HIGH SCHOOL BOXING

Northern Advocate, 25 October 1935, Page 5

HIGH SCHOOL BOXING

TOURNAMENT LAST NIGHT RIKA, THE CHAMPION ' STANDARD NOT SO HIGH AS HAST YEAR. The annual boxing tournament was held at the Whangarei High School last night. There was a large attendance of parents and friends. The standard of boxing, with a few brilliant exceptions, was lower than that of last year’s tournament, but this was mainly accounted for by the fact that most of the competitors were taking part in their first tournament. Many of last year’s promising boys are not continuing boxing this year which is a great pity.

Results: — ■ , , Flyweight.—Three boys took part, P. Brown (Carruth House) having a bye in 'the first round. E. Fairley (Hobson) beat B. McGlashan (Carruth). Final: E. Fairley beat P. Brown. Both bouts were the.full distance with Fairley the more aggressive and cool. Featherweight.—First 'round: P. Ashcroft (Hobson) beat J. Stewart (Marsden) with a technical knockout in the first round. Ashcroft is a very cool boxer and uses both hands well. L. Gibson (Grey) oeai D. Berryman (Hobson) in a two-round contest. Berryman was giving away a good deal of weight but put up a very plucky fight. Final: Gibson beat Ashcroft. Both fought well with the winner again the heavier. Bantamweight.—First round: D. Fairley (Hobson) beat I. Blake (Carruth) with a technical knock-out in round one. M. Hore, who had a bye in the first round, met Fairley in the final, the latter gaining another technical knockrout decision.

Welterweight.—There were five ooys in. this class. D. Coote (Grey), F. Cumpsty (Carruth) and H. Rogers (Carruth) having byes in , the first round. First round: B. Rogers (Carruth) beat D. Rishworth (Marsden). The judges disagreed at the end of two rounds and the referee ordered another round. After another disagreement the referee awarded the fight to Rogers. Second round: D. Coote (Grey) beat F. Cumpsty (Carruth). A very even bout again, not over-brimming with style, but with willing hitting. The judges disagreed and the referee awarded the bout to Coote. B. Rogers beat H. Rogers on points. This fight was characterised by very unbrotherly smiting on both sides, with Henry’s blows somewhat cleaner in the first round than Barney’s. The judges were again unable to agree and the referee gave Barney the decisiori. Final: B. Rogers beat D. Coote on points. Coote’s showing in this bout was considerably better than in his first fight, and Rogers got the decision by a narrow margin. Heavyweight (School Championship).—K. Rika (Carruth) got the luck of the draw and drew a bye in the first round. The three boys in this class, K. Rika, J. Hosking and W. Foote provided the highlights of the night, with their clean hard hitting and scientific display. With more practice and tuition they would not be disgraced in amateur boxing anywhere in New Zealand. The fight between Hosking (Grey) and Foote (Marsden) was the best ever staged in the school hall. Both gave and took a huge amount of punishment, and, except for a period at the end of the second round when Foote dropped his right, their defence was good. Hosking got the decision by a narrow margin. Final. —K. Rika beat J. Hosking. Rika got the decision after the judges had disagreed. Both boys used both hands to face and body, but Rika’s defence was a shade better than his opponent’s. These three boys deserve great credit for their plucky performances. At the conclusion of the tourhament Mr Ryder thanked those who had helped school boxing: Mr L. R. Nelson and some of his friends for a bountiful donation of £ls, the Boxing Association for their co-operation, Messrs Maurer, Simmons, Palmer and Fisher for, donations of cups, and Mr Hughes for his painstaking instruction.

Cups were awarded as follows: Senior championship, K. Rika; scientific boxing, J. Hosking; welterweight, B. Rogers; bantamweight, D. Fairley.