DAVE SMITH WINS.

NZ Truth, Issue 405, 29 March 1913, Page 3

DAVE SMITH WINS.

How O'Donnell Was Unbeaten. * ■ ■ ; - : - ■' '■ ' "-' '■'■>*»■''•■'■ •', • s " .''..'■ Why ,Ahe...cabiemaii . iast^,* week , did not send overt i|u3\j*esuluVof- the DaVb Smith-L'es O^o^nhellf-'b-atUo for. the light-heavyweight: .championship of Australia is something to marvel at. Better late than, never, it is now learned that after a fast, gruelling contest for twelve and a half rounds, the New Zcalander won, the police having indicated that O'Donnell ••■had had enough. "Boxer-Major" m the Sydney "Sportsman,", m dealing with tho light, says :— For some unreasonable reason,- a section of the Sydney light fans do not like Dave Smith, the champion light-heavyweight boxer of Austra-i lasia. 'Perhaps it is because he is v New Zcalauder, though long an adopted son of Sydney ; and partly because the well-behaved young fel- ! low keeps himself to himself, does not knock around "wit do push,") spend his money like a fool and a blackguard and ruin the glorious constitution Nature haw endowed him with. It has always been so m Sydney, and is the same all round Iho globe. The athlete who saves hj« winnings for a rainy day instead of spending them on a lot of absolutely useless heelers is unpopular with that class, and is made aware of the fact m tho fashion such persons affect— übuae ami hooting at secure long range. It is safe to say that not uny three of those who hooted Smith on Saturday night would dare to faco the man where they could bo identified. Davo Smith is Nature's gentleman, and tho many-headed, do most cordially hate a gentleman. It reminds me of Beppo's summing "P of the case against his chief, Fra Dinvolo : "Call HIM a brigand ? Why, the beggar's CLEAN I" Those remarks aro induced by the altitude of a section of the terraeoites towards Smith during his fight with O'Donnell on Saturday night at the Stadium. There were probably flfteon thousand people within the great circular building. and though the cheering for O'Donnell m his aaiuc. losing light was almost unanimous and was well deserved, tho hooting of Smith on occasions was nbsolutolv uncalled for. and wan no credit to thosn who participated m the hostile demonstration. During nil hi« brilliant career Smith hoa never dono one thing to forfeit public esteem nnd tho disfavor of such as could hoo(. such v man and such a lighter is the highest compliment that could bo paid to a clcan-llvlng, capable and honorable athlete. With nil who can admire and appreciate such a man, Smith is its popular as over. The weights were : --Smith 11.13] ,

O'Donnell 12.3. After describing 1 Hhe incidents of the previous rounds, the writer tells of the trouble which 'struck O'Donnell m the tenth round. O'Donnell had not recovered by the spell, and came up wiping his glove across nose and mouth" to clear away the streaming- wine of life. ' All' the same he was first to lead, driving a long left that Smith, easily back-moved, and hurled left and right to the head twic©; The second right took Les on the jaw and he banged into . the ropes, bounced off them, and sank m a heap on the canvas. It looked all over with Les, but at nine he struggled up and actually rushed Sraith, who, however, side-stepped him and banged both hands to the jaws, and down 'went O'Donnell for another nine seconds. It was a shame to let him get, up and continue, the towel should have come m ; but I believe he had put a strong injunction on anything of that sort, and he was left to his own headstrong course. Smith seemed to hate to ? hit him as he reeled on his heels ; but" as he attacked, m a way, there was nothing else for it, and a right to the jaw sent him staggering to a heavy fall. He took nine and rose ,only to be dropped again ; arid this time he rose at five, but the bell rang before Sitfith could finish his distasteful task. And THEN they cheered and shrieked and howled .m acknowledgement of his pluck ! During the eleventh and twelfth, O'Donnell was merely a wobbling punching bag, but Smith got so axsriwearythat he could not topple him, hit him as often as he might ; and at each bell the crowd cheered the beaten mnn on to further foplish, futile endurance. His towel should have come m despite his protests. His condition was proven by what he took and m a measuro withstood. He just set his feet wide> and tried to block the blows that rained on him, and occasionally be oven had a wallop on his own. IJut the end was inevitable, and it came m the Devil's round. O'Donnell went up plucky as a black-red game cock, only to rush into a fusillade of lefts that presently battered him to tho floor for seven, amid a storm of hoots from a, lot of silly angoras who seemed to think that Smith should not hit their favorite. Rising, Les backed away, with Smith m rolentlqss pursuit, and when' he lowered his head and essayed to run into a clinch, with the face quite unprotected by the left arm, Smith right uppercut with terrific ,forco to the mouth and chin, and Les fell to his seat like a bag of spuds. And even then he rose at nine and awaited attack, but Sub-Inspector Matthews called a halt and Scott got between, and, stopping a wild rush, turned O'Donnell ' into the hands of his seconds. He had done all that' was humanly possible, but he was up against a man who has probably no equal on earth to-day m his class, despite Eddie McGoorty's half round fluke.