DUNEDIN'S IDOL

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 68, 17 September 1927, Page 23

DUNEDIN'S IDOL

LECKIE WINS AGAIN

CONTEST WITH O'CONNOR

"Fighting Johnny Leckie," featherweight champion of New Zealand, has been in professional boxing ranks less than six months, but already he has created such a favourable impression that without doubt hn is the best drawing card in New Zealand to-day, aud by defeating the Sydney boxer, Darby O'Connor, in the twelfth round of a scheduled fifteen-round contest of three minutes each for a purse of £100, the Dunedin boy further enhanced his rapidly-mounting reputation, states the "Dunedin Star." The question now being asked is just how far Johnny Leckie will go, and after last night's contest there are some shrewd judges of the game bold enough to assert that he will climb a good deal higher than the Now Zealand honours he has already attained.

Much interest had been manifested in his contest with O'Connor, and by 8 o'clock His Majesty's theatre was packed from top to bottom, many hundreds of fans struggling unsuccessfully to gain admittance to the crowded auditorium, which must have housed anything up to 2000 people. Those who were fortunate enough to get in were not disappointed, for they were rewarded with one of the best contests staged in Dunedin for many a day. The takings amounted to £470, a record for a boxing contest in Dunedin.

Scheduled as a feather-weight encounter, at the last minute O'Connor jumped on to the scales, and immediately leapt off, the announcement being made that he was over 9st. He was not weighed again, and forfeited £5 for failing to mako the featherweight limit; the bout thus really being at catch weights. It was publicly announced that Leckie weighted 9st, and O'Connor over 9st, the Australian's correct weight not being available, though he stripped like a light-weight, and seemed at least 61b heavier than the Dunedin boy. O'Connor proved to be Leekie'* hardest opponent to date, and for Leckie to put so much heavier a man iv the twelfth round-after leading by a good margin of points was no mean performance, and tends to show just how good Leckie really is. Though Leckie took the honours'of about nine rounds to O'Connor's two, one being evenly divided, the bout was always interesting, and the New Zealand champion was able to take no risks with his heavier opponent, who contested every inch of the way and showed remarkable gamoness under very severe punishmont, particularly in the eighth and twelfth rounds. Leckie's straight work was a revelation to many of those present, and he punched effectively with both hands, but it was not only in the .straight stuff that he scored, for he unloosed some fierce hooks and uppcrcus that, staggered O'Connor. Honours were fairly even in in-fighting, though Leckie connected the more clearly with his short-arm blows to the body. Lockie was inclined to leave himself rather open when -O'Connor Jed his left, but for the greater part tho Australian-re-lied on his right, into which he put a good deal of venom, Lockie being able to testify to the power of O'Connor's punches. Had his left been as

useful a weapon as his right, O'Connor might have pushed Leckio even closer. O'Connor occasionally made Leckie miss, but the latter gave the Australian no respite, and worried him all the time. It was an exciting battle, and both contestants received a great reception at the finish. Leckie has now won all four of his professional bouts by the knock-out route. Featherweight for Australia. Johnny Curley, noted English boxer, will sail for Australia on 18th September, and will- remain for seven or eight months.. He can still make 9st comfortably. -The "London Star" says that five•opponents have already been selected, to meet him. Should Johnnie Leckie- defeat Tommy Griffiths ho should be well in the line for contests with tho Australian featherweights. "Punch-Drunk." Said to be still "punch-drunk" from his bouts with Battling Nelson and others, Ad. Wolgast has been committed to a psychopathic hospital for sanity observation, on a warrant issued by friends, who fear that the former lightweight champion will become violent. Inexplicable Attitude. The conference of the Australian Amateur Boxing Union, at which both the New Zealand Boxing Association and the New Zealand Amateur Boxing Union are to be represented, has been postponed until 19th October. Owing to their being two bodies in existence m New Zealand at the present time the Australian Union refused the entries of the New Zealand Association m the Australian championships. This action seems strange, as apart from the controversy between the two bodies there was no doubt about the bona fides of the boxers themselves. Further, tho New Zealand Boxing Association is the recognised body at present, no matter what the union might (or might not),do in the future. Joe Hall in Wellington. Joe Hall, the negro boxer who has been in Australia for some time under contract to Stadiums, Ltd., is at present in Wellington, and hopes to get a license here. The late Hon. E. I\ Bollard, as Minister of Internal Affairs, looked with disfavour on coloured boxers, and refused to sanction an extension of Jamito's license. Tho policy of his successor is not yet known*, but when making his decision he should be guided by the fact that there are several negro boxers in Australia at the present time and that applications may be numerous in the future. Hal] is a good boy and has conducted himself like a gentleman, but there are others who have not. Two, to the knowledge of "Aeneas," in spite of their successes in Australia, have left there penniless. One of them landed in New Zealand on his way back so hard up that he had to sell articles of clothing for pocket money. Heeney Wins on a TovO. Tom Heeney, heavyweight champion ot New Zealand, won from Bud Gorman on a foul in Madison Square Garden, writes "The Post's" New York representative. The referee, Kid M'Partland, awarded the decision to Heeney after one minute seventeen seconds of the third round, immediately following Gorman's third offence. Gorman, managed by Leo Flyn, who was Dempsey's manager, knocked Heeney down with a foul blow in the first round. This blow followed . a warning by the referee given earlier in the round. At the end of the round the referee followed Gorman to his corner and reprimanded him. The second round saw no foul, but in the

