BUTCHER v. DWYER

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 104, 3 May 1924, Page 19

BUTCHER v. DWYER

EX-CHAMPION DEFEATED.

"After 20, always busy, and often exciting, rounds had been fought at Sydney 'Stadium, Eddie Butcher created quite a deal of surprise by clearly outpointing Hughie Dwyer, ex-champion lightweight. That Dwyer has slipped' there is no doubt; his footwork that enabled him to beat Sid Godfrey for .the title w;is conspicuous by its absence, whilst the defensive work that' made him the best of that kind of scrapper that ever graced the Stadium ring, was also missing. He certainly has not had a tight for many months, but with that all in, his showing points only one way; the downward path (says "Solar Plexus in "Fairplay"). But there was 'one thing that will make him more than popular. His fine pluck stood out, and for that reason alone there are many who will wish that he will return to his very best form.

Early in the opening session Dwyer scored with a left hook that seemed to cany some weight, but missing with left and right he fumbled badly in his endeavour to get back to a defensive posi-. tion, when Butcher hurt him with a double, right and left. As in the pre-" vious round, Butcher was top sawyer when at long range, and lie scored frequently and ,with both bauds.

':In the early portion of round three Dwyer showed some signs of the power of defence that once made him famous, and was instrumental in his so easily defeating Bradley. But he was nnab'le to keep it K°ing. Butcher was still in the lead, and he also won the fifth session. Dwyer's work in the sixth session made it appear as if he would quickly wipe out that lead and romp home an easy winner. After cleverly blocking right, drives and left swings, Dwyer took a hand in the attack. He drove home his left and hooked it good and hard to the Westralian's nose; chopped down his right to the butt of the jaw; uppercut rights to the nose; ripped that, hand to the body, and swung his right to the jaw, with all his force behind the punch. But one straight right from Butcher beat a right .uppercut and sent Dwyer's . head back with what must have been a painful jerk. A. moment after, Dwyer]s right caused the blood to flow from his man's nose. Hughie's friends were, no doubt, pleased with the way things had gone in that round, but tliei1* feelings were the '■ reverse of satisfactory when, in the seventh, their man was beaten from pillar to cost by rights and lefts that were driven, swung, and hooked at the will of their owner. Butcher continued to force matters, and had the better of the eighth round also. One panticqlarly Jiard left staggered Dwyer and he looked anything but a winner as he went to his cornel. Dwyer used some of the defence- he showed in his contest against Collins in their first iighf. in the Sydney Stadium, and caused the majority of Butcher's attempts to miss. He jolted many cruel lefts and an occasional right, making Butcher's hair fly up. But the latter was full of fight, and by his persistency he managed to score an occasional left that hurt.

: "The tenth round was another in which it appeared as if Hughie would at last pull the fight out, of the fire. For the first time he used footwork, and made Butcher miss. He then returned to the attack, ■ scoring with left hooks, but just on corners! Butcher dropped Dwyer. The latter rose at "two," simultaneously with the gong sounding. In round eleven the points for this' session were, as in the case of so many previous rounds, all in favour of Butcher.

"It certainly looked as' if Butcher would win by the short cut route during the .twelfth and thirteenth rounds. In fact, whilst the latter session was "in progress one man from the back asked : 'Can't you finish a beaten man, Butcher ?

Butcher's right was spending a high old time early in the. fourteenth, when a right upperout in the body started trouble for him, Hughie, knowing th;>t the blow must have hurt, forced the fight and scored another, good one to the ,£X\ Butcher then rushed him to his (butcher's) corner, but by a clever'sidestep, Dwyer had Butcher hemmed in that angle, arid with an uppercut and leit jolts, he bled the Westralian's nose. A ngnt to the body was well countered by Dwyer's right to the jaw; then, ducking a left swing, Dwyer sunk a right to the body with such force as to compel Butcher to sink to the boards. Fortunately for the latter, the bell for corners eounded. Had the blow landed earlier in the session it is any odds on Butcher would have been outed.

"By. a liberal use of his right Butcher was winning the fifteenth round by a fairly wide margin. One left to the chin dazed Dwyer, who, "a moment later, downed his man with a right to the body, and again, luckily for Butcher, corners sounded. Though Butcher was downed three times in round sixteen it cannot bo said that Dwyer won the points o£ even that session. A short right uppercut had the Westralian down for a second or two. A right jolt caused him to take "seven." and another right, that really got him on the arm, made him take four seconds. Then, amidst wild excitement, Butcher sent his man staggering beneath the weight of a left swing, and he finished tlia round with three right jabs in quick succession. . l

"Tno issue was never again in doubt. Butcher, though he worked always to Dwyer's right, after stabbing his own right to the nose, jumped free of Hughie's attempt at counter, which "was very latf in. coming. Twice in the nineteenth round Hughie was nearly downed by straight rights to tho nose. Game us the proverbial fiddle, Dwyer tried to connect with, a right to the body in the last round, in the hopes of winning the fight by the k.0., his only possible chance, but, strange to say, Butcher, for the first time in the fight, did the right thing by drifting away to Dwyer's left, thereby giving Dwyer no chance ol connecting with his right' to the body.

The yerdjcl in favour of Butcher met with universal approval. The winner, with the exception of a slightly blcedinc »o SO , had no lnar]ts to show, while. Dwvers good-looking face was no longer of that description.