Successful Boxing Tournament

Northern Advocate, 1 August 1938, Page 10

Successful Boxing Tournament

Despite unfavourable weather there was a fair attendance at the boxing tournament organised by the Whangarei Boxing Association in the Town Hall on Saturday night. Unfortunately, the star attraction, Mel Painter, was unable to appear as the result of

n minor injury. However, there was

a full contingent of Auckland men. unci a wide representation of Northland fighters came forward.

At the conclusion of the bouts, the Mayor, Mr W. Jones, presented the various trophies to the successful contestants.

J. Redmond (Whangarei). 10st, and T. Short (Awanui), 9.10. opened the ■ contests with a hard fought bout ending in the third round when Short was knocked out for the full count after standing up to a terrific barrage of punches to the face and chest. Short weakened in the second round, and could not resist the onslaught of his opponent in the third. R. McLachlan (Whangarei), 12,6, gained a points decision over S. McConnell (Hukerenui), 12.6. 11 was a wild bout from the start, both men wasting a lot of energy, hitting the ai'r. They made up for science with spectacular display, from .which McLaughlan took the worst punishment. Fast footwork on the part of Hubbard (Auckland), 9.11, seemed likely to win him the 'bout against R. Lyell (Auckland), 9.11, but the latter was more careful of his shots and wasted little energy. He commenced the third round in better condition than Hubbard, and was able to follow through with a telling right to the head followed by a left hook to the body. The round was his from then on, Hubbard trying to stage a come-back too late. An uninteresting display was given by Butler (Dargaville), 11.6, and R. Farrell (Kamo), 11.5, both fighters revealing little tactics and indulging in wild boxing characterised by innumerable blows that made no connection. Butler was given the decision on points. The bout between J. Phelan (Dargaville), 8.13, and McGregor (Auckland), 9.2, was one of the best of the night, both fighters being in good trim and well versed in the art. Phelan was taking a let of punishment from McGregor’s two-fisted body punches at close quarters, but he came into his own in the second and third rounds, using his powerful right to considerable advantage. Phelan proved too good on the points basis.

F. Jones (Awanui), 11.5, and W. Hakeraia (Maungatapere), 11.4. did not gain the public favour with their sparring tactics. Jones was waiting for his opponent to attack, but the Maori kept away from him, relying on chance shots. The third round livened up considerably, but there was nothing outstanding in the drawn contest.

K. Rika (Whangarei). 12.3, proved himself to be one of the finest glovemen of the evening, when he defeated W. McConnell (Hukerenui), 12.0. McConnell kept his head down and tried to butt his way without success through Rika’s steady attack. It was Rika’s bout from the start, and the crowd showed its appreciation of his excellent timing and the planned lactics with which he rendered his opponent unable to proceed when the gong sounded for the third round. A very willing bout was staged between L. Banicivich (Ruawai), 11.0, and W. Little (Auckland), 10.12, the latter being given the decision on points. Little set the pace with hard right and left punches to the face and chest which seemed to have little effect on his opponent. Banicivich opened both the second and third rounds with short punches to the body, but Little used his long right swing with deadly effect and it was this that gave him victory. E. Banicivich (Ruawai), 11.9, completely outclassed the more spectacular C. Campbell (Waikato), 11.5. Banicivich was making sure of connecting an endless supply of powerful rights to the head, a method he adopted throughout the first and second rounds. A two-fisted attack by Banicivich put Campbell out of the ring at the end of the second round for the full count.

The Big Fight. The tight of the evening was the light-weight contest between the Auckland and New Zealand champion and Empire Games representative, Ken Moran (Dargaville), 9.11, and L. Donaldson (Auckland), 9.10. Moran was on hi's best form, and never looked like losing points. His opponent, however. was very game and withstood a terrific battering right to the end. Donaldson opened well, showing plenty of well-trained form, and points were about even at the end of the first round. The second brought out Moran’s superiority, however, and Donaldson, although fighting gamely, had to admit that Moran had the bout in his hands. Moran’s straight lefts and rights were too much for his opponent, who could not break down the Dargaville man’s resistance, or even ruffle his calm. Donaldson adopted ducking tactics in the third round and was warmly applauded for fighting through the severe punishment of at least three of the four rounds. Moran gained a comparatively easy victory on points. A clever exhibition of boxing was given in the short-lived contest between F. Woods (Auckland). 10.4, and F Brown (Auckland). 10.0. Woods made no effort to fight, his well-placed rights and lefts straight from the

shoulder leaving their mark on Brown’s face. Brown rushed into the second round after- a lean time in the first, but fell victim to a succession of well-directed punches connecting on the chin, which sent him to the mat for the count.

A willing bout between Fairley (Whangarei), 8.13. and B. Brown (Auckland), 8.13, ended in a popular draw. Fairley attacked in the first round and had the points in his favour, his short punches proving a diffculty to his longer-reached opponent. Brown’s reach came into good use in the second spell, when he kept Fairley at a distance, using his long left punch with deadly effect. The third rofind started with Fairley attacking, but he could not get past Brown’s extended left.

The bout between M. Alach (Whangarei), 10.6. and I. Fenwick (Auckland), 10.5, came to an abrupt end at the conclusion of the second round, when Fenwick, after receiving a good deal of punishment from Alach's powerful and well-timed body punches, could not continue. Although he gave a good display and had plenty of force in his punches, Alach became reckless in the second round and made some wild shots. He recovered, however, in time to give Fenwick a battering from which the Auckland man could not come back. A points decision was awarded S. West (Awanui), 9.2, over Fidler (Whangarei), 8.13. Fidler played twofisted tactics throughout, but was mainly on the offensive, his attacks lacking timing and effectiveness. West came in for a lot of buffbtting, but lie kept the pace going on his own accord* and was not afraid to risk the punishment he* received. A draw would have .satisfied the crowd.

The final bout of the evening resulted in D. Meyers (Dargayille), 8.9, gaining a points victory over R. Muir (Whangarei),, 8,12. Muir shaped up nicely in the first round, and looked as though he would carry off the laurels. In the second round, his opponent’s longer reach came into play, however, and Muir began to feel die pace. Meyers was comparatively fresh when the final round commenced, and, although points were against him, he carried the fight in his own hands, defeating Muir in a round that featured only the Dargaville boy. The following officers of the association were responsible for the success of the tournament;—Secretary, Mr F. Primmer; treasurer. Mr F. J. Howie; medical officers, Drs. S. H. Ward and D. J. Goodwin; house manager, Mr S. J. Snow; referees, Messrs R. Nelson and F. Cole; judges, Messrs R. Nelson, K. Kelly and F. Cole; announcer, Mr G. Wilding; timekeepers, Messrs Maurer and Fisher; gong and number steward, Mr T. Mitchell; glove stewards, Messrs D. Stewart, L. Dent and B. Lyons: call steward, Mr M. Alach; seconds, Messrs J. Gray and H. Hughes; scale steward, Mr J. P. Woods; ringmaster, Mr J. Low, Donors of trophies were Messrs J. G. Draper, T. Mitchell. K. Kelly. W. Maurer and F. Howie.