BOXING.

Otago Witness, Issue 3148, 15 July 1914, Page 58

BOXING.

BY STRAIGHT LEFT,

J. J. Hughes, of Invercargill, is out with a challenge to the winner of last night’s contest, provided some association will take the matter up

Last week the Otago Boxing Association Committee approved of the team chosen by the selectors to lepresent the province at the New Zealand championship tournament, ti be held at Wanganui. At the same meeting the question of the appo.ntment of a manager for the team and also delegates came up for consideration. After very little delay Mr S. Batt was appointed manager and (Messrs Isaacs and Kilmartin delegates tq the annual conference. While this business appeared at the time to have been transacted m a regu,ar manner, there happened along the next day a member of the committee who, had he been notified that the meeting was to be hold, would have been a candidate for the position of manager, and he protested that what was done was not in order. The member mentioned appears to have been harshly dealt with, as there is scarcely another member of” the Otago Boxing Association who devotes the amount of time to promoting the welfare of the sport that Mr Lawrence —the member referred to —does. He has repeatedly gone away with Otago boxing teams andhas paid liis own expenses, and has assisted the men in their training without a demur, and seeing that he was an aspirant for the position of manager of this year’s team he might have been notified that the meeting at which the appointment was to be made was to be held. Of course, it is doubtful if his attendance at the meeting would have made any deference to the result, the opposition being exceptionally well organised. At a subsequent meeting the original appointments were ratified, Mr Lawrence being ruled out of order by the chairman, who came armed with volumes of parliamentary proccduro, a legal opinion, and/the opinion of a well-known official of a prominent local body. By those who understand the position, this matter is treated as a huge joke. The officials of the Northern Boxing Association received notification early in the week to the" effect that Bert Lowe had injured his hand, and his medical advisor had stated that he would not bo able to box for two months. The association officials had therefore to rearrange the programme. S. Mitchell (Waikato) and Denny Murphy (Wellington) have now been matched to meet on the first night of the association’s tournament for the welter-weight championship of New Zealand and a 'purse of £SO and expenses. The welter limit of 10st 7lb will be insisted on. The association has applied to the New Zealand Council for the welterweight championship. Marquet, who was to box Lowe on July 13, has now been matched against A. Pooley, and the pair will meet in the Auckland Town Hall on August 4. The Auckland Association expects to have Herb. M‘Coy at the Town Hall on August 20. Mr T. C. R. Thatcher, the association’s representative, now in Sydney, is negotiating for an opponent for M‘Ooy. The Northern Boxing Association has given notice of its intention to move at the annual conference of rhe associations affiliated with the New Zealand Boxing Council that clause A of Rule 3 be deleted and in substitution thereof the following words bo inserted: “The governing body of the association shall bo a committee of members representing the centres. Each centre, excepting the headquarters centre, shall be represented on the council by two members, who shall be elected by the centre at its annual meeting and who shall hold office until the appointment of their successors. The centre of the headquarters district shall be represented on the council by five members, who shall be elected by the centre at its annual meeting and who shall hold office until the appointment of their successors: provided that notification of all appointments hereinbefore mentioned shall be given to the secretary of the council within one month of such annual meeting. Should any vacancy occur on the council, the committee of the centre affected shall forthwith elect a representative to fill the vacancy. The officers of the association shall be members of the committee, and such committee shall bo known as the Council Committee.” Mr C. F. Sanders is advocating the change in the constitution of the council, and it is to bo hoped that he will be present at the confercrce at Wanganui on July 23' to support his notice of motion.

Dave Smith scored a second victory over Jules Dubourg in Melbourne on June 27. Neither man seemed to be’ in the best of condition. Smith had a very noticeable waistline. At first Dubourg outboxed the New Zealander, who was too eager to administer a knock-out. After that Smith did hotter, although the Frenchman’s splendid defence bothered him. In the tenth round Dubourg was down for eight seconds, and he took more punishment in the eleventh. Smith put him down again in that round, and then the towel fluttered in from Dubourg’s corner. Eddie M'Goorty says he will give Dave Smith another chance to beat him, and at catch-weights, as Smith desires. Arthur Pelkey, the big Canadian heavyweight who was beaten in Australia by Bill Lang and Sam M'Yca, is no longer under Tommy Burns’s management. It is also reported that Pelkey has decided to retire from boxing.

