Odds and Ends.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 859, 17 August 1888, Page 13

Odds and Ends.

A team of American athletes landed in Liverpool, in June, purposing a ‘ go ’ at their English athletes. The visitors include a number of the very best athletes in America. Williams, a Christchurch boxer, has challenged W. Murphy to fight for the light weight championship. Kilrain’s arrival in America is anxiously looked forward to.

Lees, ex-champicn boxer of Australia, is off to America to fight Dempsey. Meadows, an Australian light weight, who went to America with Peter Jackson, recently left New York, being unable to get a match on. He told 1 the boys ’ that Jack Hall had refused to meet him, and that frightened them off. The cream of the joke is that Meadows is a fourth-rate man, and never was within a century of Hall. ‘ Peter Jackson has been matched to fight .Godfrey, Hie American coloured boxer, for J;400 a side. Burke and flavin box eight rounds for gate money on the 24th September. ' '•* jChe pride of Petticoat Lane/ an English boxer n 9. Died Wo°R Ben doff, is opining out to Australia. Patsy Cardiff, who fought a rather discreditable draw with John L- Su.lliyan, a year or two ago, was knocked out by Pajt Killen, inside of fifteen minutes recently. Kiilen is another of Sullivan's old opponents,

The English footballers are said to be improving wonderfully in the Victorian game, though they have not yet been able to defeat a crack team. The Melbourne team to meet them (Rugby rules) was as follows s—Back, Lee; three-quarter backs, Scarborough, Millar, Stohr; half-backs, F. Murray, E. E. Wakeham ; forwards, Cowen, Graham, Lindsay, Morrell, R. J. Murray, Outrim, Rice, White, Williams; emergencies, Baird and O’Rourke. South Melbourne is now ahead for the Victorian football premiership, with 9 win 3 out of 11 matches. Carlton has seven wins out of 10 matches.

A proposal is now being ventilated in Brisbane to have a big sculling race, with £SOO, £2OO, and £IOO prizes. There is a probability that Stansbury will be matched against Neil Matteraon. An Australian coursing champion stakes Is to be a fixture for next season, for 64 allages, at 25 sovs. each, with 500 sovs. added. Christian Neilson and H. Searle have been marched to scnll for £2OO a side.

As, acoording to a cable message, Teemer has again beaten Gandaur, he may he con® aidered to have fairly proved his superiority to the Black Brunswicker, and will probably come to Australia to row Kemp.

The Dunns are now in Wanganui, and Harry (the celebrated Cumberland wrestler; wants to have a mixed boxing and wrestling match with Laing. The latter tells * Hutch that he is anxious to fight Newton, of Hawkes’ Bay, aud will back himself to knook out either Richardson or Ellis in five rounds ; also that he intends to go to Australia with Murphy shortly.

Alf Wyburd is to skate Professor Aglnton for the fancy seating championship of Australia aud the World. W. Hudson, the wrestler, has been giving a Sydney writer some points about the Laing-Slavin fight. He says : “ Slavin’s denial that Mr Riley, his backer, left the ring side, thinking that he had backed the wrong ’un again, and the fight was all over in Laing’s favour, is false, for Mr Riley did do so, and when asked by the gatekeeper if he was going already, said, ‘ Yes, the black has beaten us again.’ Hudsou said that Slavin had fought himself to a standstill trying to get his right home on the crouching half-caste by the end of the second round, and then, had Laing had heart enough to go for him he would have won, for he had received no punishment, aud had nob exerted himself up to then. Slavin found he could never get on with his swung arm, and started stabbing with his left. Laing was not knocked out, but being weak in health he went down for a time, aud getting a good hard one when he came up he went down again, and stayed down. Hudson thinks Laing is a scorcher, and would tie up ‘a good many Australian ciacks, but he has nob got too much heart, and does not care about puuishment.’ ”