BOXING.

Grey River Argus, 19 January 1922, Page 3

BOXING.

A PLEA FOR GRIFFIN. (By * ‘ Cornerman. ’’) Much as the public should be i guarded in matters of sport from any form of corruption creeping in, our f sense of fair-play also demands that “the punishment shall fit the crime” , an d no more. “The quality of mercy is not strained/’ and though at * times public feeling is angered by the i action of individuals, it is not true to our sporting instincts that we keep a man down because lie made a slip contrary to the rules of the game. Whether Frank Griffin was wholly ■ to blame for the action that brought about his disqualification, I am not going to dwell on; but surely this clever West Coast boxer has paid the price of his folly. With pugilism liTs set profession, his disqualification by the New Zealand authorities compelled him to leave his home and seek success in another country. That he has been successful, every follower of boxing in Australia knows, and to-day Griffin ranks as one of the best at his weight in the Commonwealth. If he carried away any stigma to his name, it has been long ago wiped out, and he is proclaimed by the leading sporting writers in Australia as a clean living man, and a worthy successor to his illustrious brothers of fistic fame. I have had several letters from Frank Griffin lately, and though he is not the kind that squeals, yet one can read between the lines, and it is obvious that he is longing to be able To return to his own country, free from the finger of scorn and able to pit his skill against Now Zealand’s best. No doubt there may be some who would have Griffin ostracised from the New Zealand ring; but against these few there are many who would be glad to have an opportunity of seeing the West Coaster in action again. Always an attractive boxer of pleasing appearance. Griffin has vastly improved since his sojourn in Australia, and ere long it, is predicted he will wear the welter crown of that country. I ask the Grevmouth Boxing Association to carefully consider the reinstating of Frank Griffin as a boxer in New Zealand. “Fair play is bonny play,” and though some might reply that Griffin failed to play the game, I would add that this docs not justify the local Associatjpn going beyond the bounds of justice in meting out the punishment. Were Frank Griffin to return to New Zealand with the right to enter the ring again, what better match could be put on than he and Laurie (I'diiian? What a house such a contest would draw in Greymouth. And what could be more fitting than to see the hatchet buried in the same hall that witnessed Griffin’s disqualification? Surely we arc not going to hug our grievances to our hearts for ever. A match at Gisborne on February 10 has been arranged between .1. Graham, the welter champion, and Les Murray, for a purse of £l5O. J. Whittome, an Auckland featherweight, and Duke Maddox, of Hastings, have been matched to box at Hastings on January 25, for a purse of £5O.