RINGSIDE TOPICS

Evening Star, Issue 20119, 8 March 1929, Page 13

RINGSIDE TOPICS

BOXING HEWS AND NOTES [By Hookeb.] SATURDAY’S DISAPPOINTING CONTEST. While the Otago team was in Auckland for the New Zealand amateur boxing championships .members witnessed the first dash between’ Tommy M'lnnes and Lachic Macdonald, which was voted one of the best middleweight scraps seen in New Zealand for a long time. It was a hard-hitting, willing affair,from start to finish, and, even allowing for the fact that the two Macs knew each others’ style better, there were few who would have predicted that the fourth meeting or the pair at the Drill Hall on Saturday night last would result in such a drab contest. . Macdonald pulled a muscle in. bis right shoulder in the second round, and this probably affected him from In® ll onwards, hut, with the exception of the first round (which gave promise of good things to follow) and the last few' rounds, the bout was a lifeless atfnir, in which both men wrestled and hugged each other like a pair of longlost brothers. The continuance ot this state of affairs is partly attributable to the referee (Mr Don Paterson), who should have made his presence felt sooner than ho did. His coinniands must have been practically inaudible to the boxers at times, and if he is to have the confidence of boxers and public., he will have to adopt a firmer attitude in' the ring. Mr Paterson knows the game, and with more confidence in himeslf would probably fill the role of third man to satisfaction. Dunedin boxing fans have been used to the last fighting of lighter divisions, but there is no doubt that the middleweight bout was welcomed as a change from the smaller men. After a few sessions, however, the crowd must have longed for the speed of .the lighter men. When MTnnes and Macdonald were not in a clinch they appeared to be taking pot shots at each other in very deliberate fashion. Lachio led in points over the first five rounds, and in straight work was ahead of MTnnes, employing a useful left, though his superiority in this direction was counteracted by the fact that he was too prone to use the open glove, a fault which should have been checked by severe warning from the referee. Macdonald naturally found difficulty in bringing his right over, and lost good opportunities as a result. He employed a left hook at times which found a billet on MTnnes’s chin, but be lacked the sting of the Scot, who seemed content over the initial stages to light on the defensive, and his sound blocking of punches was one of the features of the earlier rounds, tame as they were. From the sixth round onwards MTnnes, who was boxing very _ coolly, started to put more life into his work, but it was not until about round eleven that there was much to rouse the crowd to enthusiasm, and then MTnnes started to connect much more cleanly, getting to close quarters and bombarding Macdonald with short punches with both hands, the New Zealander frequently being driven to tho ropes, from which ho failed to emerge with the advantage he secured when the pair met in Auckland. MTnnes hooked some fierce lefts to the jaw, and his short rights were also damaging punches. He won just about twice as many rounds as Macdonald, who fought well below form. Both men missed far too often through faulty timing, Macdonald in particular failing to get his distance. Lachie telegraphed morb than once with his left, and there was too little variety in tactics introduced by either man. ; Over the last few rounds some more exciting rallies were witnessed, and Lachio infused more dash into his work, this saving the mill from being classed as a complete fade-out. MTnnes outhoxed Macdonald on the night, and used both hands fairly effectively once he got to close quarters. He is a short puncher, and had Macdonald been able to adapt his plan of campaign to suit that of MTnnes a better contest might have been seen. As it was the contestants fought very much tho same style of fight, and_ with MTnnes carrying the fight to his opponent over the last ten rounds and connecting a good deal more cleanly, he thoroughly deserved tho decision in _ his favour. Lachie was not as effective in his work to the body as was MTnnes, wlio scored with both hands in solid short punches to the mid-section; it was not a spectacular fight, nor was it a high-class boxing display, and the only conclusions that can be arrived at is that the pair have met just once too often. Honours aro easy between them, but it would be difficult to draw a crowd in Dunedin to watch a fifth meeting of the pair. Lachie certainly fought under a handicap in losing so much use of his righthand, but as the fight was put off originally, it is understood, on account of this disability, the New Zealander would have been wise to press for further postponement if he thought the arm would not stand the strain. Lachie failed to reproduce his best, hut with a short spell should do much better in his next outing. JACK PAUL’S RETURN. Jack Paul has returned from Australia and prior to the start of last Saturday’s professional contest he was introduced to tho fans at tho Drill Hall, tho old Dunedin boy receiving a very good reception. _ Paul met with a good deal of success in welter-weight ranks in Australia, among those he defeated being George Pringle, Jack Murray, Jack Jones and Wally M'Kenzie (who fought Wally Hancock at Sydney Stadium last Saturday) while in twenty-nine contests his only three defeats were sustained at the hands of Jack Murray, Eddie Butcher, and Billy Richards. Pan! was working in a foundry, and considered that the nature, of his work affected his showings in the ring, and it is a fact that'after, giving up such work ho did not lose a contest.