BOXING CONTEST.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20604, 1 July 1930, Page 9

BOXING CONTEST.

TROWERN DEFEATS! RICHARDS DECISION GIVEN ON POINTS. SPEEDY DISPLAY BY' WINNER. Tho welter-weight boxing contest held at the Town Hall last evening between Billy. Richards, lOst. 71b.., of Queensland, and Reg. Trowern, lOst. sJrlb., of/Auckland; was won by the Aucklandor on points. The bout was for a pursa of £2OO and was of fifteen three-minute rounds. There was a good attendance, although not quite so large as anticipated by the Northern Boxing Association, which promoted the fight. Among those present were members of the Australian and New Zealand teams for the Empire Games in Canada. They Were introduced to the crowd during the interval and were accorded a hearty farewell. A challengo to the winner of the contest was issued on behalf of Jack Paul, the Dunedin welter-weight, while Sammy Shack was'introduced as being willing to meet any feather-weight in New Zealand, or in the world.

There were some very interesting preliminaries, in which the ( contestants showed great willingness, combined with a good deal of science. Two New Zealand amateur champions in Johns and Purdio were opposed to ono another and the result was a very spirited contest. Mr. N. McLean refereed the amateur bouts, while the professional match was in the hands of Mr. R. Meale. The main*bout was not disappointing, although there was a good deal of sameness about it. Both men relied chiefly on their left hands, only occasionally using tho right glove, and when they did it was not particularly effective. Swings were tho order of tho night and the majority of them missed their objective. Straight punches were more effective. Trowern Too Fast. Supporters of Richards expected him to do better, as he came with a big reputation so far as his right hand was concerned. Trowern, however, was too fast for tho Qucenslander, who did not get the opportunities of bringing his right into action, as ho would undoubtedly have done against a slower man. Trowern's ducking cleverly saved him from hard swings, while his footwork was also excellent. Richards, too, dodged a great deal of punishment by low crouching and sidestepping. It was a good, clean contest, devoid of the average holding and clinching. Certainly the referee had to speak to both men occasionally, but it was recognised boxing clinching and not hugging that is so frequently witnessed. In many of the rounds there was not much between the pair, but Trowern was the aggressor from tho first gong and by this method he had a fair margin of points in his favour up to the end of the eleventh round. It was after this that Richards became a little more aggressive, but he found an opponent ever ready to mix it, and always on the look-out for the hard right which tho Queenslander was known to possess.

From the , eleventh round onwards Trowern had only to box his man to win on points, but he preferred to go in and mix it at every opportunity arid these methods won iiim the admiration of the spectators. It was r. popular verdict and the only one possible. Referee Busy.

There was a good deal of close fighting in the early stages. Tho referee was busy in the first round advising Trowern to keep his punches higher and Richards not to hold. There were several rounds in which body blows were freely exchanged. Richards soon had the Auckiandei''s kidneys a pink colour with the attention ho bestowed upon that region, but they did not seem to have the effect the visitor hoped for. Kound by round went past with both men missing with left and right swings and dodging fierce uppercuts. There were some very , nice hits placed by both men to the body and head, but nothing approaching a real knock-out blow was landed, and at no period of the contest did qither become groggy.

Richards seemed to be more at homo at infighting, where ho scored freely with both hands. Trowern, however, always roturned' to the attack immediately a break was ordered end it was this aggressiveness, combined with tho landing of more clean blows, which had given h:im his lead up to the end of the eleventh round.

The remaining rounds were lively, as* Richards appeared to realise he must go after his opponent to win. The result was some very good rallies in which the Aucklander more than held his own. Both were fighting strongly at the gong and there was a loud outburst of cheering when the decision was announced. Amateur Preliminaries.

W. Hogg, Bst 1031b, beat C. Hill, 9st 2jjlb.—The first round was quiet, but in tho second there were some bright and close exchanges. Hill connected hard with his right, but, Hogg landed more cleanly to win.

L. Bailey, Bst beat A. Spragg, 9st 2^lb. —Spragg went in with both hands in the second round and kept up his forceful tactics throughout, but the judges decided in favour of Bailey. R. Purdie, 9st, beat 11. Johns, 9st 4£lb.— I The opening round was even, both landing well. Purdie connected well with his right in the second. Johns' heavy swings in the third were effective, Purdie with a good left swing put Johns down for seven in the final round.

J. Brentnall, 9st 6J,lb, drew with D. Gordon, 9si BJ>lb. —This started in a whirlwind flurry of blows at close range. Brentnall was landing well and in the third had his opponent groggy. Gordon fought back gamely, although outclassed. A draw came as a surprise.