THE "CENTRE" AND BLACKMORE.

NZ Truth, Issue 90, 9 March 1907, Page 3

THE "CENTRE" AND BLACKMORE.

(To "Boxer-Major.")

Sir,— l am taking, the. liberty of sending you these few lines to compliment you on your stand with regard to the treatment meted out by the Wellington Centre of the Boxing Association to the well-known Sydney boxer, Jack Blackmore, while he was m Wellington. I and others consider that neither Blackmore nor the public were any way ,well treated m the matter . Here was one of the , best men, to my way of thinking, at his weight m the world, allowed to stay for nearly five months, and during that time no one (excepting, as you say, a privileged few) were allowed to see him perform. If the Wellington boxing officials knew their business at all they would have arranged a match with a good man to meet Blackmore, and I am certain they would have got a crowded house. It is a piity that, there are not a few more sports amongst the ' crowd who coiftrol boxing here. There are too many of the goody-goody sort for the game to go ahead. I would not be the least bit surprised if the next tournament was opened with a prayer or a hymn. Why, if boxing was controlled on -similar lines elsewhere it would soon V die "out.; As long as a man goes into the ring and, does his best that is all the Pub;Mjai<want. What he does when he is out of the ring ninety-nine out of a hundred don't care or bother aboujl;.; But what I saw of Blackmore wMl'st be was here, as regards his conduct m the street or elsewhere, well, all I can say is that, so far as I could see, there was .' nothing that anyone could take exception to. I am -surb there was not a quieter man m -the' city. There was, nothing of the skite' or blow-hard about him , like some that . I knoyt' who. have competed under the auspices of the aforesaid Association.- But this same Jack Blackmore don't seem to get fair i play anywhere ; In Sydney a certain paper, was always pleased to try and make thinesas awkward foe him as possible. . Why, I am sure I don't know. nor. do -jr think 4t does itself. Perhaps if he were a black man instead of a Blackmore he would be alright. I can* remember when he fought and beat Jack Willis: Willis was one .of the best welter-weights m Australia, ,'■ and Blackmore beat Mm m half a round. The paper I refer to would not give Blackmore the credit of being a good man even then. It wriggled out by calling them both third-raters. .

But when ,Blaclcmore beat Snowy, Sturgeon m four rounds, note how the . paper referred to changed its style. He was then the brilliant and clever Blackmore, and the. fight was one of the best ever seen m Sydney, and considering all the champions thai; have appeared m the Sydney ring at different times, well it seems peculiar for a third-rater to put up such a good fight. But Jack said nothing, but just went along m his old style and polished- off the Sydney paper's black idol, Tom Mitchell, m seven rounds, Soldier Thomson m one round, Harold Smith m twenty and six rounds, and he did what no other man m Australia can do,, that is to knock Ed. Williams, the '"' Victorian middle-weight, out m five rounds and two. rounds, and winds up by boxing Geo. Johns, the champion welter-weight, - a slashing twenty rounds fight amd only losing on points. I might also mention that he has dpfeated men like Hock Keys, Paddy Martin, Tot Hi^gins— all good men— and he also* met and defeated Sailor Robertson, the alleged champion, of the Pacific Fleet, m half a round, so that there is nothing flukey with regard to any of his wins, as anyone who follows boxing up at all will know what class of men he has been meeting. Jim Griffin,' the amateur champion, was matched to meet Blackmore m Sydney, but did not think it good enough, to , stop, and loft for New Zealand, leaving Blackmore lamenting.

It is a pity that the Boxing Association did not'try and bring these two boxers together whilst they were both m the country.'. Th 6 public would have seen a fight V worthy of the name, I'll warrant."- But there is another thing, Sir, I would like to call your attention- to, that is the small purses that theyi v offer here to good men. Look at their giving a £30 purse for Hock Heys to come over out, of nearly a £400 house. Contrast that with the £100 purse that was given for the HegartyGriffin "contest" m Dunedin/ 1 or the £•60 purse for Griffin: and Parker. Why, I think the local Centre would want Sauires and Jim Jeffries to figh.t for a £50 purse. What they want to do is to get a couple of good men, Johns and Blackmore or Keys and Andrews or Thorn and Frost or Cripps. and Williams ; a couple "of clever fighters, men who understand the game properly, and give them, a good purse, ev6n if. it is only for an exhibition, so that the public can see all branches of the game : headwork, footwork, ducking, baulking;, feinting, blocking etc., not ■the way it is at present ; and then, and not until then will the game go ahead. But while they match one good man with another that is not m his class they won't, be able to do the game any good. So hoping, "Boxer-Major," that you will stir things up m your notes, as it ■wants something like that to wake these boxing officials up, and expressing on the behalf of many friends, the gratification felt that Vqu have taken over the boxing column of 'your popular paper.— l am, &c,

AMATEUR Wellington, Saturday, March 2.