BOXING

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 11, 12 July 1930, Page 23

BOXING

BY 'AtMtAB" THE MISSING THRILLS

CROWD DISAPPOINTED

TUESDAY NIGHT'S CONTEST

It has been said that it is often tho first punch which wins a light, and that there is more than a modicum of truth in this was brought homo with some force in Tuesday night's contest ■"between Tommy Donovan and the young Australian featherweight, Bert Osborne. Donovan's record as a knockout artist is only too well known, and Osborne. Js punching ability has Gamed him in his own country the title of "Knock-out" Osborne. Hence it was to be expected that the pair would provide a good fight with a plentiful supply of fireworks when they met. It was not to be, however, the contest from the third round onwards being so slow and uninteresting that Befereo Stewart had to have a word with the boys—probably the first time Donovan has been told to fight' harder. Tho primary reason for the bad display is not hard to seek: The boys started off at a whirlwind pace, many good judges considering that the first three rounds j were the fastest they had seen in a professional contest in Wellington.! Certain it was that the pace was too | hot to last, and in the fourth stanza and subsequent ones there was a different tale altogether to tell. But it was in those first rounds that the Tara.naki boy laid the foundation for his subsequent win. As usual the New j Zealander tore out of his corner at the | start of th. bout, and in his tigerish style he threw punches from all angles, j but in marked contrast to his first appearance in Wellington against Tommy Doble he punched accurately as far as the speed at which he was fighting would allow him. Osborne, although a pound the heavier, was not so nuggety, and had a lighter frame than his opponent. Ho met Donovan half-way and attempted to exchange punch for punch with him. As far as tho Australian was concerned these tactics were fatal. Donovan was the harder puncher, ant) as long as Osborne would stay there it was just what • the New Zealander 'wanted. He revelled in the hard stuff and the harder Osborne hi. him tho harder lie fought back. ■He soon had his opponent moving back, and he pasted him with everything he had. Osborne continued to trade punches, and he roused the crowd as he slammed away. The pace was terrific, and at the end of the third round, bleeding from the nose and covered in blood, he looked a very tired boy. Had the bout gone on the .way. it started it is certain that it would not have gone the full distance, and from appearances it seemed that Osborne would be the ono to take the count. Apparently realising- this,- and- -with the natural desiro to avoid being knocked out, especially in-his first • appearance in this country, the Australian adopted different tactics 'in' the' next and following rounds. His stance was an almost impenetrable smother, and covered up lik this ho practically refused to lead, letting Donovan make all tho fighting, while he relied on countering to score. Prom Osborne's point of view he proloably did the right thing boxing as he did, but his decision spoilt what promised to be one of the most sensational fights seen here. During the rest of the fight, like tho American Sarron, hu fought in patches, iv between these brief periods just walking around tho ring after Donovan and letting the latter punch his arms and gloves. It was certaiuly disappointing, but Donovan cannot bo blamed for bis share. Ho worked everything he knew to get the Australian to open up, even taking the risk of seriously injuring his hands in an attempt to batter down his opponent's guard, but it was. of little .avail until the commencement of the final term. Then there was a repetition of the early rounds, both boys fighting viciously. Donovan loved it, and he again forced the Australian to. go back into his smother. The New Zealander finished fresh and as full of fight as ever, in contrast to Osborne. Of Osborne it must be said that he was game enough, but he was up against a tougher and far more rugged opponent, who punched twice as hard as he did. and only fought back more' fiercely when he was stung. Nevertheless, the Australian will have to give up his spoiling tactics if he is to provide a decent contest with Donovan's conqueror, Johnny Leckie. After his experience on Tuesday he is sure to be a better boy. The Taraiiaki fireman's tear-in, methods took him completely by surprise, so much so that he never settled down properly afterwards. Unusual Accident, An extraordinary accident happened at an amateur boxing tournament held in Nelson last week. S. Thomas, a hefty Nelsonian, was matched with Percy Eush, of Blenheim; but tho bout had only gone half a round when Thomas swung his left with all his might, and, contacting with his opponent 's ■ forearm, dislocated his shoulder. Billy Crawford's Record. The well-known Wellington trainer, Billy Crawford, had a great innings on Tuesday night when out of five starters he turned out four winners iv tho amateur preliminaries. Crawford certainly knows his business, and his boys did not suffer from any lack of knowledge as far as their corner is concerned, and, what is better still, Crawford lias the art of imparting it. Leckie and Nelson. To-night, at Napier, the New Zealand feather-weight champion, Johnny Leekie, meets Ted Nelson, who is virtually the champion feather-weight of Australia. The visitor has a splendid record, and it is evident he can punch for in five of his last seven contests he has stopped his opponent. Leckie, on the other hand, is now apparently back to something approaching his best form, and if that is so the Australian will have to produce something extra good if ho wants to send the crowd homo early. At air events it promises to be a great argument, and Leckie should just about receive Earl Stewart's nod. Bloom After the Cash. The likeable little Ainprii-jm, Lou Bloom, is now getting amongst the money, and it is no more than he deserves, for. his undoubted ability has been overlooked,when associations were all for signing up Srrrou. B/oom is now coming into his own, and on 16th July he meets a local boy in Gus Fitzmaurice. It will be a fifteen-round journey for a £100 purse. Fitzmaurico has done all that has been asked of bin! since he left the ranks of the amateurs, but he will be taking on a tough one in the American. Bloom is clamouring for fights. He doesn't mind how small or how big they are. He is prepared to make any weight within reason, and a chance to show that his loss to Donovan was all wrong is what is wanted most. There "is no doubt that, given the opportunity, the little fellow will produce, as witness his fight against Donovan. About Johnny Peters. c . Dealing with a fight between Billy I M'Allister and Johnny Peters, tho Eng- r lisli fcoy who recently, appeared ;with|i!

