BOXING.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLV, Issue 142, 20 May 1925, Page 9

BOXING.

(By “Flush Left.”)

The Auckland Star of the 12th instant provides particular's of a drawn bout between Reg. Trowern and Ern Baxter, at the Town Hall, for a purse of £l5O. Mr Matt .Moore wits referee, and the audience w.is the smallest recorded this year for any contest the Northern Boxing Association has staged. Possibly the empty seats affected Baxter, for the Star in one portion of its report states: “The early part of the bo\it was quiet. Baxter, who appeared to be bored, was content to backmove whenever he was attacked, and repeated cries of ‘Come on Baxter! Show us you can fight!’ went to show that some in the crowd realised that he was not exerting himself.” Also: “The Australian (Baxter) kept out of harms wuy in the fifth, most of Trowern’s attacks being abortive. Trowcrn came in again in the sixth, but Baxter refused to take him seriously. The blank expression on his face never ohunged, and he was certainly never in danger. He made Trowern miss rather badly severul times. There was a sudden change of tactics in round seven, when the Australian walked to the middle of the ring and opened the offensive by connecting to Trowern’s jaw with a long reaching left. Up till now Trowern had been rushing Baxter on to the ropes every little while, but the Aussie refused to leave the centre of the ring in this round, demonstrating his superior ring generalship by maintaining his position, despite all efforts on his opponents'part. The eighth was'a repetition.” The impression gained from the whole of the report is that. Baxter won; but iL is probable that, while he was wasting time doing the nonchalant pose, Trowern consistently kept hard at work piling up the points, with the result that the referees summing up entailed the raising of a hand of each boxer. Baxter is doing quite a lot of-fighting ono way and another, and almost invariably gives an outstanding display of fast and clever boxing. If “form’ - went for anything he is the equal of any heavyweight in New Zealand, yet he has no difficulty in making the 9st. 91b. that marks the lightweight. He lias a decision over I.uehie MueDonald, who obtained the verdict from Eddb Parker, who, in turn, has got away with Modrich, the thirteen stone odd accredited heavy-weight champion, and Baxter has lost to Purdy. tine would hardly be foolish enough to wager that Purdy is equal to beating Modrich at a difference of about four stone in the latter’s favour. Yet it would appear to work out that way. ' In conversation with an experienced fan who saw the Dwyer-Parker contest, the writer was informed that Parker won de-

cifiiveL". Asked if ho hail kept a score of tho rounds my fan friend said that be had not done so; but explained that the victory I ad. boon 90 olenr cut, that no room was left for doubt. Others appear to have been of tho same' wav of thinking, while many again aro totally opposed to the idea. When the critics disagree tho referee rests easy.

It if, of course, very misleading, when a fight is at all close, to depend on one’s memory in summing up a verdict. “Flush Loft” knows a keen follower of boxing who has patronised it, and been mixed up with it, for many years. He dearly loves to “have a little interest” in the man he fancies, and ho is not particular if it isn’t so very little either. When ft comes to the fir al gong he is most pronounced in proffering hi 3 decision, yet he rarely keeps a. scorn-curd, and when he does he goes no further than recording tho winner, in his opinion, of each round. And he is looked upon by quite a number as an authority. There are degrees in winning a round, and, whereas one may bo gained by tho barest of margins, another may be captured bv tho length of tho proverbial street.. Would it be right to make two such rounds score equally?

While on tho subject of scoring “Flush Left” is reminded of a record published of tho I) .vyer-Parker contest. With a maximum of five points for each round the scores at tho end of the fourteenth were 65 ancl 66, or 4.7 per round. Every round nearly a bulls-eve. Some fighting. “Flush Left's” plebeian handwriting accounted for hri learned allusion to Ham arid Sliem in last week's notes coming out as “Him and Them.”