third Gorman landed a left-handed punch that was obviously low. M'Partland lost no time in stopping the contest, and was -warmly cheered by the 5000 persons present. Heeney left the ring to the cheers of the crowd, while Gorman was booed as he climbed through the ropes. Up to the time the bout was stopped Heeney had the better of the going. The bout was the second in the evening to be decided on a foul, and showed a much closer application to such things since the disputed blow or blows in the Dcmpsey-Sharkey fight. The referee in the other instance was-Mik" Hylas. Heeney showed the same aggressiveness and fearlessness as in his bout with Paulino, and was the aggressor throughout. Heeney weighed 14st 41b and Gorman 13st 101b. Broadfoot Reprimanded. Jim Broadfoot was reprimanded by the New Zealand Boxing Council for breaking faith with tho Wellington Association. While negotiating with Wellington ho signed up with Auckland to' meet Loekie M'Donald there on Monday night. As a result Wellington is now bringing together Artie- Hay and Harry Casey. Casey has earned the- reputation of an in-and-out boxer and it is to be hop^d that he is on the job on Monday week. At his best he is well worth watching, but if he shows his Napier form.here he will not get many more contests. The contest between M'Donald and Broadfoot should bo a good one, and the winner should not find difficulty in getting an association to match him with Casey for the middleweight title. ll' Donald has already been matched with Casey by the North Otago Association on Labour Day. The championship will be involved. Befereeing Outside the King.' In his recently-published book of reminiscences, Eugene Com, tho wellknown English referee, has the following with regard to refereeing inside and outside the ring:—"l well remember having a Ion" talk with the late Peggy Bettingson on this point, and he was very emphatic about it. He put it in this way: The men go into the ring knowing the rules under which they are fighting It is for them to obey those rules, not for the referee to use physical force to comtMnvT t0 do. so- hat would you think if an umpire at cricket, seeing a batsman's legs covering his wicket, strode down the pitch and forcibly pushed them back so that the bowler could get a sight of the stumps? I never have, and I never shall, agree with refereeing from inside the ring, and I obimf *V efe"los mauling boxers about and pulling them apart. If a few boxers were disqualified for breaking tho rules they would soon loam them. They think they can do pretty well as they like, because, they know the referee will put up with any amount of nontT,V a4 WaS One o£ ihe last t^s I had with Peggy, who knew tho boxing game from A to Z, and who was always up against what he called the new-fangled notion of having three boxers in the ring." Boy Overend Fund. * T M-' Treston ' T. A. Heath, and J.isticklaiHl representing the Napier and Hawkes Bay Boxing Associations Waii ed,? nJ le May° r °f Hastings, Mr! G. A..Maddison, recently, when it was df £ed that tho £135 collected in aid of Mrs. Boy Overend, whoso husband died subsequent to a boxing contest in Napier, be vested in Mr. AM Brodie, president of the Hawkes Bay Association, and Mr. G. A. Maddison acting as trustees in the administration ol the fund. In addition to the amount collected, the Napier Boxing Association has subscribed over £40 for th'r

purposo of erecting a suitable headstone on tho grave of the deceased boxer, and this work is now well under way. The fund was contributed/to by; the New Zealand Boxing Council aiid the following. Boxing AssociationsWellington, Patea, Taranaki, Hawkes Bay, Westport, Gisborne, Southland, and Greymouth, as well as several individual followers of the sport. Hastings Fixes a Date. The first night of the Hastings Sprinir Show, 19th October, has been selected by tho Hawkes Bay Boxing Association, as the date for its next venture, but so far it has not been decided whether to follow the lead set by Napier and stage two ten-round bouts or only one. The association is in communication, with no less than seven boxers, Johnny Leckie, Duke Maddox, Tommy Griffiths, Mat Hatton, Darby O'Connor,-Artie Hay, and Jim Broadfoot, so they have a big array to choose from, and if the*, are all agreeable the chances are" that two contests will bo staged. ..: