“UNSATISFACTORY.”

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 4 October 1924, Page 13

“UNSATISFACTORY.”

BOXING AT OLYAIPIC GAMES PURDY ALLEGES AIISAIANAGEAIENT. A hitter complaint regarding the con. tiol of boxing at the 1524 Olympic Games was made by the Auckland boxer, Charles Purdy, upon his return to New Zealand by the Tahiti. In conversation with a “Post” reporter, I urdy said that in his opinion the general arrangements could scarcely have been much worse; in. fact, he was sur. 3 that m the Dominion they would not have been accepted for a-novice touriutment, and yet men who had been chosen to represent the various nations were asked to compete under these conditions. “I don’t want it to.appear that I am crying because T receeived a bad decision,” Purdy remarked, “but it does seem a little hard to me that I should have travelled about . 14,CC0 miles aiid then be robbed of the verdict. Thorley, the Frenchman I fought, was beaten in the final, but I.think that I beat him by a big enough margin to have given me a chance of winning right through.” He added that'three judges were concerned in the decision, which was given against him. One wa s an American, and Tie awarded Purdy nine out of the ten points, but the other two judges,, one of them an Englishman, declared for the Frenchman. The referee was not asked his opinion as to. the winner. “The one thing that worked against me all the time,” Purdy continued, “was that- I absolutely had to train myself. Mr. Alervett was always very con. siderate to- me, but, of course, boxing wa.s not his forte, and C had to rely on my owir resources. . ... From, the, .time I left New Zealand until the time that I fought, I had only, three spars-, one- of them being with the' European lightweight champion, - Fi/ecl Bretonne!, against whom .!., was said" to have performed very well: 1 was.'certainly over the feather limit —I -■ knew that —but without the services of a trainer and adviser, I. was afraid to take the risk of; trying to make weight. It was for this' reason that 1 decided to compete in the light-weight* division.' “It was 8 o’clock in. the morning when I took the ring, an unearthly hour for a boxer to bo fighting, but even then I considered myself: lucky, tor Jones, the Australian middleweight, was obliged to fight at 2 a.m., after having risen at 7 o’clock on the previous morning. The rules allowed only one man in the corner, one man to towel, sponge, massage if necessary, and advise. The only second I could get was Alontgomery, the trainer of the cyclists, who very kindly consented to assist mo in my, corner. He didn’t know much about the fighting, game, but I was very thankfui -to have him. As for the actual fight, I think I won easily, but, ■of , course, I -didn’t • get the decision.’’ Purdy added 'that when training in Paris' at the French Sporting Club he did not even have someone 1 to keep time for him. He had to keephhis eye on a large clock, which was hung in the gymnasium, and by this means he managed to keep somewhere near the three minutes, when skipping or ball punching. “The Irish people are the greatest sports in the world,” enthusiastically remarked Purdy, when referring to Ins efforts at the Tailtennn Games. Tie fought in the welter class, and a,s pioof of His success displayed a thirty-guinea cup and fifteen-guinea medal, the latter a donation by Atcssrs. Guinness, Ltd. He beat O’Hallorau, runner-up in the 1924 Olympic Games. He was congratulated by Jim Driscoll, one oi the world’s leading feather-weights' oi a few years ago, who described the New Zealander* as the most finished boxer he had ever seen. Purdy added that in o’Dwyer’s corner was Tanc-oy Lee, a well-known professional of former days.- - , Regarding liis activities in the future Purdy said that he intends joining the ranks of the professionals, and_ he will commence training very shortly after - his return to Auckland-