BOXING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13455, 4 June 1907, Page 6

BOXING.

AUCKLAND CLUB'S TOURNAMENT. ' A boxing tournament was held at the Royal , Albert Hall last evening under the auspices , of the Auckland Amateur Boxing Associa- , tion. The hall was packed to its utmost capacity, and the enthusiasm displayed over tho boxing was greater than it. has been for some time past. In fact, from every point of view the tournament was a success, and | decidedly encouraging to . the promoters. The exhibitions were for the most part excellent, and of an improved standard. Mr. Fagan . acted as referee for the amateur events, and gave satisfaction, while the , management was good. ' The tournament ; will be concluded on Friday. GODFREY V. GAULT. [ The event of the evening was the contest [ between James Godfrey (of England) 'and , Alfred Gault (of Auckland), for it was an- , nounced as the 9st 71b professional cham- ,' pionship of '.New Zealand. Godfrey . has been in Auckland- some time, and /is well ' known in amateur ciroles as a clever, scientific ! boxer. Ho has. won the featherweight ama--1 teur championships of England and France, • and in 1906 won the championship of Auck- < land and New Zealand.; This was his first appearance in the.professional line. Gault, a native of Auckland, started boxing as an amateur 18 months -ago, ■< and has '.< become generally regarded as a promising, exponent of the art. The fight was of 15 three-minute rounds. Prior to the fight, Mr. - Donovan,; the referee, announced that if it lasted the 15 rounds he would give it as a draw'. / ;.■..'. The/fight was decidedly: mild for. a professional : contest and, compared-with one or : two of the amateur goes, it was tame. In fact, there was not a great deal of fighting in : it. The first half-dozen rounds were equivalent to' a spar, neither: man putting any ; weight behind his blows. Godfrey's footwork was clever, and he dodged around the ring in nimble style, getting in and tapping, and then jumping out. Gault, on the other hand, was more determined, and counterbalanced the blows he received by left and right jabs. The Englishman used his left hand almost continuously; and did very little with his right, while'his opponent more frequently used both. The seventh round saw an improvement, Godfrey scoring a tap on the wind and one on,the point, and Gault landing the right on the jaw, drawing the only blood lost in the fight. In; the eighth Godfrey dodged a nasty right swing, but Gault gained with his left. Godfrey did a good deal of double-handed pushing. The ninth was Godfrey's round, several times landing, but half-heartedly.; Little was done in the 10th round, but. in the 11th Gault landed his right hard several times. The blows ■; exchanged in [ this round .•; wore more vigorous. No damage was.,dope: : in the 12th and 13tli rounds, while in the 11th Gault, who appeared somewhat tired, lost points. The 15th round was fairly oven. Tho referee's decision of a draw was loudly applauded. Godfrey would, no doubt, have won on points. His footwork was clever his guard, except occasionally when Gault used his right, was very solid, and although he used practically only his loft his hitting was quicker. However, there was often no force behind his blows, for : bad there been Gault would probably have found ..-.":. the boards. Gault might have. fared better had he got: into it more ; and followed up his advantages oftener. He used both hands' well, while his guard was very fair. Gault has always been regarded as a fairly hard hitter, but last night he had not half the sting in his blows that he generally has. A feature of the contest was the utter absence of foul play, both men, and especially Godfrey, breaking clean, and not once did the referee have to interfere. ..: AMATEUR CONTESTS.

In the 9st 71b amateur contest J. Henderson, of Auckland, met McKenzio, of Waihi. The first three rounds were very even, but in the fourth McKenzie took the lead and almost had his man out twice. On one occasion Henderson was saved by the gong, while on the other he was down 9s. At tho end of the fourth round McKenzie was declared -the winner. .. Brain and Sanderson sparred for three two-minute rounds. * Percy Jackson, of Sydney, met Frederick Metcalf, of South Africa, in a lOst amateur contest. The first round was willing and full, of keen fighting, which appealed greatly to the spectators. Jackson, who assumed the aggressive from the start, had the best of the round. In the second round Jackson did not show so much judgment, and although he scored a couple .of times with straight lefts he went down to one from Metcalf and failed to com© un within the 10s. * Hunter, of Auckland, met McClennen, of Cambridge. In the first round tho Cambridge man led often and missed, but getting a good one on to Hunter he made up for the points he had lost in the first part of the round. McClennen had the better of the second round, and once sent Hunter to the boards. Although palpably tired, both fought determinedly in the third round, and although a large number of blows were delivered they "were evenly distributed. The fourth round was a fine one, and full of hard fighting. Hunter sent the Cambridge man to the boards : for a few seconds and had the better of the round, but McClennen showed ability in avoiding tight corners. The referee gave it a draw.