BOXING

NZ Truth, Issue 936, 3 November 1923, Page 8

BOXING

Volaire The Victor

Blackburn Beaten on' Points.

Once again success met the efforts

or the Wellington Association m its October tourney. The star: attraction was the meeting between Volaire' and Blackburn, and though tho*' Frenchman &*ot the verdict there wa3 little m it at the finish, and Blackburn, who came m at 10st lib against the lOst 31b of his opponent, did wonderfully well, and olearlyhe is a greatly improved fighter since attaching himself to the stable of C. Peoples. •• .... ' As is usual m pro. lights, there, was v«»ry little doing- m the; first round, but 'in the next Volaire connected hard to the. body on two occasions with- his ! rfefiV Blaeld&uwi retaHatlne wltfc fne same member to the Jaw.— lt now be- ' cazna a- XialCle or-; tactics, eadb. man tiying for the inside running, to slip a right or left to the face as opportunity offered. . ' Toe to toe was the order of the day ! for' the first seven rounds. On occasions each man tried the shamrock, only to be pulled up' sharply by "the referee. In the sixth Volaire's- . eye was opened and a trickle'- of blood came to his chin, but the. gash was not sufficiently deep to interfere with the sight, and' between rounds .was doctoreji by his second. : * " - Round; nine was Volaire'.s best. He cut loose with left and right rips to the body, which made Blackburn' seek cover. However, the New ZeaLaxider took right a number on the. forearms and gloves, and after Volaire's efforts had petered out he came back to the attack with two snappy hooks to the chin. • The balance of points was see-saw-Jng first one way and then the other vi.- till the tenth, when Volalre . hooked his right as Blackburn, came m; A combination* of factors conduced towards making the punch look air over a foul, m that the New Zealand boy jumped to receive it- arid unconsciously blocked the punch down below the belt. Blackburn, appealed for a foul, but was ordered -to box on. He stalled for the remaining portion of the round, and got • through safely. There was not much . variety m the fight,, and from the spectators* viewpoint it could not be classed as a contest to hold the interest at concert pit6h. Both men fight along similar lines, and will continue to do so on each occasion that they meet. Very few of Volaire's straight, lefts were point-scorers, m that they, m the most part, : were, dealt, with * the open- glove, for which offence he was repeatedly cautio.ned by the referee. , ..-,- --; The Frenchman fought strongly .over the concluding rounds, and although perhaps he was entitled to the .decision, it was only just,- and a draw would have met the case quite well.' Preliminaries. In the featherweight class N. McArthur (8.9) met J\ Gurry ,(8.13). There was a- sensational finish,.* or after a few seconds sparring Gurry felled his opponent with a short right hook to the jaw arid despite his efforts to rise M!cArthunhad to take the^efcunt. The bantams, M. Carroll" (7.13) and W. Pearce" (8/1), next came into the ring. The latter is a younger brother of Cliff Pearce and is a promising fighter with a useful right, but he endeavors to make -too much use of it; He did well, but Carroll was Jn_ better condi{ion and after a very willing three rounds got the verdict. Pearce is an awkward fighter and one difficult to hit. In the welter class W. Brown (10.8) met J. Bradley (9.12). It was a merry mill for the first round, but Bradley did not come -out well for the second and after a minute's fighting he was sent to the boards and, on rising, went Sown again for tho count. Brown took a lot of punishment,, but his jaw seemed to be made of cast-iron, while he had the advantage m weight. ,C. Mcßae (14.7) then met A. McCbrmack (i 2.7), the*N.Z.' heavyweight champion. Both men were well received by the crowd and m each case their paws were so big that considerable difficulty was experienced m getting the mitts adjusted. . There was a lot of 'merriment when Referee Mick Stewart called them together and the diminutive third man had to look up to speak to Mcßae, who is 6ft 6in against his nuggetty opponent; who . stands sft 10in. Needless to say, the latter was outranged and had considerable difficulty m reaching his opponent. . After three rounds, of desultory sparring ' McCormack found a loophole In Mcßae'B armor and three times running he caught the giant with a hefty right (o the jaw- Tho latter was rattled and'McCoimack won this, and also the fifth. There was a lot of excitement when, they came together for the sixth,, and after a lot of hard slogging, tho major portion of. which went to the holder of the title, while at times both were out on* their feet, the Judges rightly awarded the decision to McConnack. Thetlatttr has evidently received tuition from Fritz Holland for he used a right well, but he should be reminded that m bringing it. back after missing to connect with the back of. the. glove does not get him anywhere on the score sheet. ; - ••-.