BOXING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26846, 10 August 1948, Page 6

BOXING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Sir,—lf the secretary of the Otago Boxing Association is not capable of explaining why Findlay was matched to fight Dougal after the draw had been advertised as Findlay v. Whitley, Lewis v,. Dougal, I would be very pleased if some other executive member of the 0.8. A. would give me 'an explanation. I fail to see why the Waimate boy was favoured witu the bye when it should have been the other way round. Whitley could not make the required weight, therefore Findlay won by default, and should have fought the winner of Dougal and Lewis. The light-weight final was a grand bout, but once again the decision went to Waimate. I would suggest that the OJA. advise some of its judges to visit an optician. Kerr was definitely the , victim of poor judgment.—l am. etc.. Ex-pug.

Sir,—Regarding the Otago Boxing championships, recently held at Dunedin, your sports writer deserves the admiration of all fair-minded boxing supporters for his very able comment in the Daily Times of August 6, in stating that Kerr was unlucky to ..lose the decision to Sadler. Your reporter expressed the opinion of the great majority of capable judges in the audience that night. As a keen follower o£ boxing, I have witnessed in many parts of the world some of the best judges and referees of boxing, but over the past five years I hand the palm to the officials of the Otago Boxing Associa - tion for inefficiency and wrong decisions. The only exception appears to be the senior referee, who handles novices and amateurs firmly but in a gentlemanly way. I have not seen another referee this season give a T.K.O. decision to a boy who had twice previously “ shamrocked " his opponent. In the last Otago championships, one of our most able amateurs consistently rabbit punched, and was never once warned. - Some of the most glaringly wrong decisions go back to the Chooque-Cruickshank fight at the Pioneer Hall, and only after the intervention of Mr R. Fulcher, the master of ceremonies publicly announced the correct decision. Shortly after, at Port Chalmers, one judge admitted his mistake in making his decision. This time it was allowed to stand, one official stating that they could not make a habit of publicly announcing their mistakes. On tjvo more occasions, once when - the audience showered the judges with pennies, and the other when two prominent amateurs tried their luck last season, your paper stated, in effect, the following morning “ Why, oh, why, A got the decision over B, we fail to comprehend. I would like, through the Dally Times, for the judges of the 0.8. A. to explain fully their system of judging a contest.— I am, etc., Old Bill.