IN THE RING

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 110, 11 May 1935, Page 23

IN THE RING

BOXING POSITION

VIEWS AND: SUGGESTIONS

(By "Aeneas.")

Once again the week has produced little news' from, boxing circles, and what fresh activities there are interest the " South Island" more particularly. Whether the Wellington Association, which has not yet decided VP.on the date of its annual meeting, and the other North Island controlling bodies are*piirposely letting things, rest until there is evidence.of a,general revival of interest, or whether they are merely suffering from. lack of energy is not at the moment plain. Whatever the reason for the continued inertia, the fact remains that 1 the time for something to be done is long since past, and the distance to be travelled uphill if the sport is to be rehabilitated in the public's favour will not be lessened by allowing things to run on any longer. - Taking a broad view of the present position, it is apparent that the controlling associations have good cause to be cautious. Unsuccessful promoting efforts in the past have made a heavy drain on accumulated funds, and few bodies are in a position to take serious risks. Also, it is extremely doubtful if "there are two boxers in New Zealand at present who would return expenses if they are matched at the local Town Hall in a title contest. . Theh again, Australian boxers who have visited the Dominion in recent years have not won handsome rewards, and it would probably not be easy to secure suitable importations from that source. Admittedly, Ambrose Palmer drew big houses when he was over here last year, but he expressed himself no more-/than satisfied with the returns for what he termed a holiday jaunt In the normal course of events one bout in Australia would give him more f.han he received for his two contests in New Zealand. ■ THE OTHER SIDE. Such is the position from the associations' point of view, but a strong case can be made for the other side. That there is no match offering at present which would present a strong appeal to, say, the Wellington ■ public, may be true, but it cannot be said that this is due wholly, or even chiefly, to the boxers themselves. Any sport which desires.to win and hold the public's support must keep itself prominently in the public eye, v and "must foster the spirit of competition. Regular contests among the boxers now offering would soon cause public favourites to rise from the ranks, with different centres having their respective idols, and would also draw new men into the fold. From these may be expected to arise Dominion champions who would attract large crowds in any centres when matched againsta visitor from Australia, America, or elsewhere. The same thing has happened in the past, in boxing as well as in other sports, and there is no reason why it should not happen again in the future. There still remains the,bugbear of finance, but here also prospects are not as black as they have been painted. There are plenty of boxers in New Zealand who would welcome the opportunity of competing for the most moderate of purses, • and, if a properly-defined course were followed, there is no reason'why tournaments would not soon be paying their way, with something to spare. ; BOXERS' ENTHUSIASM. The most satisfactory aspect of the situation is that there is no lack of enthusiasm among- the .boxers, \ who. require only opportunities to - ''show what they, can do. All over New Zealand there have been additions to the professional ranks, and in some places the new men-have not had to wait long to get into.action. W. Jack (Invercargill) and L. Hood (Dunedin), two welterweights who have just gone over from the amateurs, are to appear in a ten-round preliminary to the Jacobs-O'Brien bout at mvercargill on Monday night Next Saturday night at Blenheim Val Borcovsky is to meet Al Stock (Hastings), who. will 'also be making Bis first professional appearance. At Christchurch on May 20 there is to be a contest • between Clarrie Rayner and Harry Hughes, ex-holder, of the Jamieson Belt. Hughes has had one professional fight, which he won,-and the outconfe of his next appearance will be awaited with interest. AMONG THE MIDDLEWEIGHTS. It was stated in these columns recently tt\at there was a-shortage of material in the middleweight division in New, Zealand, and that for that reason it would not be worth Harry Lister's while to return from Australia to seSk hi? forfeited title. Since that was written, howeyer, things have taken a,decided' turn.^ Erh .Jacobs (Wellington) has come back across the Tasman, and. will be in action in Invercargill on Monday, night. Then there has'been a notable addition to the middleweights in the person of Alex. Dasler (Marlborough), whose winning effort against A. Lindesay (Auckland) in the 1933 amateur heavyweight final was one of the highlights of the'tournament. ■ '

Dasler is working with Jacobs and Maurice Strickland in Billy Crawford's gymnasium, and Crawford attributes Strickland's success 'against Nicol in the recent title bout very largely to. the sparring practice he was, able to obtain: with Dasler. It is not easy to find a local boxer who can stand up to Strickland's heavy battery, even in the practice ring, but Dasler has unflinchingly stood up to the champion. He is reported to be in the pink of condition.

Dasler, Jacobs, and O'Brien are three middleweight candidates, and others are Billish, who is reported to be able to make the weight, and Ted Saunders; the; sailor from H.M.S. Leith, who recently applied for a licence. There is sufficient material there for an interesting elimination series to find a new champion. Once the title has been alloted it. may be expected that the field of competition will be widened and considerable interest aroused.