BOXING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14110, 12 July 1909, Page 7

BOXING.

AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS.

SOME EXCITING CONTESTS.

The " noble art of self-defence," accepted from time immemorial as the typical British sport, has many devotees and patrons in Auckland. The Auckland provincial amateur championships had attracted a record entry, and in one class no fewer than 10 nominated. With the prospect of good competitions, it is no wonder that patrons accorded the tournament hearty support-, and Saturday afternoon's attendance which watched the semi-finals and finals was scarcely smaller than the large concourse that witnessed the opening bouts on the previous Saturday. The contests were decided on very clean lines, and much good boxing was witnessed, while there was also any amount of excitement, several of the fights raising tho large crowd to a great pitch of enthusiasm. Altogether a programme of 12 events was crowded into the snace of two hours and a-half.

The rules of the competition provided for bouts of three three-minute rounds, the contests being judged on points in the event of there being no finish before that time. Tho bantam-weight championship was won by P". O'Meara, of Auckland, who knocked out the present holder of the title, C. Little, also of Auckland, in the first few seconds of the match. The featherweight division was won on points by 11. McNeil, of Waitakerei, from A. Trezise, of Ashburton. L. Ross, of Auckland, secured the light-weight, championship from R. Craig, of Auckland, on joints, an extra round being boxed to decide the match. The middle-weight championship was won by E. Manley, late of Dunedin, who knocked out A. Pooley, of Auckland, in the second round. T. Pearce, of Auckland, was awarded the heavy-weight championship on a foul from S. Moore, of Auckland, who, when leading on points, lost his head, and struck at Pearce when down. The professional middle-weight championship of H.M.S. Challenger was contested for by A. Lewis and W. Brough, and provided an even contest, in which the style of boxing shown was different to that' adopted here. Brough hit Lewis when down in the fifth round, and the contest was, therefore, awarded to Lewis.

'< The arrangements made by the Northern Boxing Association, under whoso auspices tho championships were decided, were admirable, and proceedings went with a swing, Mr. J. H. Trudgeon, secretary, bearing the brunt of the managerial work, and also acting as M.C. Mr. F. Yonge, treasurer, also contributed largely to" the success of the gathering. The referee's (Mr. T. Brown) decisions gave general satisfaction, and ho was ably assisted by the judges, Messrs. A. Plugge and T. P. Burke. BANTAM-WEIGHT. SEMI-FINALS. E. O'Meara (Auckland) v. D. O'Brien (Auckland): O'Brien showed himself a rough customer, and bustled O'Meara, until the latter steadied him with two straight lefts to the jaw. The going was fairly even, and O'Brien on one occasion saved himself by cleverly ducking. , The round was in O'Meara'3 favour. Early in the second round O'Meara put in a hard right and left, and O'Brien commenced to use his head, and to catch low. Ho was cautioned twice, And on the third offence was disqualified. O'Meara. who was leading on points, being awarded the bout. Little - (Auckland) v. Boyd (Auckland): Little boxed his bye with Boyd, and tho bout- tried the temper of the crowd, the display being farcical. . \ . FINAL. - -- . E. O'Meara v. 0. Little The final for the bantam-weight championship was of very short duration, and very dramatic. The boys had hardly shaped up, when O'Meara emulated Tommy Burns in his famous , battle with Bill Squires in California by knocking his opponent clean out in the first few seconds. It was a straight right to the point that robbed Little of his title. -. FEATHER-WEIGHT. • • '* FINAL.' • A. Tre;:ise (Ashburton) v. H. McNeil (Waitakerei): A champion without a punch against a novice with a punch and pleiw of determination sums up this bout. In the first round Trezise led with left hits to tho face; Hhey were nothing- more than jabs, but in all the close work McNeil was the better. In the second round Treziso again led,,and punished McNeil's face, but in a rally Treziso stopped a hard right and went down to the boards for a while. Trezise got up only to go down again for nine seconds, and then almost' immediately after McNeil again put on a right swing, and Trezise looked to be absolutely out, but the gong saved him. -The uproar arising out of the excitement caused .by such a willing go drowned the call of the round, and 1 it seemed to those near by that "out" was . called before tho gong went. : The final round i was fought, but both men, though willing, were groggy, , and nothing sensational happened. The bout was awarded on' points to McNeil, and he thus secured the championship" and the honour of being the : first- colonial to beat Trezise, whoso nineteenth contest this wast LIGHT-WEIGHT. SEMI-FINALS. R. Craig (Auckland) v. G. Singer (Auckland) : The first round was a great go, Singer, who was making his first ■ appearance in a ring,- showing great gameness and hitting power, but Craig's cleverness counteracted this to some extent. The first round ended in Singer's favour. The second round opened willingly, . Craig guarding his jaw carefully. A hot exchange saw some heavy hitting," in which Craig sent a straight, loft to; Singer's jaw, which would have knocked an ordinary man out. Ho was dazed, and hung on for awhile, and took a lot. more punishment, and when reduced to a limp state looked to his corner, . but finding no response took some' more punishment and then gave up. L. Ross (Auckland) v. : Armstrong: Tho comedy of tho afternoon was provided :by Armstrong. He is unknown in Auckland, and is tattooed on the legs, arms, and body in all manner of designs. He boxed the bye with L. Ross, and gave an amusing and clever exhibition. Ross' bye. was certainly no farce, and he could not, have done worse if he had gone through three rounds of real fight. On one occasion he just missed taking a right uppercut that looked very businesslike. R. Craig,.v, L. Ross: Craig's height and reach was an advantage, but Ross kept close to business and hit very hard, using a rigbt body punch effectively. There was not much in the first round, which ended in a fine rally. Craig's cleverness and Ross' willingness were ' the features of the second round. Craig's left dazed Ross, but he recovered, and Craig was the weaker of i the two at the end of the round. Ross at this stage seemed to have the best of the go. Ross started the third round in _ tigerish fashion, and a willing go resulted, in which both men gave and took a lot of bard hits. There was no difference in points, and another round was ordered, in , which Ross did most of the, leading, and won the lightweight championship on points. _ MIDDLE-WEIGHT. . , , SEMI-FINALS. . A Pooley (Auckland) v. W. Millen (Auckland) Ik) men' started willingly, and in the exchanges the hitting was very hard. Millen used his left to advantage, but Pooley was using both hands, and Millen el inched often to ; save himself. Referee Brown's position was no sinecure, and his famous "Break, box on," was not "sufficient, and he had to interpose his bulky form between the men. Tho second round had not proceeded far when Pooley put in a hard right, on tho mark, then a left to the jaw, following with a right swing to the side of the head, which floored Millen. He rose, but was plainly dazed, and was sent to tho boards again. He was clearly not in a condition to go on, so the referee awarded the bout to Pooley. ' . ' Manley (late of Dunedin) v. Thos. Lees (ex-heavy professional champion of Australia): Lees, despite his age, want of condition, and long absence from the ring, gave a fine exhibition while boxing a bye with Manley, and was frequently applauded. His ' complete, control over one of the bestamateur middle-weights seen hero shows the immeasurable superiority of a good professional. : . This bye was greatly appreciated, and closed amidst loud applause. E. Manley v. A. Pooley: Manley used tho left cleverly, and hitting hard counteracted Pooley'a advantage of reach and height. The first round was a good one, and some exciting work was done. It ended in Manley's favour. Early in the second round Pooley led, but Manley. coming in with left and right put Pooley right out, and won the middle-weight championship. HEAVY-WEIGHT. FINAL. . •

