THE RING.

Otago Witness, Issue 4046, 29 September 1931, Page 49

THE RING.

BOXING. SHARKEY AND CANERA. NEW YORK. September 24. 3he proposed match between Sharkey and Canera, scheduled for October 1. has been postponed owing to an injury to Sharkey's hand. ,

LOUGHRAN TO MEET CANERA. NEW YORK, September 24. Tommy Loughran has agreed to meet Camera on October 1. the winner to meet Sharkey on October’ 12. WRESTLING. BURESH BEATS ELLIOTT GOOD SHOWING BY NEW ZEALANDER. Stanley Buresh 13.3 (Nebraska) met King Elliott 13.6 —who was announced by Mr L. C. Piner, master of ceremonies, as professional heavy-weight champion of New Zealand—at His Majesty's Theatre on Saturday night, and after some fast and willing wrestling Buresh won the match by two falls to one. There may not have been many spectacular incidents in the contest, but there was plenty of clever work, with now and again some acrobatics The men indeed concentrated on giving an exhibition of good, clean wrestling. It was noticeable that the fatal headlock and throw was not much featured, although Burescli is an expert in this method of attack. Elliott is tall and nicely proportioned, whereas Buresh is of shorter and more nuggety build. The New Zealander proved that he has learnt a good deal about the modern style of wrestling during his sojourn in America, and as he has ail the physical attributes required for such a strenuous game, he -should go on improving. He has not yet, however, learned the art to the extent acquired by Buresh, who was literally, as the saying goes, a “ ball of muscle,” and alert, agile, and sometimes acrobatic right through the five rounds. The contest was set for eight 10-minute rounds, and was refereed by Mr W. J. L. Coughlan. Ihe pair started off at great speed, and dived, tackled, and worked round the ring in fine style. Elliott then secured a splits —that is, he began to force Buresh’s legs apart—but the American knuckled Elliott on the spine and he at once gave up this method of attack. Buresh then secured a splits, and Elliott obtained a release by knuckling the American on the leg at the back of the knee. Arm locks and body and head scissors—both legs gripped round the particular part of the anatomy —were tried, the men making some clever escapes.

In the second round the men kept up the pace. Elliott was doing well with what is termed a short arm .scissors—the opponent's arm doubled up by a leg with the attacker’s arm thrust through (he doubled arm to hold the position —but Buresh could not be subdued. Elliott then brought Buresh to the mat with a Hying body scissors from behind, and trapped his opponent with the crucifix. Place an opponent on the ground, put his arms behind his back, slip a leg under both arms and bring the other leg over and behind the back of the neck, lock the feet, and the idea is seen. The attacking wrestler lies at a right angle. Buresh was caught in a desperate hold, and indicated his defeat.

Both men got out of head holds in the third round, and then Elliott managed to escape from a deadly arm hold bj T struggling to his feet, and thrownig Buresh off. King was doing good work with wrist holds, but he could not dominate the Nebraskan. Buresh had Elliott in trouble with a Japanese wrist lock—the arm held and then bending the wrist back—and he began to dominate his game opponent.

Buresh put the deadly short arm scissors on to Elliott in the fourth round, but the New Zealander staggered to his feet, stood Buresh on his head, and got out of trouble. He gained a release in similar fashion shortly after. Buresh was now having the better of it, and he got one leg round Elliott’s head and the other under Elliott’s leg—a cradle hold—and also a wrist lock, and gained the fall.

In the fifth round Elliott got Buresn with the figure of four hold—both legs round the head with one foot locked over a leg—but the American escaped, and made a flying tackle at Elliott which threw the New Zealander into the ropes. Attack and counter-attack followed, and then Buresh got across Elliott’s back and secured a reverse toe hold and Elliott had to give in. THE PRELIMINARIES.

F. Keach (8.10) beat G. Irwin (8.10). —The pair kept up a good pace, but Keach knew more about the game than his opponent. He secured a fall with a body press in the first round and secured a solid head hold in the second from which Irwin could not free himself.

