BOXING CONTESTS. Should the Town Hall be Let For Them?

Free Lance, Volume X, Issue 476, 14 August 1909, Page 6

BOXING CONTESTS. Should the Town Hall be Let For Them?

THE difficulty which has arisen between the Wellington Boxmg Association and the City Council over the engagement of the Town Hall foi the forthcoming boxing contest has i cached a. very interesting stage The Boxing Association, having on previous occasions rented the Town Hall 101 their entertainments, moved forward m good faith with arrangements for a big contest on the 18th August Their oal'ay m preparation for the e\ ent has approximated £250. * * • At the last moment the letting of the Town Hall to the Wellington Boxmg Association is being opposed by a section, of the City Council. Whether the- hall is eventually let to the Association for this coming event or not, we understand thai the Council intend to oppose the letting of the hall for similar purposes in the future- We hold no brief either foi the sport of boxmg generally, or for the Wellington Boxing Association m particulai But, in view of all the ciicumstances of the case, there are several strong points which appeal to us • ♦ « In the first place, it appears to us to be unnecessarily harsh tieatment to mete out to the Boxing Associa^ tion to close down on them after they have made their arrangements and committed themselves to 1 an exp^ndituio of £250 Only sorao flagiant misconduct should justify such an attitude on the pait of the City Council. The next point is the record of the Boxing Association in its past exhibitions at the Town Hall * • « Tlic City Council have never refused hitherto the Hall to the Boxin Association, but now, without any notice, oi <-o fai as vrc can see, any definite reason they propose to withdraw their sanction for future engagements Why then this sudden change of attitude? Has there been any ob]ectionable conduct on the part of the Boxing Association in past meetings « Have there been any exhibitions of rowdmess? It has not been alleged that any such scenes have taken place On the contrary, the Wellington Boxing Association have generally been given credit for conducting the contests in a decorous and orderly manner • • • Further, the officers of the Boxing Association. in Wellington are gentlemen who enjoy the confidence and esteem of the whole community Their inter-

est in the sport, and their attendance at tlie boxing contests? are a guarantee to the. public that the meetings will be conducted within th^ Innate of strict propriety. They are not the class of people who* would tolerate any disreputable exhibitions or degrading conduct under the aegis of their Boxing Association If the sport of boxing is to be ousted from our public halls by local authorities, it will mean that these gentlemen will relinquish interest in it. • * • Boxing appeals to a large section of the community, and the spoa-t will continue under conditions which will be far less satisfactory to the pxiblic, and ceitainly dangeious to the morale of the rising generation*, unless it is kept under strict surveillance. The point has been raised that the Council are seeking to prevent the professional element fiom creeping in, with, perhaps, undesirable characteristics. But. m the leading Australian cities the professional contests are held every night, whilst the Wellington Association put on at most only four events annually Even then, for any one "professional" bout on the pi*ogiamme there are at least four amateur events billed for the same evening 1 . That argument is obviously weaJc Unless the City Council have far stronger reasons to put forward the case for refusing the Town Hall to the Boxing Association is very flabby.