PUNCH BRINGS FORTUNE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 17 December 1927, Page 13

PUNCH BRINGS FORTUNE.

TOM HEENEY’S EARNINGS,

CONTRACT WORTH £IOO,QUO

New Zealand has long been noted a:; an athletic country. Her Rugby fooiballei's, oarsmen and cricketers have made names tor themselves overseas, but the latest evidence of prowess is supplied by the sudden rise of Thin Heeney, the young Gisborne blacksmith, ’to fame and fortune in New York. The husky Gisborne man hail nothing when lie arrived in lNew- Yora as .a heavy-weight professional boxer, last January. George Courteney, the hard-hitting middle-weight, taught Heeney how to punch, with the result that since January the New Zealander lias won £20,000; to-day his contract is considered worth £IOO,OOO, and lie is hailed as a dangerous contender for world’s honours.

Knock-out punchers are sometimes born (writes Frank P. Brown m the “Sporting Globe”). Sometimes they develop their fighting asset by painstaking training; and at other times the knock-out punch comes almost overnight. Tom Heeney did not do much knocking out until he went to New York. Up till that, time lie. was considered a good boxer and a man who could take plenty of punishment without H i niching. In a week there came a change. He started bowling over all the heavy-weights in the gymnasium with the "big gloves. THE CORK SCREW RIGHT.

Here’s the way of it, George Cointony, perhaps "the intowb fonnidabl; puncher in the liiidle-weight divisioi to-day, noted that Heeney was not liic ting with the knuckle part of his glove “Tom,” lie said, “li.it with th knuckle like this, a,ml just as you an about to connect, turn the knuckle, kinder corkscrew fashion.”

Tom got the hang of the new punch straight away, it was the same punch the corkscrew right, which made lvid McCoy famous. In one of his first work-outs, Tommy Lough ran, of Philadelphia, who defeated Mike McTigue , for the. light-heavy-weight championship of the world, gave him a fearful drubbing m the gym. Two weeks later it was Loughran who got the drubbing. Tom pasted the clever fellow from pillar to post, ana lie did iso. because bo had learned how to deliver a blow properly. The tip Courteney gave him made Inis fortune. Both Heeneyparents, afe Irish. On returning from the war lie fought Ins first fight in Blenheim, and won this amateur contest by a knock-out in the first round. His first professional fig lit was against George Modrid.go, who stopped him in Auckland. Then lie defeated all the locals about his weight. After one fight in Sydney, When he knocked out Quinlan in five rounds, lie fought under the promotion of Con Sullivan in Mac-kay, Queensland. Colin Bell, BJaokie Miller, and Fleitt met defeat at his hands. He found there was no money for /leavy-we.igluts in Australia, so he went to England. He lost to Phil Scott at the Ring, and didn’t even win a round.

MODEST B EG INNINGS, He earned £2O for his second fight, which was a preliminary at the National Sporting Club, by knocking his opponent in four rounds. He stopped Charlie Smith in another preliminary at the Albert Hajl, and defeated Squires and Blaekie Miller in South Africa. He lost liis first fight to. Miller. He lost to Scott and Coo-k in England, but beat Tom Berry at the Ring. After that lu: secured a contest against Bartley Madden in Dublin, and lie defeated the Irish champion there. He had shown steady improvement, and was boxing well when he. defeated Stanley at the N.S.C. That was Ills last fight, iii .England. Heeney was on the shelf after this contest until he met Charlie Lucas, who Is managing the team of English boxers now in Australia. Lucas suggested that lie go to America, and the. New Zealander foil in with the idea.; but ho was under contract to a, Southampton bookmaker named Mortimer, and Lucas could not arrange with Mortimer to take Heeney away. “i’ll take him myself,” said Mar timer, and ho did. It was useless lor I looney's manager to try and handle his destinies in a keen fight city like Now York, and he came to arrangements with Oli a,Hie Harvey, who handles most of the. English fighters of U.S.A. Harvey knows the ropes, and

lie soon matched Heeney. Wins over Anderson, De Mare, Risko, Bud Gorman, two disputed decisions with Pauli, and finally a knockout win in a. round over Jim Maloney have put him right in the limelight. He is matched against Jack Sharkey for January 13. The winner of this match will meet Dempsey, and the victor of that match will tight Tun ney for the world’s heavy-weight title. Was it worth Heeney’s while to spend an hour a day on the punching bag for a week practising tlie turn or the wrist that has enabled him to. be. hailed as a dangerous contender for world’s honours?

Tom Heeney is a good soil, and has gladdened the hearts of his parents in Gisborne by sending them a liberal share o.f his winnings to make them comfortable in the evening of their days.