In the Ring

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 146, 21 June 1924, Page 19

In the Ring

BY "M1LO" HOW TO JUDGE

METHODS OF RECORDING

POINTS

THE AMATEUR, CHAMPIONSHIPS,

The husky young Englishman who recently, and quite decisively, defeated George Cook, the burly Australian, is a young London fireman named Phil Scott. With a distinct advantage in reach and a hard punch in both hands, ho soon had Cook in a bad way, and as a matter of fact went very close to stopping the burly man from Dubbo inside a round. The Australian showed up well rouad about the eighth round, and in tho twelfth, he looked as if ho might knockout his opponent at any minute. However, from then onwards the Londoner began to forge ahead and maintained his lead until the end. Cook's showing seems to havo been rather disappointng. Why is it that there is such a wide difference of opinion after many boxing contests? (asks "The Count" in "The Melbourne Globe") ? Do you fa-vour the aggressive fighter, or do your fancies incline to the fast shifty, boxer? Then again, unconscious bias tolls many funny stories, lack of proper system to tally points accounts for many others. Every man who views a contest has some unconscious learning towards one man or another. It requires a physical effort to keep the eye on both men. The only way to do this is to keep on asking yourself- during the course of a bout if you are watching both sides without prejudice. Take the Grime-Spargo contest on Saturday night. It is safe to say that the crowd split 50-50 when the result was announced . "It was a clear cut victory for Grime," said one experienced^ ringsider. "I hold a different view," said his friend, whose experience is just as great. "I thought Spargo won comfortably." Eight through the. big audience it was the same. Many were triumphant over Quirk's decision, but just as many were wrath. It has always been _ so, and it always will be. • The question often arises as to how points are scored. You will sometimes he<?.r a man say, "Jones won eleven rounds, he must have been the winner." Not necessarily so, although I know of a case where a referee judges , contests by rounds. What system is used by Val Quirk, the Melbourne Stadium referee, no one has been able to ascertain. It is a- subject which he rufuses to discuss. He gives his verdict, and that is the end of it. The usual system is to allot five points a round, however. That system has been found to be the most satisfactory. Take tho case of "Jones" who won eleven rounds. He may have done so, and yet been a loser. By shading his man three points for two for eleven rounds, he would have 33 points against his opponent, "Smith's" 22. But say, for instance, in tho remaining nine rounds Smith scores four points to one. add these points up, and we find that Smith is a cemfortable winner with 58 points to 42. When honours are even the referee should favour tho man who has "made the fight," or, in other words, done the forcing and attacking. Defence must also be taken into consideration, but personally! would not credit a boxer with points whose work is purely negative. His defensive work should make openings for attack. The clean puncher who lands with the knuckle part of a clenched glove is a better point scorer than the man whose glovo arrives anyhow, or if his glove is open. Then, again, the scoring zone is that part of the body above the waist and the head which can be seen when the opponents are directly facing one another. Thus blows to the back or the back of the head do not mean anything. They are not scoring points. These are the principal points a fan should watch when making a points tally of a contest.

Very satisfactory entries have been received for the local amateur championships, which will be decided at the Town Hall on Monday and Tuesday evening. As usual, the lighter classes have received most patronage, and it is from the contests in these division? that one usually derives the most entertainment. Following are the candidates for the honours:—^Paper-weight: Boy Brown, C. Woods, E. Turner, E. Hurdle, J. Cotterell. Fly-weight: F. Norris, G. Owen, T. Turner, P. Russell, L. M'Ginnity, M. Hurdle, A. Delabarca, G. Jeffery, A. Birch. Bantamweight: V. Hodge, J. M'Ewan, E. Paul, M. Carroll, S. Delabarca. Featherweight: E. Mason, C. Robinson, G. Smith, W. Guise, N. ftp' Arthur, C. Andrews, F: Keith, P. Brack, H. Kelly. Light-weight: L. Thorne, W. Paterson, li. M. Hobson, C. Andrews," F. Coles P Charles, J. Neilson, W. J. Mack, W. Scott. 'Welter-weight: J. Stewart, J. Neilson, F. Rentier, W. Brown, J. Nelson, O. Waite. Light-heavy : M-. Hebbend. B. Fitzsimmons, G. Evatt. Heavy : C. M'Rae. ■

