BOXING.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 7 June 1923, Page 5

BOXING.

HAWERA ASSOCIATION'S TOURNAMENT.

CANN WINS A CLOSE CONTEST An enthusiastic audience assemble in the big hall of the Winter She j buildings last evening to witness tl . tournament staged under the auspio i Sv, , 4 Haw" era Boxing Associatio I I hanks to the excellence of the ma -. agement, the programme was full ; interest througnout, and the numeroi bouts were presented and put throne with expedition. Mr. Alan Maxwe refereed.. Messrs J. Russeil and ] Inelan were timekeepers, and Mr I Morrissey officiated as announcer. "Fc the successful organisation of the tou nament great credit is due to th energetic secretary, Mr. F. W Steven, ana the competent management con mittee consisting of Messrs J. Turnbul J. Goodwin J Anderson, T. Reynolds W. Jury, L. Marter, T. Taylor B Ferguson, T Bowen, and E. Fe^gusso, Music was kindly supplied by Moose the president, Mr. B. McCarthy pr e month a"ts at the tourn ament las wP^/ST^ 1 event of the eV€Min * was the fifteen rounds professional con test between the New Zealand profes sional bantam champion, C. Cann (8 7) of and G. Curran (8.12) oi fcew Plymouth. A s had been antic? pated m view of the pair's • n match, which went the full fifteS rounds and ended in a draw, the figh last evening was evenly contested throughout and kept the oncers guessing, right to the finish. The co" test again went the full distance? leaving very little to choose between the contestants and though Cann wa 9 awarded the verdict the referee (Mr. Alan Maxwell, of Wellington) experi IT B«a{. difficulty in separating pair, and his decision had to be given joints %eedin^. "arrOW margl" of points. fhe verdict meeting with a ™e eLT?\T\ he that a? led hv fi° f f?urteenth round Cam, ed by nye points, and although the t± T? imi ™nt wh°% to CurrS the latter s effort was too late to influence Il ei^ YSt.]'° und °Pe»-ed brisklyTTurran taking the initiative and- connecting £uce with his left, but the blows, -finding Cann m retreat, lacked sting. The greater nart of the round was occupied in clinches and in-fighting, Cann sot «g more often than his* oorfonent 7n the latter, leaving honours slightly in his favour. Rounds two, three, and tour were very even, both men fighting warily and taking no chances. I Both were guilty of holding in the , clinches. In the fifth round the nace ( livened .somewhat, and both men'put on points. Curran endeavoured to make use of his reach and to keep his man m the open, and in this obtained the advantage of the exchanges, giving him the benefit of the round. In the earlier part of the sixth another swift exchange took nlace, though neither penetrated the other's rniard to any erfe t Rounds seven and eight were' characterised by further in-n'ghting, which made points difficult of allocation, though m the latter round Curran'* right to the body was prominent in some telling work. Cann cleverly evaded a vicious right uppercnt, which had it found its mark would have made his condition very critical. In round nine iew clean blows were registered, but Curran received a nasty straight left on the jaw, which, though he did not show i*s effect, must have caused him trouble. The referee admonished both men for clinching, after which speed quickened, and in the open Curran was the more successful. During the course of the tenth Cann seemed disposed to abandon his close-in tactics aiid fight in the open, but Curran did not accent the invitation, and. fighting Cann at--his own game, put in some close quarter work, in which honours were evenly distributed. Rounds e'even to thirteen showed some spectacular variation, during which both scored. Following a terrific exchange in the last moment of the thirteenth, Cann sent in a telling right to the solar plexus, and, springing in for a clinch* added the force of his weight to a vicious counter from Curran, which proved troub'esome to the Wamjanui man. Round fourteen saw both men cautious, and was not very eventful, but the " fifteenth, in which Curran fought brilliantly and won from start to finish, pave the swiftest and most exciting exhibition of the contest. The amateur bouts were as follows: Catch-weights: Two diminutive fighters, Brough. Cm-ran (2s't 21b), representing Carpentier, and Phil Smith (2st Bib), ■representing Denmsey, contested a strenuous three rounds, which resulted in a draw. Feather-weights: R. Hay ward (9st), Hawera, v. K. Forward (Bst 81b), WaHganui. Four rounds resulted in a win for Forward, who was the more clever boxer right through. Light-weights: A. Cadman (9st 103b), Hawera, v. G. Herd (9st 61b), Wanganui. In three of the four rounds Cadman fought fiercely and inflicting nuich punishment was awarded the vei'cnct. Herd boxed gamely, but was not strong enough for his vigorous opponent. j Heavy-weights: L. Peoperell (ISstV. j Hawera, v. B. Fhzshnmons 02st), H.';wera. Four rounds resulted in a draw. A much better exhibition than the : heavy-weight contest in May. i Feather-weights: F. Mercer (Ost), Patea, v. C. Bushy f.Sst 101 b). Kapi-Ri". This proved the best amateur bont of the evening, both boys being villiv.g and speedy through the full four rounds. Brsby. though not so strong as hi.~ onnonent, proved the more clever o? the pair, and received a popular verdict. !