BOXING

Otago Witness, Issue 3772, 29 June 1926, Page 17

BOXING

By

CROSS-COUNTER.

LES MURRAY’S AU REVOIR. ' Les Murray light-weight champion of New Zealand, who has left on a visit to the United States, took with him the large end of a pure of £2OO which he had won in his contest with Chambers, the Australian boxer. Those who were present at that fight, which was staged in His Majesty’s Theatre, had little reason to be disappointed, for, although the local boxer won easily, it was not what might be called a one-sided affair. Chambers fought long range, and came in occasionally with a long left to the body, followed by a right. His opponent, however, was more versatile. As a matter of fact, Les Mirray has ot been seen to better advantage for the past six months, for he attacked viciously all the way, and unleashed a deadly right to the jaw that trapped Chambers repeatedly. The champion did some clever work with a hard left jab to the bpdy, which would bring the Aujtralian’s head forward, all nice and ready for the right to the ja . that had all the weight of Murray’s sturdy shoulder behind it. The visitor had a hard time this way in the second round. He simply fould not get out of the way of those left-rights that shook him from head to heel, and had the gong not sounded when it did the fight might have finished then and there, for Chambers was rocking. It was a lesson to the Australian, for during the next few rounds he kept out of the way of Murray’s right and contented himself with hard long-distance punches. The local boxer was quite at home in the in-fighting, and for every punch he took from Chambers he returned three. Murray is a master of the short, upward punch that has such devastating effect when it connects with the body. Even when the going was more open he made better use of his reach than Chambers, whose arms were really longer than the champion’s, and he was also more nimble with the straight left. Murray’s defence, too, was clever, and several times he was able to sidestep more briskly and land a quiet one to the solar plexus and sometimes to the jaw. Chambers is an awkward-looking boxer, and seems to bend at the hips more than is necessary. His footwork might be better if he straightened up a bit. As the fight progressed Murray used his right once more, and, satisfied with the effect, he kept it going. Once he even fought southpaw, though he changed his position again before long. Had one of those rights to the jaw got properly home the contest would have finished immediately, but Chambers sometimes managed to get his glove up over his ear and protected himself. The spectators, however, were interested in that right, and there were not a few who surmised that it would he the main factor in gaining the decision for Murray, as, indeed, it was. The local man was going haid in the thirteenth and the fourteenth rounds, and Chambers was kept busily on the defence. In the last round Murray came forward with a vicious fusillade, using the short left to the body and bringing the light round to the chin, where it connected once too often for Chambers. The referee stepned between the two and raised Murray’s glove, the champion having won on a technical knock-out. Chambers. I understand, intends to make a claim for the light-weight title if Murray does not return to New Zealand within six months of his departure, and if he does return he will call upon him to defend the title. There are others also who have covetous eyes on the light-weight crown. » M‘DONALD BEATS WILLIAMS. After a long spell, Lachie M’Donald stepped into the professional ring again stepped into the professional ring feated Merv Williams at Timaru. From all reports it was one of the best contests ever staged there. The purse was for £l5O, and the fight went the full distance of 15 rounds. The men entered the ring at catch-weights, Williams appearing to be carrying more condition than his opponent, but in the closing rounds it could be seen that Williams was the fitter of the two. Practically from the word go the men made things willing, and while for a time there was nothing of outstanding merit in the contest, the fight from the seventh round on was well worth seeing. Williams was the aggressor throughout. He hit cleanly and used his feet well. McDonald, on the other hand, was at times sluggish, and most of his punches lacked sting. The decision of the referee (Mr L. Dewar) went in favour of M’Donald, but in the opinion of a very large section of the audience the verdict should have been the other way, and they were quick to voice their disapproval. A VETERAN OF THE RING. One of the finest boxers New Zealand ever produced was Billy Murphy, ex-feather-weight champion of the world. Now a veteran aged 65, Billy Murphy is living in Auckland, the city of his birth, and to-day he is hale and hearty. It is rumoured, too, that he still carries a hard punch in the right hand that made him famous, and the rumour is supported by a story of a young man, himself i good boxer, who went to have a go with the gloves at the old-time champion. It was a willing bout while it lasted, and it ended in Murphy flooring his challenger with his good right hand and dislocating his thumb and jarring a shoulder in the process. AN AUCKLAND PROPOSAL. AUCKLAND. June 23. The Auckland Boxing Association discussed a proposal to increase the membership from 1M to 300, and to increase the subscription to three guineas, with an entrance fee of £l. This was carried by a majority of about a dozen votes, but a two thirds majority is required for an alteration of the rule.

PURDY DEFEATS JAMITO. NAPIER, June 24. Charlie Purdy (Auckland) gained % points’ verdict over Silvino Jamito in 15 round* at Haatinge to-night.