THE SQUARE RING

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 28 July 1928, Page 13

THE SQUARE RING

BOXERS IN THE LIMELIGHT Topics of the day. FORTHCOMING BOUTS.

August 1. —Lacliie McDonald v. Harry Casey, at Palmerston North. August 23, 24 25.—New Zealand Amateur Championships, at Auckland. AUCKLAND’S CHAMPIONS. _ In. preiparaiti'Oin for (the New Zealand contest next month the Auckland nmla.■itciuir 'ehaimipronslhii'p.s; were decided this week. Thie iprovihclini itifle- holders are now' as f allow: : Flyweight. F. E, Be’arciey; ib'alhitniriiwieiglhlt, E. Dalvl's; featherweight, J. Leteddio* lightweight, A. Jones'; welterweight •T. G. Forsyth; middleweight, W. Pitcher; light healvyweighit, P. McCarthy; heavyweight', P. McCarthy.

ONLY BRITISH BORN CHAMPION. The,late Biob Fifzsimlmtonls was* the, only - Britiidi-boru bbxier itio- wieair tihie» heavywelglht crown. He- wills' bom. in Cornwall, England) am 1862. His height wais sfit 11 Sin,., and bis fighting weight list, ll.lb.

Bit Minin rail's unlade* his first app earamtoe nit Tiimlaaiu, Now Zealand, at Jem Miaco’is tqnirnlaninoiriit, in 1880, when toe cfefeaite'd four imion. and won the amateur championship of New Zealand. In ISBI Bob .ctomipelted in another tournament at Tiniairu, amid ibeiat five, men in one might, among them 'being the Maori, Herbert Slade. Other victories* followed in: Australia- and »America', and l due won the world’*s heavyweight title by "lino eking Jim Cor belt t in fourteen 'nomads.., The* title he lost ifcwb' peaks later, when, he was knocked out by Jim Jeffries at Coney island in the eleventh nownd. He was again knocked out by Jeffries in 1902 in the eighth round, but the title* reverted to him when Jim Jeffries .retired. He 'lofslfc it finally to' Jack O ’Bri'en at Sam Fraineisco in 1905, the latter knocking Fitzsimmons*, who* was then forty-throo years of age, The largest purse Fitzsimmons fought for was wihen he diefedited Jim Hall at New Orleans in four rounds in 1593. The* amount was* 40,000d01., but Bob received only part of the money.

YEAR’S LEADING- BOXER. In ia' book, “Prides o'f the Fancy” which bate been published by Trevor C. WignMl, the leading British authority of the moment on boxing, the* author sltialteis: “When Hoe'n'ey was* in England he. hald a difficulty of making a living. By some the was called a s'eicond-ralter, on account of his short arm's and* weak punches. His prospects were not very bright when 'lie journeyed to New Yor.k (at a time. When ho..wais seriously thinking of retiring from pugilism and returning to ih'ils town, country), but within* six months he accomplished almost a miracle by anlafcing himself one, of the four chief heavyweights of the World.

‘ ‘ He frfuazed me* whom I watched him against Maloney. A few • months earlior I had iseen him in a. 20-round contest with Phil Scott, the British champion, and I could' only regard 1 him as a. very ordinary performer. At Maldlite'om Square Garden he iwas a very different uhian. He fought, like. a, (tiger,, and delivered a series of. punches that would have beaten almost any champion who can be manned.

“Heie.ney, a's a .matter of fact, was the otiifetaindiinig boxer of 1927. He is a, very real romance of the* ring, if only for the’. fact tlh'at he bounded to (the top—and toWairds What i's called the, big antoney—at the very -moment when disappointment Was prompting him ito give up flighting.” LEOKIE’S FIGHTING STOCK. “Fighting Johnny” L'eckie* hals be ton only fourteen m'o'nths in profesLs'ilonal ranks, but his career has been attended