PROFESSIONAL CONTEST. IvPQUARRIE BEATS MATHEWSON. There was a large attendance in the Garrison Hall on the 9th to witness a professional boxing contest between Paul M'Quarrie (Bluff) and George Mathewson (Dunedin) for a purse of £SO. Two sixround amateur preliminary bouts were boxed, and these were watched with considerable interest, although they could bo hardly classed as particularly scientific efforts. The professional contest was interesting while it lasted, and until he was knocked out Mathewson was leading on points. SIX-ROUND BOUTS. A. O. Cooper (11.5) boat D. Borcham (10.12). P. Torrie (8.12) boat M. Facoory (8.11).

PROFESSIONAL MATCH. P. M'Quarne (12.7) beat G. Mathewson (12y). Tin's professional match was boxed in the Garrison Hall on Wednesday evening last in the presence of a large attendance of the public, the door receipts being JbT34-. Trom tire start Mathowson led with a welljuaged loft, and during the earlier rounds scored a fair margin of points. However, M Quarnc, who evidently had boon put "■-so to what was considered to be his opponent s weak spot, began to devote attention to Mathewson’s body, and by this means made up a considerable amount of leeway by the time the seventh- round was completed. M'Quarrie sent Mathewson clown for eight seconds in tho fourth round, but the latter was not hurt. After tho seventh round Mathewson commenced to tire, and his seconds were kept hard at work during the intervals massaging his legs, thus demonstrating quite clearly that he was rot in condition for a 15-rouncl contest. M'Quarrie scored well m too eighth and ninth rounds, but Mathewson kept his left playing a tattoo on his opponent’s face, but his efforts were weak. Mathowson livened up in the tenth round, and scored freely with loft and right, at the same time keeping M'Quarrie off. It was his final effort, nowever, ‘as he was sent down for nine just prior to the end of the round. He was dazed when he came up for the eleventh, and M'Quarrie tupped his right to the body, and then hooked his left to the point, and Mathewson went down and was counted out.

WANGANUI CHAMPIONSHIPS. WANGANUI, July 8. The amateur boxing championships of Wanganui were decided to-night with tho following results:— Featherweight—A. C. Benus beat W. J. Watkins. Heavyweight—A. Manson beat H. Knox. Lightweight—E. Thomas beat N. Bond. Middleweight—J. Jackson beat T. Parsons. CANTERBURY BOXING CONTESTS. CHRISTCHURCH, July 13. Tho Canterbury boxing championships commenced this evening. In the lightweight N. Vcrnall (9.7) beat J. Dempsey (9.9), E. Morris boat 0. W. Headerson (9.11). In tho bantam weight W. M’Miun (5.04) beat Y. Thomas (8.2), G. Gunn' beat G. Hunt (8.2). In the Voiler weight Toner (ICJg) beat Grey (10.51), Penrose (10.8) beat Bradley (10.8), Sloan (10.83) boat Hayes (10.3-*) The finals will take place to-morrow night. JOHNSON-LANGFORD PURSE WITHDRAWN. LONDON, July 8. The Sportsman states that the promoter has withdrawn the £6OOO purse for the Johnson-Langford fight. WORLD’S LIGHT-WEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP LONDON, July 7. Freddie Welsh defeated Willie Ritchie - on points for the light-weight championship of the world. The fight took place at Olympia. Father Boudier, of Islington, acted as referee. Ten thousand were present at the match, including many women. A large contingent of Americans arrived to witness the contest. Both men stripped at nearly level weights. Both defended finely in the early rounds, Welsh doing all the forcing up to the seventh round. He scored in infighting, Ritchie being rather disappointing. He had a longer reach, but Welsh’s cleverness enabled him to get inside and severely punish the American. Ritchie’s ill-timed leads brought him severe punishment. The fight was more even from the eighth to the twelfth rounds, but Ritchie was nonplussed by his opponent’s speed, and realised that a knock-out was his only chance. Welsh, however, evaded his efforts and cut his opponent’s eye. CHAMPIONSHIP OF SCOTLAND. LONDON, July 11. Rice defeated Dan Goldbrick on points for the championship of Scotland after the full numebr of rounds (15) had been fought.