BLOMFIELD BEATEN

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 137, 11 June 1940, Page 5

BLOMFIELD BEATEN

O'CONNOR ALLSQUARE

PUGILISTIC WRESTLING

A wrestling match at the Wellington Town Hall last night which ended, appropriately enough, in the disqualification of Sergeant-Ma jor "Lofty" Blomfield enabled Dan O'Connor to gain revenge for the reverse which, in a similar way, was experienced by him against Blomfield at Auckland. The end came in the seventh round, the men having previously secured a fall apiece. The bout, which was watched by a fairly large crowd, was marked more by guerrilla "all-in" tactics than by orthodox trench warfare. It soon became obvious that the jolts which were in evidence from the start were going to lead to trouble for somebody, and when Blomfield started to paste O'Connor's jaw with his fists it was the beginning of the end. Blomfield's weight was given as 16st 81b,. with O'Connor 21b heavier.

Blomfield had apparently not only decided to take at its face value O'Connor's offer to wrestle him under any conditions he liked to name, but was also out to enjoy his respite from military discipline. From the outset he was cantankerous and had no hesitation whatever in throwing jolts, pulling hair or nose, or performing any other indignity that came to mind.

O'Connor was more partial to straight wrestling, and repeatedly slipped into useful holds in the midst of open skirmishing.

By the second round his patience showed signs of wearing thin, and he dropped "Lofty" with some perfect I jolts to the jaw. He followed up with chancery throws, but suddenly found himself emptied out of the ring. When he had squared up on this effort the referee raised his voice above the din ] to explain that they could steer each other through the ropes, but that there was to be "no more over the ropes." Just before the round ended O'Connor got home with a neat drop kick. Blomfield examined a scratched arm as he took his seat. LITTLE FRIENDLINESS. Friendliness was no more apparent in the third round, but there was still reciprocity.- Blomfield used an Indian death lock, to which O'Connor replied in kind, but "Lofty" dragged the referee into the fray and escaped in the resultant confusion. The fourth round was mainly jolts until Blomfield worked from a leg trip into an octopus clamp and was awarded r fall at 2min 47sec. ■ In the fifth round they went through just about all their tricks, but no results were achieved. O'Connor was a bit unfortunate in the sixth round. Blomfield threw him under the ropes and jumped on him, as also did the referee. A couple of minutes later some flying tackles and a' drop kick enabled him to equalise the falls. The seventh round opened with jolts, developed into the fisticuffs which led to Blomfield's disqualification, and closed with some "afterhours" trading, which was stopped by the referee, Mr. Alf Jenkins. THE PRELIMINARIES. Results of the amateur preliminary bouts' are.-—

J. Harley (Kilbirnie), 9s't 101b., beat J. Miller (Koolman's), ?st 71b, on points. There were no falls.

F. Fyfe (Koolman's), list, beat K. Lawson (Kilbirnie), list, by falls in the second and third rounds.

In a bout for the Kilbirnie Club's ladder, two brothers, L. Childs, 6st 31b, [and T. Childs, sst 111b, drew, one fall jeach.' The boys kept the crowd in 'such a good humour that they were ' given a "shower," the proceeds of ! which they handed over to the Red Cross. A five-round professional bout between Colin Croskery (Wellington), list 31b, and Clem Shannon, list 41b, who was stated to have come from Hamilton, resulted in a draw, one fall each.

Mr. Ray Allen was the referee,