800 WATCH “GRUDGE” BATTLE

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 May 1936, Page 10

800 WATCH “GRUDGE” BATTLE

BOXER BEATS A BUSHMAN. Eight hundred lense onlookers, ma-red in a. secret. Sylvan rendezvous I);-:::- Oberon (N.S. Wales), witnessed a short week or so ago the grim spectacle of a bare-knuckle light between two men. Amid all the gory glamour of the days of Tom Heenan, Jem Mace, and Tom Sayers, they saw one battler, at tho end of six minutes, emerge with his face chopped about, several teeth gone and his nose flattened. He. was too weak to continue.

As one “fan" described it, “there was more blood about than at a rabbiter’s camp, but it was a sickening spectacle to most of those present.” The winner was later challenged to another light, by a Madgee warrior, bin he firmly declined.

The idea of bare knuckles originated from the supporters of the vanquished man, a lusty bushman. us in the first instance, the other, a boxer, had challenged him to a 15-round boxing contest at a boxing hall. The knuckle bout was said to be a grade fight carrying a side wager stated variously to be from £lO to £25. The light had been nois d abroad and feeling ran so high that fight fans came from all over the district—front Lithgow. Bill hurst. Oberon, and as far away as Orange

At the outset, il is said, the bushnian insisted upon “all-in” rules being adopted, but -eventually his friends persuaded him to agree to three-minute rounds with clean breaks. He scorned the idea of a roped ring. On the other hand, the boxer demanded Marquis of Queensbury rules, and it was more or less under thes-a Unit the two men faced each other, at catch weights over an unlimited number of rounds.

The but.lunan is 46 years old, and looked it. A big angular, wiry type of man. he weighed in the vicinity of 14.7. His opponent, in the early thirties, weighed about 12.7, but what he gave away in weight he imide up in age.

It wasn’t a fight; it was a massacre. Tim boxer danced around his opponent. in-et his vicious rushes with a straight left, and knocked him down twice with right hooks. At. the end of the tliS'ce minutes the bushman was in a. bad state. His face was cut and bleeding, one eye was blaekvned, and it was apparent that he had not the slightest chance against bis more scientific rival. DOWN AGAIN. The gory spectacle continued during tlm second round, the bushman being knocked down again, although he succeeded in landing one blow which blackened his opponent's right eye. At the end of the round the bushman was in a parlous plight, his face hav’ng been chopped by the boxer’s straight, lefts, several of his teeth were missfng, his nose flattened, ■ and he spat blood. He was too weak to come up for the third round, and so the fight, ended. After tlie contest the los-er was attended medically, and it was then ascertained that his jaw, which at first was believed to have been fractured, was injured. It was several days before he recovered, but his days as a fighter are over. * ft is said that quite a lot of wager-

ittg took place over the contest, the boxer being' an odds-on favourite. “1 simply had to fight, or be stigmatised as a coward.” said the winner niter the encounter. The bushman previously had bowled over a visiting boxer at Oberon, and had also gone three rounds with a much heavier man. Thus he had | •-ni ned for himself quite a reputation! as a. rough bush fighter. On the other hand, his opponent, experienced in boxing, has won many lights.