Eddie Parker and Jack Heeney will contest the middleweight title at Hastings on 25th inst., when it is anticipated that tho "fans" will be treated to some, really thrilling glove work. On the previous occasion that the pair met. Heeney lost his championship by a comparatively small margin, but his many Gisborne friends are optimistic that next week' he will regain the honour in decisive fashion. Heeney will find that winning back his lost laurels from a man like Parker will be a much harder proposition than it was to lose to him,

The boxing critic of "The Auckland Star" strikes a paying vein when he advocates beiter fighting equipment for amateurs. "Decent boxing garb is not expensive," he remarks, inter alia. "Proper dressing-gowns may be a luxury, but they make a world of difference"" This recalls the oft-submitted argument of "Jlilo," that "official" dressing-gowns might be provided by the associations, the majority of which invariably provide "official" sweaters for the ring attendants. The boys could wear the gowns to and from the ring, and this also would have the effect of keeping out of prominence the much-misused military overcoat towards which most amateurs seem to have a leaning.

Tho one-time holder of the Lonsdale Belt, Johnny Summers, is now an attendant at the Bucks Club in London, Members do not lose the opportunity of picking up points about the fighting game, and they are often to be seen trying to lay hands on the elusive "Johnny." Some of tho more weighty enthusiasts are carrying much less flesh, as the result of their exertions.

No true follower of tlie game does not regret the untimely passing of a great heavyweight. Hill "X.0." Brennnn. who was the victim of a recent shootiiio- affray in Jfow York. The deceased boxer evidently got into trouble through expressing open resentment at remarks passed to a woman by a well-known gangster, and was immediately shot down lor his pains. Thirty-one years ago, Brennan was bom in County Mayo, h-cland. and at the age of 20 ho' tool* to the boxinir game, as a means of gaining a livelihood. His obsession for stopping opponents in short and sudden fashion earned for him the soubriquet of "Knockout/1 which, (or many years, lias pre-

faced his Iris'fa surname. In all he has knocked out 65 opponents, including some of the best men in the world and only on three occasions has he himself been stoppe,i. H e put up his most meritonous performance when he staved twelve_punishin g rounds with Champion •Jack Demjjsey at Beuton Harbour and alter a gaflant iight, he was finally battered into submission. Billy S and whn h., U' l:° al c f O, oul * °toe* *w° ™n who have- succeeded in making the Irishman cry enough. k Two Aiys after the battle at the ueTw^ ™th r Ha*iWl Uren, Ike Kut nei wi(.h his French fighter, Eugene vlT^ l l'T d TV- l 0 Wer to ke^p tost vat, Lln E . obinson _ T1 A crossed gloves on Saturday night, and after patting up a plucky resistance, Robinson was obliged to acknowledge m the eighth round that he had done his ij ,? lam> when be called on this writer the other day, was unmarked except lor the slightest of skin abrasions on his cheek. His quaint remarks tended to show that he had given the Gisborne lad a terrible lacing, although he surprised "Milo" by stating that before the encounter Robinson was generally favoured as the winner. The New Wander weighing 9st 21b, was conceding Volaire six pounds, but in this there was little room for complaint for he was well aware that the'l'renchman approached the ten-stone mark under ordinary circumstances. Fairhall meets Volaire at Dunedin on Saturday eveniu"

