BOXING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21146, 2 October 1930, Page 4

BOXING.

By Cbobs Counter.

Tommy Griffiths meets Jack Crowley at Ashburton to-morrow night. Kid Chocolate and Fidel La Barba are to meet in New York to-morrow night, n winner is to be matched against Jiato Battalino for the world’s featherweight title. • for a Nichol-Larvy bout Dunedin have fallen through, the faouthlander having notified the Otago Association that he feels in honour bound to make his first appearance as a professional in Invercargill. The Otago Association has been requested to send a team to Christchurch on or about November 17 to meet a Canterbury team for the Wairongoa Shield. No decision has yet "been come to in the matter. Johnny Peters, the English schoolboy champion bantam, who created a great impression in Australia, is expected to arrive in New York some time this month. Sammy Shack has decided that Waiting found for matches in this part of the globe, is no great pastime, and eo he has decided to hit the trail for the States. He is due to sail on Monday. Ted Nelson, the Australian feather, who fought in New Zealand a couple of months ago, is likely to have a spell away from the ring for a time. Knocked out by Leckie and Donovan. Nelson was a sick boy when he left these shores' homeward bound, and since his return to Sydney he has been knocked out by Bobby Blay, After a lengthy spell, Ted Morgan has at last got another chance to show his true form, for on November 6 he will meet Reg Trowern at Whangarei. The nm time the pair met was at Grey’,.,wllen a , draw was the verdict, while the second encounter at Gisborne, when Morgan was disqualified, provided something m the nature of a cause celebre in New Zealand boxing. Both Johnny Leckie and Tommy Donovan have signified their willingness to face one another again at Napier on November 1, with the feather-weight title at stake. The arrangements have not, as yet, been finalised, ae Donovan’s :ap-PJ-arance, is conditional on the consent of tue Gisborne Association being obtained. The Gisborne -authorities were in the field for the bout, and apparently obtained Donovan’s agreement, but Leckie would not sign, and it is understood that Gisborne are now looking for another opponent for Donovan; If they succeed it is a question whether they will ■ change their date in favour of Napier. Johpny Lcckie meeta Norman Gillespie, the Australian light-weight champion, -at Napier on Saturday night. As featherweights, the pair staged a great fight inDunedin two years ago. Gillespie is very popular with local enthusiasts, and if the Otago Association could arrange a bout for him it would be rewarded with a packed house Jess M’Mahon, the ■ late “Tex” Pickard’s right-hand man and . matchmaker for Madison Square Garden (New York), during the reign of the great “ Tex,” is now in competition against his old. firm. Some time ago he financed and built the New York Coliseum, and is already a serious rival to the “ Garden ” people. He once owned the Commonwealth Club, the home of coloured fighters in America, ■' and ■is now associated with Humbert Fugazy, and Cole, in big promotions. ' Already he has stolen two big shots from the “Garden,” in the Kid Chocolate-Bushy Graham, and La BarbaGhocolate bouts, and has an option over more first class men. M'Mahon took Jack Dempsey’s place. The ex-world’s champion was paid 40,000 dollars for his services, but was unable to sign a match. It appears that Jack knew the first game inside the ring, and Jess knows every wrinkle outside, and it’s the outside a matchmaker has to know. _ Macon, Georgie, “ Young Bill ” Stribling’s home town, bad • a public holiday the day he fought Phil Scott in London. Every bank and business organisation automatically closed down in the afternoon, about the time of night in London, when Stribling hit Scott with" a few punches and knocked him out. The Northern Boxing Association is making every effort to stir up interest in boxing, affairs again and hopes to be able to stage a bout at the end of the month or early in October (says the New Zealand Herald). There seems to be difficulty in securing suitable men - with drawing sufficient to warrant the expenses of promotion. The association is endeavouring to obtain a man from Australia, but the only one available is. Tommy Crowle, twice defeated by Tommy Donovan. If thoughts are centred upon feather-weights, the Australian, Young Halliday, might be considered as an opponent for Tommy Donovan. Donovan - has not fought professionally in Auckland, and Ms willing style would appeal greatly to those who prefer thrills to science. Halliday recently