only in accordance with the most fundamental principles of British fair play. For a referee to stand aside and allow the fallen boxer to be struck as he was in the act of rising would perhaps fall in with the southern writer's idea of things as they ought to be ' •

Denny Murphy predicts ,that his boy. Jimmy .Hassett wijl surely beat Percy Black when the pair meet on 17th September. Hassett is a good hard-hitting featherweight, but will have to box eiceptumally well to stand a chance with the boy from the Tracy school

At a recent boxing contest at Newark (U.S.A.), both contestants fell through the ropes into the Press box, injuring one newspaper man, and putting an unexpected end td the bout. The fight was between Micky Walker, welterweight champion of the world, and "Cowboy" if adget, and was scheduled to last 12 rounds. In the 11th round, Padget. was knocked down for the count of nine He made.an.attempt to recover, and rushed Walker to the ropes, but he accidentally pushed him through and fell himself, breaking two ribs. ■:

Some fine talent is to be ■ seeh at Denny Murphy's Willis, street gymnasium, where Iv'e Roumain' a middleweight, and Tom Adams and sPeter Moran, two bantamweights]' are to be seen at work. Rbuniain is stated to have improved with surprising rapidity since he competed in the local amateur championships. ' A.. Prangley, 'the Auckland k.o. star, who stopped all his opponents in the first round in the provincial championships, • found that at the New Zealand meeting the competitors were not such good eating, and he lost on points in his first bout to J. Nelson, of Greymouth. The Aucklandordid.not even compete in the North Island championships, so that virtually he should not have been allowed to take the ring at Dunedin. However, his early defeat avoids the controversy which otherwise must surely have followed,' "•*■.,

Exceptionally tall and elim for a ban-tam-weight, yet strongTy built for ailthat, Joe Thomal. ex-champion of Australia and, in addition, linguist and actor; would be taken more for a scholar than for one who, twenty years ago, was the premier, boxer.in his class in Australia. Thomal was born in Somaliland quite a long time ago, and, becoming an orphan at an early age, he drifted north ti Aden, where at a convent, he quickly learnt Latin, French, and English, and later accepted a position as clerk in a French Shipping Company. His yearning for another land of sunshine caused

him to stowaway on a boat hound for. Australia, and after -' several-awkward" situations with an angry captain- had been successfully negotiated, this dark boy arrived in the Commonwealth. He became a professional boxer, and'such .well-known battlers as Ned MurphyPaddy King, Bert Weekes, and Teddy Green had to acknowledge defeat to him Before he finally annexed 'the title. Thbmal's final adventure inthe'\ya'y-'6f" professions turned him towards tne! stage - and he now is in Wellington as a mem--' ber of the Oscar Asche: Company. His' contract expires very shortly, and then he proposes taking over, the Victoria. Street Gymnasium in Auckland, from Charlie Peoples. Thomal,. who, by - the way, is- a widower with two daughters, at present being educated in Sydney should do well m-the-Noftherh'City ;as it is rarely that local boys can avail themselves of the services of a'man who knows 'the business" like he does.'' When he-is firmly.. established in Auckland, he intends taking periodical classes m all the leading towns, and will spend quite a lot of his time in Wellington. Edie Parker the Dominion li<rht heavy-weight champion,, who has not 'gad a match since he,won the title from MUeary, is in solid training, in the hope.of^a contest with Jack ifeeney towards the end of the month

A new arrival from the King Country," Frank Jameson has joined up with the Tracy school, and is reported by his-men-tor to be boxing in great form. He weighs in under,9st; and will very soon tocafboys" * 10" aSalnSt SOme of the

The match committee of one of the northern .associations evidently has a -queer sense of humour.. It suggested to Tommy Fairhall, who weighs m^uTt over the lightweight limit, that he should meet the New Zealand light-heavyweight CJ l l m Pl°^^ Ed Aie Parker- for a V^eoi iIUO aha Australian boy offered .to t -Sfd °b, lf, th t c inducement was raised t O] £lso .but the association did not fall in with this idea. It must be obvious however, that Fairhall had little to gam and everything to lose, and there was absolutely no reason why he should box about four grades above his own class when thei>e are plenty of boys of his own weight available .

The^ popular Petone featherweight. Billy Barnes, conqueror of Charlie Purdy will m the future enter the rinir with veteran Tim Tracy in his corner It was Tim who had the handling of Barnes when he decisively outpointed the Australasian champion and as this pair are sure to be matched at Wellington in the near future, it would appear that the Petone .boy has taken a very wise step.. , ■ .. ■: --. ■■ , . *

/■Australian Tommy Fairhall, accompanied- by his trainer,' Jack Donnelly, left on Wednesday evening for Timaru, where •on - Tuesday nest he- is' to-do battle with L'es .Murray, holder of' the' New Zealand lightweight title; ior the best of fifteen rounds ;and a purse of £200. Southern: ."fans" are" certainly due for a treat; for this will be a match worth going a. long way, to see. ' The visiting boxer workod-qut ' at' Deniiy Murphy's gymnasium on the afternoon of his departure, arid /'.greatly impressed the* many spectators- with his speed and general cleverness, ; Murray is reported to be right on form',:!but he.will need to be boxing with a' little more than'"his usual brilliance to see out. the distance with such' a "man as -Tommy Fairhallat his best; fighting weight, 9.12. - . ' ;

