BOXING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21599, 21 March 1932, Page 5

BOXING

CAMPBELL BEATS BROADFOOT There was a very large attendance at His Majesty’s Theatre on Saturday night to witness the professional boxing contest between Allan Campbell, of Timaru 12.5, New Zealand heavy-weight champion, and s Jim Broadfoot, of Auckland 11.10. Apart from the heavy-weight fight there were two excellent preliminaries, and the Otago Boxing Association has only to continue to stage programmes like that of' Saturday night to place the fistic art on the pedestal of popularity it occupied when Johnny Leckie was the great draw in Dunedin. The heavy-weights went to it from the first gong, and 1 they set such a pace and kept it up so well that it was somewhat surprising that the fight lasted throughout eight of the 15 rounds. Broadfoot was shorter than Campbell, who is of fine physique, and there really looked to be more than 91b between them. What Broadfoot lacked in inches, however, he made up in garaeness, and he was never loth to come in and mix it. Had Campbell the strong punch which one would associate with a man of his physical development Broadfoot would hardly have gone the eight rounds, because the Timaru man sent in plenty of good straight rights to the head, and in the last few rounds was doing most of the leading. Broadfoot, on the other hand, did not use many straight punches. He comes in with a left up to the ribs and a right swing, which, if it properly connected, might cause some damage. Broadfoot’s swinging punches, however, could not have had a great deal of weight as they did not appear to trouble Campbell to any extent. Broadfoot’s defence was not of the best. He leaves himself too open, and more than once came straight in with his arms wide apart, or stood, smothered up, while Campbell punched him. In the opening round the pair at once went together, and some solid blows were exchanged, and on the breakaway Broadfoot swung his left to the ribs. They got close together again, and hit away at cadi other in most vigorous style. It was realised, even at this stage, that the fight was not going to last long, or that if it did go a distance both men would be very tired. The second round saw the men again using good footwork, and there was some desperate body punching. Broadfoot then swung a right to the head and a left to the body, and Campbell chopped his right to the head, Broadfoot coming back strongly, blows connecting from all directions. This was a very fine round, and the spectators cheered their appreciation. Campbell forced his opponent to the ropes commencing the third round, but Broadfoot bored in, and the pair once more got to it hammer and tongs. Broadfoot opened the fourth round with a vicious attack to the body. He was bringing up his right and trying to swing it across to Campbell’s head, but he could not connect. Campbell got in a, good straight right and a left to the face, Broadfoot smothering and then fighting back in the gamest fashion. Campbell began to dominate the fight in the fifth round, but halfway through Broadfoot came with a desperate rally —rights and lefts anywhere and everywhere—which forced Campbell right across the ring. Broadfoot smothered, and Campbell hit him all ways, but there was not great .strength in the Timaru man’s blows. Broadfoot was leaving himself open, and Campbell caught him on the ropes. Then Broadfoot unwound another vicious attack, and trotted to his corner with a smile on his face as the gong sounded. Campbell continued to force his man round the ring, Broadfoot coming back every now and then with a counter-attack. Campbell had Broadfoot hanging on in the seventh round, and the end came in the eight. The pair were together when Campbell connected with a short right jolt to the jaw and Broadfoot went down for Ssec. Shortly after he rose the referee (Mr Kilmartin) stopped the fight, and awarded it to Campbell, Broadfoot did not appear to be very seriously distressed. Ho, however, under ordinary circumstances, had no chance of winning against his heavier opponent, and the referee did right in preventing Broadfoot from being unduly knocked about. While he was in the ring the Aucklander did not tarry, and the pair continually gave the spectators something to look at. It appeared that Broadfoot had sot himself to give of his best as long as he could stand up against his heavier opponent, and that, having done that, he was then content to drop out. THE PRELIMINARIES. George M'Ewen (Invercargill) 11,1 beat Bert Lowe (Dunedin) 11.1. M'Ewen was the taller of the two, and he had the greater variety of blows. Lowe, who is a strong puncher with both hands, likes to get close to his opponent, but M'Ewen was out to prevent his doing this, and he generally succeeded. Lowe opened the first of the four three-minute rounds with lefts to the body, M'Ewen, who was showing a lot of footwork, backing away and reaching out with his left. The Invercargill man’s timing and his distance were, however, not good, as he was apparently taking no chances of letting Lowe get close to him. Towards the end of the round M'Ewen v. as reaching his opponent with light lefts to the face. M'Ewen continued to dance in with his left, and away, in the second round, and then both missed badly in open fighting. Some work close in followed, M'Ewen scoring with a good right to the head, and then with a left. There was some more infighting, and a solid left to the face from Lowe drove M'Ewen back on his heels. The pair were hard at it close

together when the gong wont. In the third round M'Ewen was still missing at times with his left, and after sparring, M'Ewen just connected with his left and the pair clinched. Lowe was trying to force the fight, but he found the Southlander a very elusive boxer. In the last round M'Ewen out-boxed the Dunedin man, and scored repeatedly with his left to the face. Lowe had M'Ewen backing away after one encounter close in, but Lowe could not get out of the way of M'Ewen’s left when it came to open fighting. It was a splendid contest, and the. men were loudly cheered.

Bert Davis (Dunedin) 11.9 beat F. Prendergast (Invercargill) 11.9. Prendergast was knocked out by Davis when they met previously in Dunedin, end he was very anxious not to come to close quarters with the solidly built Dunedin man, in the opening rounds at any rate. Prendergast was satisfied to fight on the defensive, with Davis plodding round the ring after him. Just before the gong in the first round Prendergast bounced out from the ropes and got in a good left to the face. Prendergast landed a good left to the face opening the second round, but he continued to back away, with Davis in .slow but persistent pursuit. At last Davis nailed Prendergast on the ropes, but the Southlauder came into a clinch. On the break away Prendergast connected with a left to the face and Davis swung a solid. right to the head. Prendergast continued his backing-away tactics in the third round, jumping in now and again with his left. Prendergast was, however, now fighting with more confidence, and was using both lefts and rights, though they did not carry much weight. Davis swung a solid right hand punch to the head, and both exchanged lefts and rights. Prendergast again attacked, and Davis sent him back with a strong right to the head. Just before the gong Davis got home with a solid right punch to the jaw and a left to the head. Davis forced Prendergast round the ripg commencing the last round, but the Southlander got in a good right baud shot to the head. Davis forced the Southlander to the ropes with lefts and rights, but Prendergast now commenced to take the upper hand. Three times he planted his loft in Davis’s face, and Davis retaliated with a solid left to the body. Davis, however, like Lowe, did not seem to be' able to get out of the way of a straight left, and he was puzzled how to counter this mode of attack. Again Prendergast sent in lefts to the 'face, and both came across with their rights to the head. Prendergast then unwound his final rally. He drove Davis to the ropes and was fighting over him at the gong. Davis was clearly outboxed in the final round, and, his condition giving out, he was being out-fought too. Prendergast, however, had left his effort too late. The decision of “Davis the winner” was received with a burst of hooting by a section of the crowd.

Mr Kilmartin was the referee, and Messrs R. Fulcher and Don Paterson the judges in the preliminaries.