POOREST OF THE POOR

NZ Truth, Issue 1198, 15 November 1928, Page 12

POOREST OF THE POOR

An Alleged Fight That Bored The Audience Most of the crowd present at the alleged fight at Christchurch last week were sorry for falling- so hard. *

THE magic name, Johnnie Leckie, attracted the crowd, but with a couple of rounds gone everybody was m agreement with the chap who advised all and sundry "to pick up his cap and 'get out and get under the moon." For the New Zealand champion and his Yorkshire opponent, "Norm. Radford, staged as appalling: a contest as could be witnessed. Radford was anything but a fit man — on looks— and Leckie also failed to strip the Johnnie "N.Z. Truth" knows. Aided and abetted by a referee, who should hide his head m shame* the pair fractured every, rule m the boxing testament. ' . No limpet ever clung like Radford. His one mission m life was to get m close and grab for dear life. He succeeded! At times he was so dearly m love with Johnnie that it would have been better business to have had the pair m a marquee out. at Addington and charged one shilling per head to view the Siamese twins. Just. what was wrong with Leckie is not known, but last week he fought like a fifty-third rate amateur. A Leckie who was swinging punches was a new one to. "Truth" and to see Johnnie; pulling his right back, m preparation to delivering a punch, ,was as disgusting as it was novel. His sense of direction was awful and his compass must have been ail unbalanced. . Time and again he . had Radf ord at his mercy, but, instead of taking the time and opportunity by the forelock, he went off at half-cock. : It very much reminded one of the meeting of. Grime and Purely on the night Billy got tired of trying to reach Charlie's chin. ■ .

There were low punches on either, side, and some of Lieckie's. palming, when m close, was as artistic: as it was illegal. ■ Early the crowd told the referee that there was such a command as "break," but even when lie did venture to call to the pair they took no notice of him. They just went on scuffling, until, m desperation, the referee would grab hold of Radford, and almost pull him over. On several occasions the fight could have been ended, there and then, for breaches of the rules. But the referee seemed to fit into the occasion. The two boys were as stagnant as ditch-water and the referee was as pliant as a reed. Instead of being m control the third man was- being controlled. Leckie had his man ripe for the killing on quite a number of occasions, but over-eagerness, bad timing, and the clinging, vine tactics of Radford, allowed the awful business to run along till the fourteenth. Then Radford, more from exhaustion than anything else, was all m, and_ the fight was stopped. "Truth" feels "sorry for those who had to pay to witness the sorry affah\ Leckie, on last week's showing, can cut out any idea lie has of voyaging to the States. That was the consensus of opinion after the .fight. To those who know the boy, it was very evident that he did not show at his best. Perhaps, there was a multitude of circumstances for this ghastly showing, '■'• • .": .■ ' . . ••' ■ ' •■• Leckie is at present m a period of transition, and he should be brainy enough to suit, himself to the circumstances prevailing.