An erroneous Press Association mesS« ge i l au S/T ived in Wellington to the effect that Archie Hamilton had defeated Albert Lloyd, but the latest Sydney papers show that the decision was in favour of Lloyd. "The Referee" comments on the bout in the following terms : Gloomy weather conditions, and the fact that punters did no good at KandWick during the afternoon, was probably responsible for a poor attendance. Although the ultimate Tesult of tne contest was never seriously in doubt it cannot be said that the ex-heavyweight champion made a favourable impression. tie has improved very little, if at- all since he last fought here, and if his display on Saturday night last is taken .is his true form, very little can be expected of him in the future. Each man -was m good condition, Hamilton particularly being wound up to stay. Indeed, had he not been in the best form possible lie could not have weathered the twenty rounds as he did. He covered a lot of ground and was almost always on the attack. In.o matter how hard he was hit iie never hesitated in coming back for more. H e danced all around Lloyd who kept back-moving while he husbanded his strength for a knock-out punch. Often Hamilton chased him all around the ring, ripping his left to the body and swinging his right to the head in every rouid he connected ten times to the other man's once, but Lloyd's one punch, when it did land, did more damage than Hamilton's ten. On several occasions it looked as. if it only required on 6 more punch to put Hamilton out. Ihe ono more punch would be placed, and to the amazement of everybody the fireman would dash in and fight as strongly as ever. His stamina Was remarkable, and he gave such an exhibition of courage and tenacity as is seldom seen in the ring. Hamilton surprised Lloyd more than once by wripping his right over to the jaw. And it was a pretty hard right. Once it caught Lloyd right on the point, but it was just a trifle short. Lloyd did his best work when he got his opponent on the ropes, which, fortunately for Hamilton, was notvery often. In the open ground Lloyd found his agile opponent very evasive, and several times the big fellow was made to look ridiculous by hitting the air with vicious right swings that were meant for Hamilton's jaw. Probably for that reason Lloyd spent most of the time on the defensive. Missing his man so badly meant that he could win only by the knock-out route, and Hamilton was not easy to catch With a finishing stroke. Lloyd hit' the young fireman very hard at times, and it often looked as though he held off when he might have gone in and settled the affair. If that were so, He took risks that one would not expect from a ring general of his experience, for the points must have frequently been in Hamilton's favour. Hamilton took a lot of punishment because of Lloyd's superior hitting power, but the fireman did nearly all the fighting. Ho must have wasted a lot of energy running after Lloyd, but that was his only chance of success. Lloyd kept cool, and waited for opportunities which did not often come his way. Although Lloyd got the decision, the margin of points in his favour could not have been great."

The annual general meeting of the Victoria University College Boxing Club (incorporated) was held in the College Gymnasium. The report and statement for the past year was accepted. It was decided that the offices of secretary and treasurer to the club should be amalgamated. On the motion of Mr. Lewis it was agreed that the numerical strength of the executive should be kept the same by increasing the number of committeemen from three to four. The election of officers for the current year resulted: President, Mr. A. E. Caddick; vice-presidents, Professors Murphy, Adamson, Tennent, and Boyd-Wilson, and Messrs'. P. Woods, D. R. Hoggard^ J. D. Brosnahan, J. Heenan, J. D. Hutcheson, and Geo. Lusk; chairman, Mr. J. Nancarrow. vice-chairman,' R. R. T. Young; secretary• and treasurer, Mr. 0. E. H. Ball; committee, Messrs. Coningham, Hayes, Gardiner, and Baume. It was decided to commence training operations, if practicable, almost immediately, and the incoming executive was asked to make the necessary arrangements to enable this to be done.

The world's featherweight champion, Johnny Dundee, has received an offer for a contest in Europe with Eugene Criqui, from whom he won the title last year. The proposition is for the bout to be staged iv the Pershiug Stadium, and the inducement offered Dundee is in the vicinity of 25.000 dollars, with the additional emolument of 36 per cent, of the gross receipts. No wonder Dundee has promised to keep tho matter steadily in view. There are a dozen or more lightheavyweights in the United States who could probably beat Carpentier to a standstill, declares "The Boxing Blade." AVhat a picnic he would be for Jack Delaney, for instance! What a boxing lesson Jell Smith might hand him! What fistic fireworks Harry Greb could display to Carpentier! Besides, there are Young Stribling, Jim Delaney, Paul Berlenbaeh, Mike Sl'Tigue, and some others. Either Tommy Gibbons or Gene Tunney could easily "beat the Frenchman. He's simply come over here to collect another bunch of Yankee dollars, so why all the fuss over him?

Andre Dupre, who was so popular when on a visit, to the Dominion some months ago, is back in harness again inAustralia, and, judging by his activities, one would judge that ho has sworn a vendetta against the noble house of Juno. At Cessnock, two weeks ago he kuocked-out Tommy of that ilk in the thirteenth round of a scheduled twentyround affair, ami immediately afterwards challenged his victim's elder brother. Garnet. The pair will probably cross gloves in a fortnight's time! Les O'Donnell seems to be managing the French boy's affairs well.

] ,T^?Pl. cal trees at lho British Einniro liMiibitioa arc planted iv their native soil, tons of which have been procured £or this purposa.