BOXING

Greymouth Evening Star, 3 September 1934, Page 4

BOXING

TOURNAMENT AT REEFTON In the presence of a capacity house at the Gymnasium Hall, amateur boxing was again staged at Reefton on Saturday evening, after an interval of thirteen years. There were several scientific and many keen contests, in a programme that was one of the best of the class seen on the West Coast during the past four years. Entries were numerous, and s if a fault could be found, it would be that the tournament was too lengthy, for one night. For three and a-half hours, bouts were staged, and although the tournament was splendidly conducted, the delay at the commencement was repeated towards the finish. Having the advantage of the services of Messrs Frank O’Neill, Laurie O’Neill, and Frank Bell,' the Reefton Boxing Association derived valuable knowledge, which should enable them successfully, to continue with a sport that has a keen following at Reefton, Westport, and in the surrounding districts. The novice classes were more entertaining than interesting, from the viewpoint of boxing, but in the open classes, decidedly good bouts were witnessed. The outstanding contestants were V. Borcovsky (Murchison), M. Howson (Greymouth), W. Hawes (Westport), p, Zampesi (Greymouth), J- Fleming (Westport), and C. Mathieson (Reefton). Prior to the opening bout, Rev. Father Spring, president, stated that, like Rip Van Winkle, amateur boxing in Reefton had been dead for a number of years, but a committee of enthusiasts had decided to resuscitate it. They were very pleased with the large attendance, and he felt sure that the public would witness many interesting bouts. Towards the close of the tournament, Father Spring again thanked the public, and stated that the Reefton Boxing Assn, appreciated the excellent manner in which the programme had been received. It was hoped to stage another tournament at an early date. The Assn, had promised thrilling bouts, and he felt sure that a thrill had been given in every contest that evening, along with clever boxing in several of the encounters. Father Spring also thanked the members of the Greymouth Boxing Association for their valuable assistance, which included the use of their ring. Thanks were, also due to Mr. Frank Bell, of Greymouth, who had opened a boxing school at Reefton, and to whose efforts not a little of the success of the tournament was due. The bouts were I’efereed by Dr. Conlon (Reefton), Mr. F. O’Neill (Greymouth), and Mr. L. O’Neill (Westport), the results being as follow 7 : — -

NOVICES J. Paton, 8.3, Greymouth, beat J. Menzies, 8.3, Westport, in the bantam section, over three rounds of one and a-half minutes. Paton made the fighting, but he was twice knocked off his feet through having no balance when stepping back. It was better condition that won him the bout. P. O’Regan, 10.4, Cronadun, beat W. Ford, 10.5, Waiuta, in the welter division. There was little fighting, and O’Regan made what there was of it. In the first round neither struck a clean blow, but in the second, O’Regan sent in two quick lefts, putting Ford down for a count, of three. Ford declined to continue, and his seconds threw in the towel. The bout was more humorous than scientific.

L. McKane, 10.5, Reef ton. beat O’Regan in the final. This was just a slogging contest, with both showing little knowledge of science. O’Regan relied entirely on a left hook, and put plenty of power behind his blows, but left himself very open to attack. McKane hit more cleanly, but it was a poor exhibition. A. Archer, 9.9, Reefton, beat P. McMahon, 9.12, Reefton. McMahon made the fighting in the first round, and had Archer tied up on defence, but although he had plenty of opportunities he seldom hit cleanly. In the second round, McMahon took a lot out of himself without doing any damage to his opponent. He was in poor condition, and towards the close of the second round his efforts left him unable to carry on, and although MeMahon was leading on points, tlie reforce had to award the bout to Archer.

F. Rollerson, 10.6, Reefton, beat P. Dellaca, 10.5, Reefton. Dellaca opened smartly, and used both hands to score well in the first round. Rollerson covered up better in the second, and waited for Dellaca, who showed no defence. Both boys worked fast, and in the third round, after Dellaca had scored often with a left to Rollerson’s jaw, he tired, and it was then that Rollerson, using both hands, with plenty of power, knocked Dellaca out on his feet, the referee stopping the fight. Both boys' showed good promise, particularly Dellaca. R. Campbell, 12.0, Waiuta, beat J. McMahon, 12.0, Cronadun, in the light-heavy class. Campbell went in from the bell, caught McMahon with both hands down, sent in a left to the jaw, and floored him. McMahon was quickly on his feet, but exhibited absolutely no defence, and was sent down twice more within 15 seconds. Referee F. O’Neill declared Campbell the winner.

C. Marsh, 11.10, Greymouth, beat J. Dally, 11.6, Waiuta. Neither showed much knowledge of boxing, and although there was plenty of action, there were few blows struck. In the second round, Marsh found Dally an easy target for his left, and piled up points. At the commencement of the third round, Marsh sent his opponent to the ropes, and although in no way hurt, Dally claimed that he had no wind to carry on, and the bout was awarded to Marsh.

Marsh beat Campbell in the final. This was an uninteresting contest. At the start of the second round, Campbell was knocked down in his corner by a left to the jaw. He attempted to continue, but was out on his feet, and Referee F. O’Neill declared for Marsh.

