In the Ring

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 149, 27 June 1925, Page 19

In the Ring

BY "falLO" WELLINGTON'S NEXT,

REG. TROWERN TO MEET STACE

A GOOD FIGHT IN PROSPECT,

Followers of the fistic game in the Capital City • will be pleased to learn that pne of the principals in the tpurnajn'pil't to be, 1 \\<M at the Town Hall on 13th- Jijly will be Reg. Trpwern, the yoyiig Auckland professional,. who showed such conviricing form in his contest against Jimmy Hill,; the once brilliant featherweight, champion of Australia. His opponent will be the Sydrieysider. George ' Stace, who was recently beaten on ppjnts in Au?k!and by .Carlie. Purdy. Commenting, on ipurdy's Victory; in "The Referee," ;: "Solar Plexus 1' says":-=."Yidr tory,; unless by a wide margin, was'no yery great achievement, for many lightweights in the second-grade in this State would probably dp likewise. In August last, Qepi-ge was a stai-tar in the lightwaiglyfc division of the Sta^rani tourney, and was tieiiten' W fe third: round by the .ultuna^e winner, Herb WiHiams. Seveii.p'r eight years ago Stace.waß yeiy promising. In three years lie b.eat some fifteen opponents, and I expected him to go far in the game, tut a defeat at the hands ;of Jimmy Ryan, at Wollongong, seemed to blunt his ambition for further fight, After one or ; two jnqre ;bouts l?e seemed, to disappear, for it was not until about last year-, that he 'attempted to come, back, and although he performed fairly well, he could not regain the force and speed that pnee were his." , '■: -...-' ■ ' -''.-.

This, pi course, is not very- reassuring,. but from what has "been said about Stace's performance -in- Auckland, this writer has come to the Conclusion that the Australian is quite capable p| making a, good .'showing, against "..Trovvern.. The latter's style will; suit the. visitor, and will give him a chance to show if he really, 'does: possess } tlie pupeh: he is. reputed to carry. Quite a young fel]qw, he .has liad much mqre .experieiice than has Tiowern, and it seems that the Aucklander will have to: show to his very bes^ advantage to" win. .However, -he will no doubt do his training in-Wel-■.liiigtbn';;-' and one will ie able to form a; better idea as to; his" capabilities after having- seeir.lum. at- work. -.' ' ( Tliq following.' are, the probable preliminaries :-^-Jeffries v; Thomas, Mick Gastein v. Norman M'ArtTmr, Jack Rodda v., Livingstone (Manawatu), -Jack Burns (Petone) ,v., TUrwin... Pufdy and Brown for Sydney.' \ ; ■ ■'. Charlie Purdy, Auckland's clever lightweight^ left for Australia on Monday to keep tryst with one Jimmy Allen ■at the Sydney: Stadium. The Auckland boy oripnally was to have, met Tommy Fairhall, but this contest was cancelled. Allen is one of the most promising boys in the, vCommpnwealth, and he holds a decision over' that once great fighter ' Bert SpaTgo. Purdy: hopes to have a [few profitable weeks '.in the Common- , wealth, but it is on the' cards that he will be back in Auckland on 27th August to meet Hiighie D\yyer. Bert Brown, who won the , featherweight, championship from George Curran at Petone lastyear,; and later forfeited his title to Lin Kobinson.. through his failure to make weighty'also sailed for Sydriey.oii-Mon--day. ; : ■ "■:■■ ;;: ; ■ ■ L-.': ..,-, . : - Pat Connors: Goes Back. : : The -announcement that' Trainer ; Pat Connors is returning to the' Commonwealth next week will be received with regret, by. every local enthusiast.'. Since coming to the Bomihion about two years ago, Connors has given his whole-heart-ed attention to variousi boys who have -heen trying to get into the game, and there are many fighters in this country who have much for which to thank'him. ,He first came; over the Tasman with Tommy Fairhall on the latter's initial trip to Maoriland, and he immediately set about justifying- the soubriquet given him by Mr. Will Lawless, "The Stormy Petrel." 'But at heart he is a really fine fellow, arid he only becomes "stormy" 'in his .eagerness to safeguard the interests of the man he happens to be handling. did .not take the Wellington "fans": long to discover this, and they soon -developed' a genuine regard for his staunchness and integrity of purpose. The fruits of some of his labours are to be'seen in the workmanlike manner in which young Alf Cleverly ; uses his gloves. Pat has nursed- this boy along, rested him at the proper., time and coached-him always,,; with the result that he is now probably; the most promising amateur middleweight in the country. And he did it for the love of tl\e_game.;-.'■'When he returns to Australia, at the: end: of the week, Connors will leave many friends behind him in Maoriland, but he promises to return in the not -very: distant future, accompanied by a few of the' Commonwealth's best fighters. In the meantime, one can- ; not do_ less than say "au revoir" and wish him ''bon voyage." George Cook's, Conqueror. 'Young Stribling, who recently took a points decision over ten rounds from Australian George Cook, appears to be' in a fair way to living up to the many fine things which have been said about him. In. his first bout as a heavyweight Stribling knocked out Quintin Romero in four rounds. This.match took place at Boston on 7th May, and was the means of introducing Stribling to the heavyweight- class (writes an ' American scribe). Stribling is > only a youngster, as we have-.repeatedly emphasised. Hehas much- to learn: in an offensive way. He .made a bad start in Milwaukee against Jim Delaney, and lost much prestige. He followed the Milwaukee encounter with another bad bout at Pittsburgh, and then trailed out to the coast ' to give a rough and tumble exhibition against Tommy Loughran, which got the scribes on his ear". Stribling suffered much in the way of reputation and prestige because of his exhibitions, but the win -over Romero has served to reestablish him again, and he has, been in big demand ever siuce.