Len Coughlan 10.8 beat E. Anderson 81-2.—Anderson put up a game showing, but his opponent was too strong. Cough lan has not much knowledge of the finer points of wrestling, but be is a trier from start to finish. It was not, however, till the third round that he overcame bis opponent. He brought Anderson to the mat with a buttock and then secured a fall with a headlock. T. Pennell 10.5 beat M. M’Crae 10.7.— At the end of three well-contested rounds no fall had been recorded, and the refer*-" gave the decision, on points, to Pennell. C. Turner 11.7 beat W. Secue 11.0.— Secue was not frightened to force th” attack in this contest, but he did noi make much impression on his strong"! and heavier opponent, who, however, did not have it all his own way. Turnei secured a fall in the first rouno with a quarter nelson and another in the third Found with a body press. Both wrestlers were loudly applauded for a good hard working contest. The preliminaries, which were refereed by Mr Frank Anderson, were of three rounds, each of five minutes.

KARA PASHA DEFEATS BURESH. AUCKLAND. September 21. A professional wrestling contest tonight between Kara Pasha and Stanley Bure, h was won by the former by two falls to one Buresh gained a fall in the 'ourth round with a body press. Kara Pasha’s tails were a submission in the fifth round with a hammerloek ami in the final round with a body press.

A FARCICAL BOUT.

ITAWERA, September 24

A wrestling fiasco between Stanley Buresh and George Pencheff last evening terminated in the seventh round, when rhe referee declared the bout off. Neither showed any serious endeavour to settle down to action, and the crowd became hostile, throwing pennies in the ring, booting, and counting the wrestlers out. The association is withholding the wrestlers’ percentages of the purse. The attendance was the smallest at a bout here. A HEATED ATTACK. CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL. CHRISTCHURCH, September 21. Describing the sport as the}' had seen it in a professional contest in the Municipal Concert Hall on September 7 as a diabolical business ” and “ an abomination,” members of the Christchurch City Council to-night made a strong and heated attack on professional wrestling. Ihey made even more unkind comments on professional wrestlers. The By-laws Committee reported: :—"After the "meeting of the council on September 7 several councillors witnessed a professional wrestling contest in the Municipal Concert Ha. 1. and came to the conclusion that the council should not encourage these contests by letting the theatre for this purpose. The committee considered the matter, and recommends that the council decline to let the theatre for such contests in the future.”

The attack was led by the Rev. J. K. Archer, who said that the wrestling as he had seen it was a brutalising business to those who took part in it, and degrading to those who witnessed it. there was no strength in it. and no skill. It was simply brute force suitable for bullocks or baboons, particularly the latter. , le . a j ln the wrestlers was simply to Humiliate each other through pain. The contest wag not only degrading to the wrestlers, but to the public. The expressions of the audience during the contest were absolutely unprintable. The contestants were advised by the people to inflict on each other every possible type of injury short of murder. ( r A. E. Armstrong defending wrestling and the wrestlers, said that much of the so-called pain was not pain at all. ‘lt pain when you see one man pulling another’s arm and standing on his lace, said Cr Armstrong. The men gave horrible groans, but I don’t think it was pain.

They ran, squealed, kicked, and bit ami did all sorts of things that looked like that, anyhow,” said Cr Butterfield. He was informed, however, that most of it was make believe.

Cr Evans moved as au amendment that the council should warn the Wrestling Association that if the contests were not better conducted in the future the lease of the hall would be refused.

The Mayor (Mr D. G. Sullivan) said the contest was an abomination. Perhaps there was some pretence, but some of it could hardly be pretence. Even as a display of mimicry, however, it was still an abomination.. He had come away from the contest sick and disgusted. Other councillors spoke for and against wrestling. All approved of amateur wrestling, but were either wholly opposed to professional bouts or were less certain about them. The amendment was defeated by nine votes to eight, and the clause of the report was rejected on the same vote.