■with marked isueeess (says “Hooker” in the Dunedin, “Star”). LeteMl©eomieis iof lighting isifcoick that is probably without ( equail in. 'the aminals Of the New Zealand ring. Not only did ithley mum'ber atfalny lime fighters and 'boxers, bu,t both in and nut of the ring the Lctekiqs have* always .been a 'credit to the game they adorned. Johnny Leekie’s ■brainier, i® Archie Ldckid, who is a cousin of the champion, and Archie’s uiaiihe is l not only known ais that .off one of New Zealand’s' fonemosit instructoiris hut iais the' one-time amateur middleweight ■champion of New Zealand (round about 1005), who loiter, irn 1011, won the New Zealand professional middleweight championship'. Johnny’s liahher . was nOt a- <porfo>rriier in the ring, hut ho hais always been 'closely associated with tli O' game, and 'besides Johnny he hlais produced another line boxer in W. G. Lecikie, Otago amateur featheirwieight ; champion, who was runner-up in. the •

new AouJuma cnanipion,snaps wasc year. The present New Zealand amateur k Caw weight champion*, J. G-. Leckic, is a cousin of the professional champion. Johnny began 'Ms serious boxing toiir--eer in 1922, ait the age of fifteen years, and first entered the list of champitontsiliip holders in 1923, when lie worn- a triple crown. He annexed the Otago fly-weight championship, his success be-! ihg followed by the .South Island' and ' New Zealand flyweight titles. In, 1924 he won the Otago- amateur bantamweight championship, but -the effort to make weight alt the New Zeailand championships was top much for him, and lie was beaten in the bantamweight final by Frank Taylor, of Auckland nybo is .now 'doing well in professional ranks. The following year he wais out of competition, but in 1926 he carried off the Otago and New Zealand featoerwieigiit championships at Napier. Ho wais looked upon as* a certainty for selection in 'the New Zealand tealni for the Olympic Games, buit in the meantime decid-1* ed to enter professional ranks.

TWtTTED ABOUT GOOD LOOKS

OFFENDED BY FIRST OFFER.

The riiig knows Tunney to-day as a “gentHemah fighter,” but in Ms more youthful! days 'lie was a street scrapper of mp: meagre ability. ‘‘l don’t ever fecal 1 going out of my way to start one of those' fights,” said Tunney, “but, just the same, I seemed always to be in one.’’ The “Stout” for neighbourhood material for the'Sharkey' Athletic Cllub saw Tunney and offered-Mm £2 to fight a four-round bout the following Saturday night. “You can believe it or not,” relates Tunney, “but I was more offended than surprised. The business of fighting for money had never entered my head, and it seemed 'distasteful. I told the scout I would never fight anybody except for the fun of it.”

Oneq.bf Tunney’s friends heard of the incident, and, with more fo-ree than truth, told him he would not fight for money because he* was afraid of ‘petting his good-looking face smashed in.” Gene changed li'iis mind, and won four fights there. All the time he wais working as a stenographer in the offices of the Pennsylvaniia Railway Company.

BILLY GRIME IN AMERICA. Billy Grime ha's never shown; tiinyi'hiing like Ms true form i'n the United Stlaltles, laic'ctordiinig to* his- father-iu-iI&W, Thomas Ca!ldweOil, who* is at in Melbourne (feirttyis the “Sporting Globe”). “After Me contest with Houeyboy Finnegan; he wais ai sick boy, amid could not train, fur two- months*. We tried all kin cite of ways to get Billy back to health,” said Mr Caldwell, “and by a' recent letter I ami told he .feel® much better. He attributes-' 'Ms physical 'improvemtonts' to fireatmienlts firqm,.ia New York osteopath. Grime urigilnally went away under the onalnngement of Ran trey, of jazz baud fame. Under Ms managemienit he. lost to* Due- Sntolll, amd won front Pito* Ramies amid RttoWatnt McLeam in. that order. Finding the ■mamiagieanemt unsuitable he signed up with Billy Duffy, and w© ail drove atoro'sls to N*e*w York by car, ia diiteltamteie* din all oif 3,300 andClies. Two weeks later toe- lost to Finnegan, Nearly six (months later Grim’e drew with Biobby Nelson at the Olympia (the old Oomimomweailth Club), aind on the Monday—two days later—he* drew with

Harry Gordion at Philadelphia. He then went under the management of Walk Mill or, hut lost two decisions, keenly 'disputed', to Bohby Garcia. He also dost to Lampe, although he hlad his opponent down twice—one© for thnee 'minutes and once for one minute. Thebe long counts were the result of" a'p'pekls l for fouls (by Lampe’s siecbmds, but the appeals were discredited by-the-dbetoiis appealed to. To everyone .5 . amazement Lampe was given the decision oil points. Since then Grime has defeated Harry Blitniam, and is training on Walk Miter’is farm for further lights. Billy iliedJaireßi he will not- return to Australia until he has made good or 'discovered iinadly that- lie cannot .niako njjoniey in itihe United: State's. Miller is well satiKlied with the Way ho is going ait present and declares that he will be matched against Tony- Canzoncti, the world’s featherweight title holder, -this by public demand. ’ ’