T. Pearce (Auckland) v. Gunner S. Moore (Auckland): . The first round opened very willingly, the big men mixing it gaily. "A lot of hard hitting was indulged in, but neither contestant, showed much knowledge of tihe game. Moor© swung his right in all directions, and his aggressive' tactics gave him a lead. In the second round Pearco had • a bad time, Moore putting in a couple of straight rights. Moore, however, was fighting himself out, and ho' also got tired, and towards the end of the round

his ;• swing could 1 ' be seen coining : long before it landed. Early in the third round Pearco was knocked down, and Moore foolishly (hit at him when rising, which cost, him the contest, the championship being awarded to Pearce. Moore was leading on points." | r ■

CHALLENGER CHAMPIONSHIP. The professional middle-weight championship of H.M.S. . Challenger was fought between A. Lewis and W. Brough, the conditions being 10 two-minute rounds. Brough appeared in green trunks and tattooed with a green necklet and /Erin's, lharp on his arms. Lewis was in ordinary costume," and tattooed with a full-rigged ship on chest, besides, other emblems on tho back and arms. There was not much in the first two rounds, tho " foreign" style of in-fighting being the most noticeable feature. Brough was in best condition and most aggressive, using both hands. Lewis seemed stale, but showed a wicked right, on a couple of occasions. Broup.h, in close quarters, used tho effective kidney punch, and had Lewis tired in the fourth round. Lewis' left was not seen until the fifth round, when in the exchanges he was using both hands. From a raffle Lewis went to his knees, and Brough hitting him when down was disqualified, and the. bout awarded to Lewis. NEW ZEALAND CHAMPIONSHIPS. The Auckland representatives for the 1 New Zealand boxing championships, which , will be decided at Dunedin on the 22nd and 23rd iust., were chosen oil Saturday evening by the officials of the Northern Boxing Association. It was decided to send the champions of the five classes, to Duncdin, under the management of Mr. J. H. Trudgeou.