In his bout with Romero by a single conquest-.he entered into the rank of leading heavyweight contenders. The contest showed that he could punch if he set himself to do it. Stribling has a reputation for roughness. He knows all tho tricks of the game, and in his previous exhibitions he appeared inoro intent upon impressing his roughness and Ins ring strategy upon his opponent than m veally ■punching him ns he can. Stribling weighed 179 pounds for his match with Bomero, which proves that the Southern boy h gradually developing into a heavywoight' Romero in his liiulch scaled 192 pounds.

Romero previously has shown himself, to lie a powerful battler, capable of talcing much 'punishment. It was lie who look a decision from Jack Benault, con-! side-red for some time as a possible successor to Dcmpsey. That .verdict spoiled .Renault's."record, and sent him into eclipse, where he has been ever since. Romero proved himself the usual "glutton for punishment against StribTing being knocked down twica hi tho tliirdi I'ouiid, and m tuck- bad shape ia the

fourth that the refgree was forced to (step in and halt the contest.

Whether Stribling intends to pursue his efforts in the heavyweight ranks immediately we can't say. His father, W. L, Stribling, believes in taking matters, easy with his famous son, and is' not set upon rushing him'as yet. The summer season should witness some great bputs as far as Stribling is concerned. Down East, where he has fought, his best bouts,' he has been sought repeatedly for matches with Berlencaeh. , M'Tigiie, Tunney, and Slattery, and the , chances are he will perform in the open i in New York jnst as soon as the, .weather settles, and the outdoor season^bej gins in earnest. His real campaign' in the heavyweight, rank we' are . quite' positive,, will not begin until there is plenty of evidence that Jack Dempsey, .Tommy Gibbons and Harry'^Wills' are passe, 'as. fighters. Stribling '■ is: still too young, too tender, and too inexperience ed to mingle with these artists. '■'..'■ ' Auckland's Little Troubles, / little need be said regarding the Northern Boxing Association's "recent internal troubles, which appear to have been settled, if not. altogether,happily, at least to the, satisfaction of the great bulk of the members, says "The Star." Everyone regrets that Messrs. C E. Sanders and Rod. Carter will no longer give to the committee, their. valuable, advice. Mr., Senders' has long been held' m the highest regard by the local boxing fraternity,, and has done much for- the sport. Few, _if any, do not genuinely regret Jiis. action in resigning the office of president, but what is done." cannot'be undone, and/though he did hot deem it expedient to make a verbal explanation of ■ his attitude, there is no suggestion that any'member bears hhn ill-will. Mr. Carter, too, as an ex-secretary and coin-.nuttee-man, has done much to further the interests of. boxing, and his. resignation from the executive arose from the same circumstances as those which Mr. Sanders,made the cause of his. action Both will be. much missed. 'The fact that Mr, Sam, Oyllies is not a member of the 'committee is" also thought by" many to. b^ a _matter for regret. One cannot but thinlc tt)at boxing control in Auckland ,will be. the poorer for' their absence. However, in Mr. E. A. Craig, the new president,' the N.B.A. has a woTtliy successor to Mr, Sandei's, and if- we' have heard the last of the recent trouble,there is good Teason to hope,that during his term o s f office the organisation should prosper to the sanie extent as it has done in recent/years. But there is no room in Auckland for a second boxing body, such -as was recently formed in Chvistqhuroh, and it is to be hoped that ere long all differences will clisappeav, so that oapable members of the association who at present feel disinclmed to, take a prominent part in affairs will once again work havjnouiously in the one body. Dempsey *ntj a Butcher's Mate.. ' - When the Cunaider, Berengarie arrived in the States from . Southampton it became known that the world's. chainpV ion heavy weight, Jack Dempsey, who was a passenger on the eastward voyage. With his bHde, had boxed three .rounds on deck with Kent, the butcher's' mate. a^a had his claret tapped in the presence '0% fully 2000 of the passengers and ore-wr The officers said that ifc was' tho most exciting scene _they had ever witnessed on the deck of'a, liner at sea. It occurred before reaching : Cherbourg and the sea was as, calm as this proverbial mill poriH, (says "The San Francisco Chronicle ). ' Bempsey's opponent, Kent, had been 1 amateur champion heavy weight boxer of : the British Army and Navy, but he had passed his 45th year and was not up to the world champion's form of standing punishment. It was arranged that the men were to 'spar . three rounds, Mar-; guis of Queensbeii-y rules, and the match was properly chaperoned by a referee and time-keeper. . Dompsey did not try to knock his opponent about and-let him : do all the fighting. When Kent hit the ' champion on the nose in the beginning of the second round and the blood started to run the latter did not like it, as his nasal organ was still tender from the • beautifying operation and ' filled with wax:' The sight of the blood trickling down Dempsey's chin iii spite of his fro-; quent sniffing caused such great excite' ,ment among the big audience oh tho ' "deck of the liner that one woman fell out of a hatch and broke her leg and : another woman went through one of the canvas boat covers. , ■