Mr Frank Bums, the Auckland referee, has gi ,-en up that office after controlling, according to an Auckland newspaper, a total cf fights that “is something tremendous in this part of the world. ’ ..Many mistook Mr Burns’s quiet demeanour for luck of force of character; but because -lie did a thing without unnecessary fuss it was never in the least- wanting in thoroughness. Many eulogistic • references are now being made to his capabilities. . . In writing, last week to the effect that Jack Dempsey would get anything up to 100,000 dollars for his share of a meeting with the negro Harry Wills, 100,000 pounds was meant. Here are the figures in dollars for some of his fights: With Willarc 26,000; With Miske 50,000; with Brennan 100,000- with Carnentier 300.000; and with Firpo 500,000. Meanwhile Uncle Sam’s taxing department agrees with most fighters that the bigger they are the heavier they 'fall. There is no such thing as a fluke in boxing; but the defence may be faulty. The Northern Boxing Association made an offer of a £2OO purse, and £SO expenses, to “Nutty” Fairhall with a view to getting him to meet Purdy at Auckland. But ths Sydney Stadium management. mt.de the same offer, and Purdy’s controller, Donovan, with characteristic acumen, decided upon the latter, and the clash is booked for the 23rd of June. This urangenient gives Purdy the chance of Ills pugilistic life; If he makes good at the Stadium, then a, fairish harvest of shekels and Carrie will be his. At the present time the class of fighters he is likely to meet should suit hi n; although, oddly enough, the writer is quite a bit chary ot Ilavilah Uren. That young man has a penchant for the short cut. While living in a small northern town “Flush Loft” had a friend who used to come in from his sawmill, sixteen miles away ip amongst the hills, and take the steamer to Auckland on every occasion the Queen City Boxing Association had a fight on. Always he would look me up on hi* return and go over the main items ot the cor tests he had witnessed. I well recollect how ho once came back full ot approval of a “quiet little red headed cFlap in kr.iicxer-boekers,” and prophosying for him a bright boxing future. That was near four years ago, and the quiet little red-healed chap” was Purdy, then about sixteen years old. My friend humorously called him “a regular Galli-G’urci boxer and those who have seen Purdy fight will realise the genesis of the idea. So far his judgment has proved correct, and it is hoped it will' remain so, for Purdy is u. well-spoken, clean-living young chap, and no diffidence whatever was experienced in sending him, while still Only a lad, to the other tnd of the world, practically alone, to represent his homeland at the Olympic Games at Paris. , Recently the writer was astonished to read quite a lengthy list of of boxers who were “resting” in New- AOrk owing to dumuged hunds. He was also somewhat astounded to notice that _ the same mines were mostly of foreign origin. Damaged hands are becoming quite common in New Zealand, as well as in Australia ind it is the writer’s contention that they are the result of swinging blows taking die place of straight punches. Also, a hit that is particularly dangerous to the hands is the so-called upper-cut, because the opronents’ elbows, forearms, or wrists are ulu ost always in the road of the upflying fist. All boxers are justified in an occasional swing, or upjier-eut, but this is what an undefeuted world s champion had to say about it; "All the.bones, sinews, and muscles of the hand and arm ha'e been so placed by nature as to support the damagirg effects of a hurd plinch when this is delivered straight and accurately, whereas the full jar of the impact ot a swing lias to be borne by the hand and wrist alone. The swinger’s hands or wrists must go in time and in a short time at that. And this is surely an overwhelming argument in iavour of the straight delivery us opposed to the swing. A hook is a different matter, ns it is a slight variant of the straight punch, and boxers not vet set in their methods should bear m mind that the following famous pugilists all punch straight-or did so before retiring from tha ring: Jack Dempsey, Tom and Mike Gibbons, Ilnrry Wills, George ß Car pent er. Benny Leonard, Mike O Dowd, Fete Ilanna’n, Eugene Criqui, Johnny Kilbane Johnny Buff, Kid Lewis, Jim Driscoll, Jimmy Wilde and many others. And it is to be iemembered that points shall bo given for ‘attack’—direct clean hits with the knuckles of either hand Hook or punch so that the knuckles take the jar. and most of the damaged hands trouble will disappear. . Of Jick Dempsey’s six axioms in boxing, that of “the straight left is the winning punch” lias been dealt with. It is hoped to deal with the other five in future notes. They are: Keep vour guard up. Tike advantage of every inch of your height, and don’t crouch. Watch your footwork. Carry the fight to the other fellow. If he is worth hitting at uli, he is worth hitting hurd.

WELLINGTON CHAMPIONSHIPS,

Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, May 19. Following are the results of the bouts at tho Wellington boxing championships: Feather: D. Livingstone defeuted G. 11. Smith ; E? Cowan defeated Adams; D. Livingstcne defeated M, Garstoin. Paper: 11. Thomas defeated A. W. Campbell. Heavy : C. Evatt won the championship. Bantam: A. Birch defeated E. Priestly; H. Lanen defeated E. Moloney.' Final: A. Bircli defeated 11. Larsen. Light: K. Morgan defeated E. Livingstone ; final, Morgan defeated Greathead. Welter: Final, W. 11. Pearce defeuted C. Browne. Middle: Final, R. Hill defeated F. Davis. _ Fly-weight: Final, C. Wood defeuted C. Ilearn. . ..