great success in Australia, having an unbeaten record, an Australian writer penned the following: Peters won on a clean knock-out half way through the second last round of ' the fight, confirming gymnasium impressions of him as a boxer of rare qualities, a master of stylo and speed, and a great little tactician, though he is aged but IS years. No English boxer has ever visited Australia with such a resovd as that claimed by Peters. At least ten really good Englishmen have appeared in the Australian ring iv as many years, but in every ease they were more or less past their prime. n Peters is at the top of bis form as h L bantam, and he gives every promise or' " greater development. He is of tho very £ best of the English school of boxing, h No wrestling in clinches and tedious, abortive in-lighting for him, such as characterise American boxers of every c class. He stands off and hits or count ters with admirable perfection of tim- :- ing, and his defence is superb. Reduced ing footwork to a minimum, he can , stand within range of a blow and pick it off in mid-air or cause an opponent f to miss by an almost imperceptible s movement of tho head, revealing that i. rare anticipation which is the sixth sense possesed only by really great boxers. t Promising Boy. y Undoubtedly one of the most promis- ° ing boys seen out iv Wellington for some time is 'G. Isaacs, bantam-weight from the Community Club gymnasium, who got a great reception from the j. crowd after his game display against L. j Dyer <m Tuesday night. Isaacs is still a very raw, but he fights with the eool--3 ness of a veteran, and bis smiling way 5 of taking heavy punishment augurs well for his future. Provided he receives D ' correct tuition, he should make a good j two-handed fighter. ' Must a Boxer Fight? When two boxers enter the ring, arc 3 they under any obligation to put up a p contest? Whatever tho case in other 2 parts of the world, I doubt if they are j under any legal compulsion in New Zealand to light their utmost until one or .! the other is overcome (says ".Cestus," /in the Christchurch "Star"). Prize--9 fighting is illegal, and it seems to me :( that it is' within tho power of two proI fessionals, having entered the ring, to t spar their way through tho stipulated . number of rounds, or for ono of them ] at any moment to say that he has had ] enough and leavo tho ring. True, in i the latter case such an action might . lead to disqualification and the refusal ] by the promoting body to hand over the t loser's end of the purse, or, with neither l- party willing to "fight," the -referee f might deelaro the bout "no contest." i That would be' in keeping with the asI sociation's rules, but what would the • legal position be 9 It is an interesting • point, and I bring it up after reading 1 the account of the Sarron-Shack bout 1 in Dunedin, when 3000 spectators were t present at what is described as "one ; of tho poorest and most uninteresting 3 bouts ever staged in Dunedin." What t would have happened had tho referee • declared the bout "no contest," and ' the Otago Association had refused to I pay out to either contestant? The one > important fact to bo remembered is ■ 'that some 3000 persons paid in the es.----1 pectation of getting a fair return for ' their money, and, as boxers have to , depend upon public support for their ■ living, in their interests surely it is the • sensible thing to keep patrons in a pay- ! ing mood. 1 For the benefit of promoting bodies, '< 1 might mention that a ease reached ' the United States Supreme Court a'yoar 1 or so ago in which tho plaintiff was awarded all the pay agreed upon in tho > original articles, on the ground tlrnt hu ' merely agreed to fight not more than ;i ' certain number of rounds, but did not 1 specify how well. In this case the ' boxers were permitted to jog through ] several rounds showing great mutual ' forbearance and respect before the referee lost -patience, but the Court held that a. prize fight was an artistio performance not measurable by any arbitrary judgments or standards, and subject to the limitations of courage, en; durance, discretion, and skill. Dunedin Notes. Nothing definite has yet been arranged by tho Otago Boxing Association concerning its nest professional contest (states "The Post's" Dunedin correspondent), but several applications have been received by the association from Australian fighters, and the latest who has expressed his desire to come over to New Zealand is Jack Carroll, former welterweight champion oi' -the Dominion. Archie Leckie, former trainer of Johnny Leckie, has a heavyweight who did a fair amount of professional boxing at Home. His name is Fred Larby, and last week he was tried out by Jim Leckie, former amateur heavyweight ' champion of New Zealand. The amateur champion is a pretty, keen judgo of a boxer's capabilities, and after a ■ four-round work-out he expressed the opinion that Larby should be quite cap- : able of holding his own with A. J. ! Cleverley, the Wellington light-heavy- '. weight, and Leckie- should know, for ' he has sparred, with both men. . Registration of Boxers. ; The rules of the New Zealand Boxing ' Association provide for registration by i the council through local associations of i all amateur boxers, but (states "The 1 Post's" Dunedin correspondent) from < what the secretary (Mr. Harry Divers) i of the Otago Boxing Association states this rule seems to be more honoured in 1 the breach than in the observance, and I he suggests that some good would be 1 served if the council were to charge i each boxer a registration fee oi: one shilling, which would entitle him to the benefits of tho insurance fund. Iv this • way any tiling up to £100 a year might s be obtained throughout New Zea- J land. Certainly it seems time that 1 the rules were properly enforced, for \ that relating to registration of amateur < boxers is an important one, as it stipu- I lates that each man must sign a de- c claration to the effect that he is an i amateur. 1 i Miramar . .oxing Club. The Miramar.Boxing Club is staging i another of its entertaining evenings at ( the Capitol Theatre, Miramar, on next j Tuesday. The lightweight and welter- rj weight junior championships will be f decided, and satisfactory entries have \ been received. There will be other bouts ] between well-known amateurs. The con- c tests are held under tho auspices of tho f Wellington Boxing Association, whose t officials will act as referee and judges. \ .Tho Miramar Club is very enterprising j ?"h1 there should be a good attendance- > of enthusiasts. r