Although he was rather 'annoyed at j the punch, the butcher's mate .gave .him.'! on the nosey Deropsey did not lose his temper and retaliate as 1« might-well have done. Although the champion could have landed a kidney or other.: punch on Kent's body or head, he con-tented-himself with giving two little taps with the back of his gloves'on the vital spots to show that he could reach them. Just before arriving at Cherbourg the following day Dempsey received an in-, vitation by radio to spar-for charity at tlie National Sporting Club, London, and decided to continue to. Southamntoti instead of landing in France. He declined to box at the club under'the plea thai lie had been sea-sick and had not yet recovered. This, the officers said, was a elevei^ subterfuge on the part of. the world's champion heavy weight, because there had not been a single rough day lon the voyage across, and'he had enjoyed perfect health. ' " . - Addlson. on Shadow Boxing; There are few followers of v the game who do not regard shadow boxing as* being' a i comparatively .'recent addition 'to the fighter's programme of training.' This writer was agreeably surprised the other day to discover the. following '•■excerpt from Addison's "Labour and Exercise," an essay published in'the "Spectator" on 12th July, 1711: "When I was some years younger .-than'-I am at present I used to employ myself in a more laborious diversion, which I learned from a Latin treatise of exercises that is written with great erudition.. Vlt is there called •fighting with 1 a man's own shadow, and in the brandishing of two short sticks grasped in each hand and louden with plugs of lead at either end. This opens the chest, exercises the limbs, and gives a man all the pleasure of boxing without the blows. I could wish tl.a"t several learned men would lay out that time which they employ in controversies and disputes, about .nothing •in this method of fighting with their own shadows. It might conduce ' very'much to ' evaporate the spleen which makes them uneasy to the public as well as to themselves." "'' ' .'-..'. Charlie Ring's' Return. Charlie Ring arrived in London, unheralded aui unsung, over a year ago, but, since that time, he has taken part in 16 contests. From obscurity he.has risen to the top rank, and this is because he has won 12 of these contests. Be purposes returning to Australia with liis English wife, and states his intention oE trying to regain the Australian middleweight title. It is not his intention to remain in Australia. Ho, considers Micro iu-o more opportunities for boxing in England, although-there is not so much money for-'a bobt. f Notes of General Interest. V The. boxing-school in Herbert street, previously conducted by Benny Murphy, has been taken over by Hoy Brien, who will be • remembered* a*'-the boy vho fought Duke Jladdox to H close decision over dfteen rounds at the Town Hall two years ago. Brien is very ,fond of the glovo game, "and lately has been coat-bin" Llic.boysof one-of the local missions! Ho was junior partner, to liillv PresUn "I* 0 S^iwiaßumi or ths httw'iu Vwtv Wiilw street. •-