had two boxing engagements in the one week, one .in Sydney on a Thursday night and one in Melbourne on the Friday. In order to keep his second engagement he travelled by air, the first boxer in Australia to use this method of transport. The European middle-weight champion, Len Harvey, looks like adding the British cruiser-weight title to his belt. Dan Sullivan, Harvey’s manager, has lodged £2OO as part of a £IOOO side stake against Harry Crossley, the champion, wfth the Lonsdale Belt at stake. Jack Hood is returning the compliment. He has beaten Harvey once, and lost once, and is after a “rubber” match with a “thousand” 'and the championship hanging on the result. Hood played with Jack Hyama for three rounds before a record house at the “King,” London, recently, and then knocked him- out. , Matt Wells, the oldtime light-weight champion, rates - Hood thus: .He’s as good as a champion of 15 -years ago.” ' WRESTLING NOTES. A wrestling association is to be formed in Invercargill, and it is intended to stage bouts there on October 15 and 23. Ted Thye jvill have his second bout in Auckland to-morrow, night, when he will meet Harold Cantonwine, who has just arrived from Australia. The bout’ will be controlled by the - Ex-Servicemen's Wrestling Union. A recent bout between Pat M'Gill and Howard Cantonwine in Newcastle. ended in an.unusual way. M'Gill, when underneath, smacked his opponent three times on the back. Taking it for the referee’s signal, Cantonwine released his grip, and was promptly pinned. The fall, the only one of, the match, was allowed by the referee. The challenge by Tom Lurich of £SO to George Walker has been accepted by the latter wrestler, and the stakes are held by the New Zealand Wrestling Association. This will probably be regarded by the association as an indication of the good faith of the two men, and there is a good prospect of a return bout between them at an early date. Walker stated that in future he intended to disregard individual challenges, leaving the matter of matches to the judgment of the association. In this case, however, he felt that Lurich was entitled to some surety for a return match. The bout between Totiy Stecher and Fred Ebert at the Town Hall on Monday night may not have been the most spectacular bout that has been, stage locally, but it was certainly one of the most gruelling, and the referee had busy moments in smoothing ruffled tempers, being on one occasion forced to apply a beadlock to one of the contestants. Stecher lived up to his reputation and should be a great crowd-puller wherever he goes. So far as the control of wrestling in the Dominion is concerned, matters appear to be considerably mixed, but with the formation of a New Zealand Association it would seem that the gauge has been thrown down for a trial of strength. So far as the position in Auckland is concerned, an official of the New Zealand Association says:—“The aims of the New Zealand Association are chiefly in the direction of catering for amateurs. What this body has in view is the erection of a gymnasium in the centre of the city, where the best men from the present gymnasia may assemble and receive expert tuition from a professional instructor. The association must have funds for this, and so it is necessary to import overseas wrestlers who will draw good houses. With the establishment of a well-equipped gymnasium it is hoped to bring New Zealanders up to the standard of the overseas men and so give the matches a local interest. This would also reduce by half the amount of money at present leaving the Dominion in the pockets of the overseas men. The

New Zealand Association, therefore, cannot agree to any settlement of the present situation unless full provision is made for amateurs. At the same time it is quite prepared to devote a reasonable proportion of its net profits from matches to the" Returned Soldiers’ Association unemployment fund. We made an offer to the Ex-servicemen’s Union, but it rejected the proposal. We offered to take over all its members aud provide seats on the association’s executive for four of its officers, then, after making full provision for fostering the amateur side of tl;e sport, the balance of the net proceeds would be devoted to the Returned Soldiers’ Association unemployment fund. This offer was rejected by the union on the sole ground that it must have full control. It has been definitely stated by the union that it devotes all its profits to the returned soldiers’ unemployment fund, and so it cannot have any funds for' assisting the amateur side of the sport. While such different aims exist there does not appear to be any possibility of a merger.”