OPEN CLASSES C. Mathieson, 7.11, Reefton, beat N. Comerford, 7.9, Westport, in the final of the flyweight. This was a fast fight, with both lads showing a surprisingly good knowledge of clean boxing and good footwork. They were both very young, but were well matched and had a. similar style of fighting. Mathieson delivered his blows with more force than Comerford, and it was with a left to the jaw that he ultimately won. J. Fleming, 8.6, Murchison, beat Comerford, 8.3, Westport. This was a fast bout, with Fleming making the fight, and adopting rush tactics, which threw Comerford off defence. Fleming used his left to the body, and in the first round Comerford was down twice, the bell saving him bn the sc-

corn! occasion. Fleming chased him around the ring at the opening of the second round, then sent In a splendid-ly-timed right to the jaw, which put Comerford down for eight. He was no sooner up than Fleming floored him again, and Dr. Conlon stopped the fight. W. Hawkins, 9.11, Westport, beat T. Pollock, 10.4, Millerton, in a fast and clever encounter in the open welter section. Hawkins feinted cleverly, covered up well, and stepped in and out quickly, using a left that seldom failed to break through Pollock’s defence. Pollock did not have the good footwork of Hawkins, and relied mostly on a straight right, with which he scored well in the second round. Hawkins made the fight in the concluding round, and his quick footwork made him a difficult target for Pollock, who had the bad habit of dropping his hands as he was. going back, and almost without exception Hawkins would jump in and score with-both bands to the face and body, then be out of reach before Pollock could retaliate.

A. Dey, 9.13, Westport, beat A. Cox, 10.4, Greymouth, in the welter division. Both opened smartly, and then Cox sent in a heavy left to the jaw and had Dey smothering up in the corner. Dey looked to be groggy, but there was also a suspicion that he was “foxing.” Cox had every opportunity of collecting points, but through using only one hand, he allowed Dey to escape punishment. Dey was quiet for the remainder of the round, and; contented, himself with keeping out of the way. In the second round, the ‘ Westport boy came up fresh, and took the fight to the ropes, to score cleverly with both hands at infighting. Cox pushed him off, and used his reach to advantage, but towards the end of the round both were timing poorly. One of the best rallies of the evening was provided at the opening of the concludinground, both standing in the centre of the ring, and punching fast and hard. Dey took a lot on his gloves, and it was this defence that won him the decision in a good fight. Hawkins beat Dey in the final of the welter division. As in his previous fight, Hawkins’ footwork made him an elusive boxer, and Dey found him hard to hit. Hawkins scored with both hands, and his rapid retreat had Dey missing often. It was a good bout. V. Borcovsky, 9.5, Murchison, beat L. Hawes, 9.6, Westport, in a clever and fast bout. Borcovsky gave the most scientific exhibition at the tournament. There was plenty of action in each round, with Borcovsky doing the leading throughout. There were few heavy blows, but practically all the deliveries were clean. The defence of both boys was good, with Borcovsky much the better at infighting. He repeatedly broke through with rips to the body, and, being much faster, he had Hawes on defence most of the time. It was a decisive win for Borcovsky.

In the final of .the lightweight, Borcovsky beat J. Hutchison, 9.9, Reefton. This was another fast bout, with Hutchison making a plucky showing, but he was outclassed. Both lads mixed it well in the opening round, with Hutchison taking plenty of punishment about the face. He was down for six when the gong saved him. He came back willingly in the second round, but was an open target, and referee F. O’Neill stopped the fight after 15 seconds. M. Howson, 11.5, Greymouth, beat P. Taylor, 11.5, Ikamatua. Howson was in splendid condition; whereas Taylor was much above his fighting weight. Howson early sent in a left to connect to Taylor’s nose, which steadied the Ikamatua boy, and he was content to keep out of the way for the remainder of the round. There was too much clinching, but at infighting Howson was too clever for his opponent. From the bell in the second round, Howson drove Taylor to the ropes, then stepped back and delivered a battery of blows to the face that sent Taylor down for a count of eight. He pluckily came back, only to meet a straight left to the face and a right rip to the body, which ended the flight. J. Higgins, 10.10, Westport, beat K. Jackson, 11.9, Inangahua. Jackson was a novice, and although he had a big advantage in weight, this was offset by the ringcraft of Higgins. Jackson was keen to fight, but swung his arms without much effect, and Higgins with a straight left played a tattoo on his nose. The fight went to the third round where an excellent mill took place, both boys fighting hard, although Higgins scored better, and secured the decision.

Howson won the final from Higgins, by default. W. Hawes, 8.9, Westport, beat P. Zampesi, 8.9, Greymouth, in a fast and ■willing bout. Zampesi made most of the fighting, but Hawes was too clever on defence. In the third round, -with Zampesi tiring, Hawes piled up points with both hands, ’ his blows being cleanly and swiftly delivered. There was little between the two boys, and Zampesi impressed as a. boxer likely to secure high honours in the sport. W. Wildermoth, 12.0, Reefton, beat J. Bridson, 12.4, Ikamatua. There was little fighting in this bout, Wildermoth doing most of the attacking, with Bridson making poor efforts on defence. In the third round, Wildermoth scored well at infighting. Although Bridson was noticeably tired, he was able to carry on the fight, and there was cause for surprise when Dr. Conlon stopped the bout with, a minute to go, and gave the decision to Wildermoth. Howson proved much too clever for Wildermoth, in the final, and, after being down for a count of eight, and then three, at the gong, in the first round, Wildermoth, who had injured his thumb, decided not to continue.

PALMER DEFEATS NICOL. ' [pub press association.] INVERCARGILL, September 2. Before a crowd of oyer 2000 last night, Ambrose (“Tiger”) Palmer, of Australia (12.2), defeated Ray Nicol, of Southland (12.9), in a boxing contest. Palmer had a. fairly easy victory, his pace and cleverness giving him a decided advantage over Nicol. MID-CANTERBURY AMATEURS. ASHBURTON. September The niid-Canterbnry amateur boxing title finals resulted: — Heavy-weight: R. Hawke defeated W. Lister, by default. Light-heavy: Lister ho.dt E. Parsons. Welter: L. Towers boat J. Miller. Light: ,T. Kelly beat W. Prendergast. Feather: S. Guthrie bear K. Kenney by default. Bantam: S. Guthrie beat K. Kenney. The boxing generally, was of J high standard. •