BANKRUPT BOXER

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 May 1934, Page 7

BANKRUPT BOXER

' FRANKLIN'S LOW EARNINGS h !- SMALL “PURSES” FOR FIGHTS e { [special, to “stab.”] AUCKLAND, May 16. , That professional boxing does not carry much in the way of pecuniary reward was revealed at a meeting of i creditors of Joseph Lawrence Franklin, holder of the N.Z. lightweight title, who recently filed a petition in bankruptcy, showing debts totalling at Gisborne £133 and no assets. Franklin explained that in .1929 lie injured an ankle and as a result was unable to work, a visit to a Sydney specialist being only partially success- 1 ful. In 1931, he broke the other leg, us the result of a motor accident, and consequently was again unable to work. Under examination, Franklin stated that he took up boxing seriously in I 1932 and had produced a record num-' her of fights since. His first contest yielded him £7, then he- fought at Masterton for a £5 purse, against which the expenses amounted to £l2 10/-, the loss being borne by his mother. In January of this year he received £5 for a fight in Dunedin, and in February fought for a purse of £l4 from which the net profit was £6. On March 24, he fought at New Plymouth and received £2. His expenses amounting to £23. Three weeks later he had • a contest at Westport, receiving £32, ■ and his expenses totalling £22, and he ’ was £5 out of pocket. For the Wei- 1 lington contest, the amount he received 1 was £37, and the expenses £24, and ■ for a bout at Napier with Donovan, , he received £2O. ‘ The Assignee remarked that Frank- ,

lin had apparently received £37 from his fights, so there was not much to be made out of professional boxing, he added.