BOXING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14691, 27 May 1911, Page 9

BOXING.

LANG AND LESTER.

W. W. NAUGHTON'S VIEWS.

Mr. W. W. Naughton, the American t>ox» ing writer, in an article in the Sydney Referee, comment; as follows on the LangLester fight:—"Oil tho one hand, a fellow who knows how to hit and block and timo bis man to a nicety, but. who lacks punishing. power in proportion to his weight and muscle. On the other, a youth who wots not of distance or direction, and who has little to commend him but a manifest desire to be in the thick of things. That it how Lang and Lester appeared to me. As for what the future may hold for either man it would scarcely be fair to hazard an opinion on last Saturday night's showing. Lang, it seems to me, has little to learn in regard to the tricks of his trade. His faults, if they are permanent faults, are temperamental. He Hurried unnecessarily when the turmoil was of a" very ordinary character. Ho looked anxious, and when trading was in order he returned blows in a. halting way. He did not ap*

near to be ablaze with battlo fire. But men, like horses, have their off days, and it may bo that friond William will improve on acquaintance. Lester, I think, lias a future. He is salad-green in everything he does, and ho needs licking into shape. 110 can scarcely bo callcd a. natural lighter, but he trivee promise of becoming one. lie starts forth like Kctclicl. with las twitching shoulders and his confusing shifts, but there the resemblance ends. H« lacks Ketchel's eureness of delivery and fierceness of attack. Ho just lashes out promiscuously whether his man is. coming or Jjjjjj 1 ho can loarn to cloak his intentions better and loap to closo quarters quicker, it. Mill lx> easy enough for a fairly alert opponent in sizo him up and keep out of harm! maj. Even his actions when his arm became momentarilv disabled suggested - the tyro, it was Tommy 35urns who discovered him, and Burns who advertised him . wildly as a ' -hope' , and a coming champion. It seems strange to me, if Tommy had the faith 111 his protege ho claimed to have, that he did not come with him to give personal supervision to his preparation, and to bo at I k •ado and in his corner when lie t #rratch for the ' championship of the 15nt •,'h Empire.' That Tommy did not make the trip is being construed into a belief that ho did not expect Lester to perform wonders. Burns'* cabled instructions to faster were, 'Fight him the way you fought Muldoon,' which to mo appear of equal value to the owner s orders to tho iockev, vis., ' Co out m front ami bUy there. ' If -Lester has disappointed lommy, it i, any «UU you !ike tU.t Tmn.n, to jdso disappointed Lester. The latter is" a mere boy, and it would have meant a deal to him to have had (lie companionship and moral support of his mentor while battling for the first timo in foreign territory." • NOTES AND COMMENTS. The Northern Boxing Association has asked L. Ross to Iks in readiness to take up A Crane's- New Plymouth engagement, owing to tho fact that tho latter has not been doing too well in his training. . . . Tho English Amateur Boxing Association „ championships were decided at tllo ,^V^ an [ tlra Palace. London, on April 5, before a record crowd. The winners of tho various classes were: Bantam-weights: vv. Allen (Polytechnic). leather-weights: 11. Bowers (St. Pancras). I.ight-wughU: A. Snencelev (Old Goldsmiths). weights. W. Child (Cambridge). Heavy-weights: \N . Hazell (City Police). The boxing tournament held under tne auspices of the local Boxing Association last •week must bo voted as one of the most, successful hold in.Dmiedin. The attendance of tho public on each night was large, the takings amounting to £210 for the two nights. As tho expenses were under £100, it will be seen that the local association made a substatia! profit.