RINGSIDE TOPICS

Evening Star, Issue 20671, 19 December 1930, Page 16

RINGSIDE TOPICS

- - LATEST FISTIC FLASHES [By Hooker.] FIXTURES. December 26.—Ted Morgan \ Tommy Faii'hall, at Westport. December 27.—Tommy Donovan v Johnnie Decide, at Palmerston Nortu.

Apart from a fight hero and theie matters are quiet all over the dominion at the present time, and they are likely to remain so for some time yet, as there are not the fighters in the country to provide a regular senes of clashes throughout New Zealand. The advent of the American boxers for the Wellington Boxing Association :s bound to give the game a great fillip, but it rerhains to be seen whether these ■ men are to appear anywhere else but in the Empire City. The next bout listed will mark Ted Morgan’s last appearance before he leaves for New York, and in view of his recent victory his return contest with Tommy Fairhall at Westport on Boxing Night will ,create a great deal of interest. It Morgan can get , away with another win on this occasion, his prospect's in America will be considerably enhanced, for it has to be remembered that Fairball is the welter-weight champion of Australia. Johnny Leckie and Tommy Donovan will clash for the fourth time as professionals at Palmerston North on December 27, the contest being at catch weights. As honours, are at present easy between the pair, there should be plenty of interest in the forthcoming mill, especially as Leckie seems determined' apparently that he is able no longer, to make the feather-weight limit comfortably. Leckie is in business in JNapier on his own account now as a plastering contractor, and his friends will be glad to learn that he is doing well. He is reported to be after Cousin Hector’s New Zealand light-weight title; and if the pair meet in the ring it will certainly be a unique thing to find two cousins meeting for a championship title. • Hector is now trained by' Archie Leckie. who formerly had charge of . Johnny. New Zealander Jack Paul scored a points win at the Daceyville Stadium (New South Wales) in a twelve-round main event with Alby Roberts, the aboriginal slugger (says an exchange). Jack took no risks, boxed confidently, used his left excellently, and applied bis right with fine discretion. This bout has rehabilitated the New Zealander. He was stopped by Rus. Cntcher in nine rounds at Rush cutlers’ Bay on September 20 last The annual meeting of the Taranaki Boxing Association, held recently, revealed the promoting body to be in an exceptionally' sound financial position (says the ‘New Zealand Sportsman ’;. The balance-sheet showed that receipts bad totalled £4,095 ids 2d, the principal items being;—Gate receipts, £4,172 6s 2d [ sale of rights, £10; •donations, £9 9s; subscriptions,. £3 15s. Expenditure totalled £3,514 4s Bd. There was a credit, balance of £933 19S 7d as compared with £lB6 19s lOd at the beginning of the year. The principal items of expenditure were Purses, £1,411; rent, £345 17s sd; amusement tax, £369 Is Id; Boxing Council. £225 Is; trophies, amateur expenses, and championship expenses, £164 9s 6d, advertising and printing, £202 8s Cd; legal expenses, £7B 13s 3d ; referees, £63 Ids; wages, cartage, erection of stage, etc., £l7l Os 6d; secretary, £l2o 10s; entertainment, £4O. The Hatton contest showed a profi I of £SO 11s Id. Griffiths, £lO4 19s lOd; Doble, £54 9s 7d; Crowle, £52 Us and £143 0s lid, Safron, £739 14s 2d, There were losses as follow: —Ann tours, £34 9s 4d; Bloom, £BB 15s. New Zealand is still attracting the attention of Australian glove artists, amd a meeting of the Otago Boxing Association on Tuesday night had applications for contests from Archie Hughes, the Sydney feather-weight, and Bert Malcolm, Melbourne lightweight. Hughes is a solid fighter, and something in the nature of a trial horse in Sydney, but he is not likely to be a great draw in Dunedin after the exhibition of holding be gave in one of his contests on his last appearance here. Recently he was outpointed, in’Sydney by Bobby Blay, who is the featherweight sensation there at the present time.

Tommy Donovan continued on his remarkable winning way at New Plymouth. last week when he outpointed Xlew Edwards after a fast and exciting fight, in which the Taranaki slugger gave his opponent no respite/ though the Australian showed considerable cleverness in scoring when ooi the backmore. This was Donovan’s thirty-first fight as a, professional, and he has won twenty-eight, lost two, and drawn one. Rumour hath it, from a very reliable source; that the ex-Stadium manager, Jack Muairo, is angling once again to buy the Stadium circuit (says an Australian writer). It is ,the umpteenth time. 'MunroV offer is liberal. It is known that millionaire Wren is anxious to sell. Munro’s offer has not been accepted. Is. the ex-chief playing a waiting game? ' Kid Chocolate, ,the Cuban featherweight, had a remarkable sequence of wins in America until he took part in ah overweight match with the English light-weight, Jack (“ Kid ”) Berg, who tmnmed him decisively. He has suffered a couple of defeats since then, his latest being at the: hands of Bat Battalino, feather-weight champion of the world, whose stocks have not been as; highly regarded as those of maiiy previous title-holders. Battalino’s latest win will give him a few more supporters when he meets Fidel la Barba' in a bout for the world’s championship shortly. . Jack (“Kid”) Berg turned down some tempting offers recently in order to return to England to meet AI Foreman, British light-weight champion, for his title, realising n 6 doubt that possession of the British championship would make for an even greater crowd when he battled foi the world’s lightweight championship. In the meantime, however, Foreman has engaged in a drawn battle wtih Johnny Cuthbert,the British feather-weight champion, who collected his crown from Harry Corbett. The last-named fought in Australia a year or two back. There is a rumour on the eastern frontier to the effect that Gene Tunnev is quietly training, far from prying eyes, in a private gymnasium on Ins ranch in the Connecticut hills (says an American writer). Tjch Campbell, the former Melbourne bantam-weight, is training hard at Tommy Harris’s gymnasium, and is hopeful of being accorded a chance to show his wares by Some of the smaller associations. The trouble, however, seems to be the lack of bantam-weights in the country, and unless some association considers matching hini with Kid Smith or Frank Taylor there docs not appear a prospect of a match at the present time. Campbell was a good preliminary ,boy in Melbourne, and, according to his scrap-book, took part in several main'contests with a good deal or success. !