A . contemporary describes Alf.:.Le'wis as being only a "light.lunch" {or.Paul' Demsky, and adds that the Kussian boy will partake of/jhis frugal repast wheiK ever , some obliging association matches' the pah;./. Of ...course,;.the alleged A .,critio.'. omits to state that Lewis wants D.emsky only if-.he will, make 9st 31b. and- jmde'r/ these circumstances, if Paul endeavours' to hurry, hia '"meal," he 'will probably be bedridden for several days on account of. a peculiarly violent attack of . "indi-. gestion." .; .. ■ .... ..■..,: :, Quite., a.-.reasonable- sprinkling of ers is. to .be iound!:amorigr,the.members of- the Oscar. Asche' Company,': at' • present shelving in the city. Two colouredboxers, champions of other days,' • Joe Tholman,one time holder of the Australian bantamweight- title, and Peter Felix, the giant heavyweight whom; it will be : remembered, ■ went' down:; to champion Jack Johnson when the latter was at his best,-may be; seen, smiling confidently f ronr; the stage; while Les King was a few years ago orie of the leading ten-round boxers in the Commonwealth. ; The well-known negro battler,. "Starlight," hero of many fantastic tales of Larry Foley and "White Horse" days

in Sydney,. was ,with the company in Melbourne', ■but" rdid::not-make"tb.e" trip to the-Dominion;— Several other men who have more than a nodding acquaintance with boxing, gloves are also attached to the show. ,

■Mick Williams, a welterweight from Taranaki, has placed himself under Tim ■Tracy's care, and-is quite prepared to enter-the-ring with, any local boy in his. class. .He;is said to have a good -right'■hand,';and hei ■•will probably be matched at the next tournament.

In the hope of obtaining a ten-round preliminary..bout to the star contest on 17th September, Herb Bobinson, the examateur, has commenced, training. *t Tim Tracy's gymnasium, ■anct'is'repofted to be; boxing as well : as-^veiv-■: (This boyhas had"only one* professional'fight, the unfortunate, ending of which will'■long bo remembered iby all Nelson enthusiasts. However, he certainly" 4s worth an opportunity, and might be given a: chance with FredcTy'Smith; : •''• ;;

Trainer" Ike Kulner announces that the clever little French boxer, Eugen« Volaire, will arrive in the Dominion as early as possible next month, and it is quite on the cards that; this boy will be one of the principals in the tournament on 17th September, his opponent being the winner, of the Fairhall-Murray battle at Timaru on Tuesday; Gene substituted _Put Segar the othsr day at Broken Hill, and won on a foul from his old rival, Wally/Bpurke^ in eleven rounds. It was the French boy's fight almost all the- way. ■".'.. '

The three Wellington boys who competed in the recent tournament at Blenheim, although not as successful as they might have been, evidently gave.fairly good accounts of themselves." 0: Dwyer, list 111b, ; won fairly easily from W. Satherly, lOst 131b, in a bout which was characterised by much wild.hitting on both sides. Very little damage was done, and although the men '-used up plenty of energy the contest: was really of, a .very mild nature. "Chocolate" Hobson, 9st 91b, conceded five pounds in weight. to the Marlborough.crack, Frank Broughan, who was extremely' lucky to gain the decision over the aggressive Wellington lad. The Blenheim boxer was warned on several occasions in regard to his tactics in the ; clinches, but on the whole the bout was a fast and strenuously ■ contested four rounds. A return match between this pair .will be looked 1 forward- to" jvithr interest. A scheduled six-round battle between P Vercoe, whose weight was announced to be ,9st 51b, :ahd r T. ,of "Wellington, 9st 41b,. came to a sudden ending in the fourth" round, wheit;the Wellington lad. stopped.a right-crQss on the chin_ and lost all: interest in-Hhe- proceedings. . SlatteryVshowedruprrwell in the "earlier. jaWoijtiie: contest^ut-was down severel times -before- he" finally was knocked'out.;: -'••'; ■•? -: ;--,'.

Johnny ,Bluff, "fonner^ny-weignt'and bantam-weight champion, lost a "slash-ltJS'l2-round contest to Patsy. Wallace, of Philadelphia,' at Jersey-City; recently It was, a nip and tuck affair with, honours even until'the closing rounds, when Wallace forged to the ;■ front. 5 ■ Both, bosera-were-seyerely-punished; ■--• »-* „.,Frpm;Hi%vana> comes, iews"6t'~old'3kcb Johnson^ one-time champion of the world Now, with. wliitenedVthatch; the old boy has, taken to-the-ring again- though he is yearly 50;,years,qf,age. .He /doddered into the;, ring .at, Havana, ,and .ini«>nsec[uence of to tactics, against Jack" Thompson,, of .Boston, the Cuban-Boiine Association fined, him 500,; dollars -, i&. Vstal-A'SS-.'L-. When he -:was,..champiq.n^they used.^o-fine, him fprT*peeding;«iiow h« JS /amo Pg. the, ; also-rana -.they vplastir: him with a fine fpr.stalling.TWho- was it said, ',The proper-way to study mankind it in.the,coach,,and,not the pullmW'?