BOXING RING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23112, 10 August 1938, Page 21

BOXING RING

AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS TOURNAMENT NEXT WEEK The annual provincial boxing championships will bo decided at the Town, Hall oil Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week under the control of the Auckland Boxing Association. Judging by the form displayed in preliminaries to the professional contests this season the standard promises to be exceptionally high, with the various competitions vA'y open. Last year's champions were: —Paperweight," E. Underwood; fly-weight, H. Sheridan; bantam-weight, S. Stock; feather-weight, K. Moran; lightweight, P. Kelly; welter-weight, E f Estall; middle-weight, R. Branch; light-heavy-weight, H. E. Neale; heavyweight, .M. McHugh. Since last year's championships Sheridan and Moran have represented New Zealand at the Empire Games and Kelly has entered the professional ranks and is performing with considerable suecess. Several of last year's _ titleholders will again be competing this season. E. TJnderwood, who won the paper-weight championship, will this year in the bantam-weight Sheridan, last year's, Auckland and New Zealand fly-weight champion, will be fighting in "the bantam-weight section. That he is at the top of his form was demonstrated at Hamilton on Saturday, when he won the bantam-weight championship of the Waikato, and was in addition, awarded the cup for the most scientific boxer of the tournament. S. Stock, last year's bantam-weight champion, will also be competing in this division. On paper it looks as if this section will contain some of the liveliest contests in the tournament. K. Moran, last year's Auckland and New Zealand feather-weight champion, will compete in the light-weight section, which appears to bo very open this year. Three of last year's welter-weights will not be taking part, E: Estall, the champion, being 011 the sick list, and V. Caltaux and D. Johnston, being now in the professional ranks. R. Branch, last year's middle-weight champion, displayed plenty of punching ability at the Waikato championships on Saturday, by winning his three contests by the knock-out route. The champions of the light-heavy-weight and the heavy-weight sections, H. Neale and M. McHugh, will both bo defending their titles. There is little doubt that many of tho local amateurs have benefited greatly by witnessing the brilliant performances of such clever fighters as Snowy Clark and Young Gildo. In addition, tho overseas fighters have been particularly helpful in tho gymnasiums by sparring with the more advanced amateurs. Representative teams from tho Wellington and Auckland Training Colleges will compete at Auckland to-morrow night. , Due largely to tho activities of the To Awamutu Young Men's Institute, there is a revival of amateur boxing in Te Awamutu, and the institute proposes holding an amateur boxing tournament in To Awamutu, under the auspices of the Hamilton Boxing Association, 011 September 5. Competitors are expected from Hamilton, Matamata, Morrinsville, Taumarunui, To Kuiti and Huntly.