BOXING

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8362, 24 February 1913, Page 9

BOXING

Fred Williams and Bert Lowe (the holder) fought for the professional heavy-weight championship of New Zealand and a purse of £BU at Gisborne on Wednesday night. In the tenth round Lowe was disqualified for hitting on a breakaway and the fight was awarded to Williams. Lyn Trusoott writes from Hastings, New Zealand, to the ‘‘.Referee” : “I see by ‘The .Referee’ that the welter-weight limit in America is to .be' 1451 b, as in England. Why not have it so in Australia!' I hold the welter-weight supremacy of New Zealand, and have £IOO now to say 1 can be there at twenty rounds with J ohnny Summers; or u there is any 1461 b man in Australia who likes his chance against New Zealand’s best, 1 am prepared to make a match. Any date in March will suit me. At present I am making 1401 b to box Jim Hegarty and, if successful. Jack Read on his way to America. 1 cannot do myself justice at 1401 b, but at 1451 b I fear nothing.” _ “Solar Plexus” replies: “1 am atraid the exchampion of the Orient will have to increase the poundage to the 1491 b limit (Australian welter-weight) if he wants to meet any of the Australians in that division. Mr “Snowy” Baker, the Stadium proprietor, holds that Australia has much undiscovered boxing materiaL No doubt about that. Mis search for the “white hope,” first announced in the Saturday “Referee,” is not his only string. He wants also to see new middles, welters, light-weights, _ etc., and is willing to give a good trial to any aspirant in any class. There is good money in boxing in Australia today, and this fact, coupled with Mr Baker’s persistent search, ought to find us some new boxers of good calibre. Many Sydneyside boxers appear to regard Melbourne as a sort of Mecca just now, judging by the exorbitant demands they make for appearing there. Pat Bradley asked for £loo, win, lose, or draw. Needless to add. Bill Lang wasn’t having him at that figure. The process of bringing together the various white aspirants to the heavyweight championship of the world (according to New York despatches) has revealed a particularly clever pugilist in the person of Fred McKay, of Winnipeg, who, early last month, knocked out at Madison Square Gardens the Boston boxer, Andy Morris. The experts are convinced that McKay is quite m the same class as McCarthy and Willard, and pronounce him to be a veritable giant. Mr R. L. Baker received a cable message from his London representative recently to the effect that Jem Driscoll, the great feather-weight; Freddie Welsh, the light-weight who downed Mughie Mehegan; Owen Moran, and P.O. Curran are pretty sure to sign engagements to visit Sydney, and put in a season at the Stadium. If these fistic lights, or one or two of them, come to Australia, the boom in boxing will be greater than ever. And, to judge by the size of the crowds and the keenness when bouts of moment are the events to be decided, boxing is as popular as it ever was in Sydney. Young Fitzsimmons is doing remarkably well under Mr “Snowy” Baker’s tuition and training. Excellent reports come from the Victorian Barracks, where his prospective opponent, G. Coghill, is doing his training. This battle of the giants should prove interesting, it being the first of elimination bouts to be carried out at the Stadium. Johnny Summers, the welter-weight champion • of England, must be nearing Australia. He signed a contract covering five matches to be decided at the Stadium. He is coming out by the R.M.S. Otranto, and is accompanied by his trainer, Bob Yeaman. “That Billy Papke has been able to annex all the loose honours in the way of gold and ivory belts that the French have to offer makes it evident that the standard of ring excellence on the other side is considerably lower than is the case in this country,” is the opinion of the New York “Police Gazette,” which adds the following: “Papke has long been consigned to the rear when championships are being discussed in the United States. Yet he has been able to create havoc among the French glovemen, including that somewhat dilapidated idol, Georges Carpentier. The fact that Frank Klaus, who is sojourning in Franco, allowed Papke to carry off all the honours from right under bis, nose is also significant. Apparently the Pittsburgher is no longer the terror ho was onco supposed to be, or else he would not have been so careless. After both the American mid-dle-weights had defeated Carpentier, every effort was made by the promoters to match the pair. A long and complicated controversy ensued between the fighters, at the end of which Papke seems to have come out on top in the estimation of the French, for they lavished honours and belts on him to the neglect of Klaus. Klaus has an alibi to the effect that he was not offered financial inducements for the match consistent with his own opinion of his dignity and worth. The result of the negotiations was that Papke ob-

tained several profitable matches with French boxers, while Klaus remained idle. However, they now have been matched to meet at Paris on March sth. Although Papke is parading his easily-won belts in an effort to establish a claim that he is once more the formidable pugilist who defeated Stanley Ketohell, he will meet with* many who refuse to bo convinced,’’ , tinues the “P.G.” “Before,., sailing for France he showed in bouts with Jack Denning and Leo Houck that ho was still the same slothful fighter who disgusted the fans at the time bo met Sailor Burke. At the time Papke had just returned from Australia with a campaign all planned to whip all the middle-weights in America -and annex the title, but he made such a sorry showing in New York city- that the fight fans repudiated him to a man, and as a wind-up to his career, he got himself in bad with the Boxing Commission by refusing to go on at a show because the gate receipts were so small as not to ensure him a satisfactory percentage, and was promptly suspended from all further participation in bouts held in this State. \ A* the influence of the commission- is rather far-reaching, it is doubtful if Papke ever gets a chance to fight again in America, unless ho makes his peace with the power* which control the game here.” . _ The feather-weights, “Billy” Wenand, of "Now Zealand (Bst I21b) and “Syd.” Wilson, a Victorian (9st) last night fought an uninteresting bout of twenty rounds at the Melbourne Athletio Pavilion (says the Melbourne “Leader” of February Bth). Wound fought at short notice, while Wilson was in the pink of condition : but the New Zealander bad as much science as his opponent lacked, and though he took things very quietly right to the last, he always bad a secure position. Wilson was most aggressive, and waved his arms wildly all through, but the other boy’s were always m the way and he made clean returns that generally found their mark on Wilson’s face. At the conclusion the, referee had no hesitation in awarding the fight to Wenand, and though Wilson had a big following, his absolute ignorance of the rudiments of boxing disgusted his supporters, and the docisiou was popular. Prior to tbo chief contest, “Barney” ihompsoa (9st 21b) and Percy King (9st 31b) beat Tom Hartney (9st) and J. Watson (9st 61b) in two competition bouts, that were as willing as the big event was tame.