BOXING

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16374, 23 June 1927, Page 12

BOXING

G.E.A. AND AMATEURS SPLIT , TOURNAMENT ABANDONED Owing to lack of entries, the amateur buxuig tournament which was to have been Held this month has been abandoned Iry the Gisborne Boxing Association, .was the announcement made yesterday afternoon by the lion, secretary of the association, Mr. Howie, and the authorities will now concentrate their efforts upon the organisation of a professional match for July. The breakdown in the amateur tournament proposals will give rise to general surprise, for at the annual general meeting of the Gisborne Boxing Association the executive was assured of the wholehearted interest of the amateur boxers, whose representatives explained that tho formation of the now club, known as the Pastimes Club, was in no way inimical to the interests of the G.B.A. In the face of this assurance, the association determined to carry on an active programme during the ensuing year, in order to encourage the non-pro-fessional element, and give it opportunities of appearing in public, with the possibility of developing likely lads for the New Zealand championships. There was : a strong feeling at that meeting that the association had it duty to keep the game going in Gisborne for the. sake of the amateurs, and accordingly it' was decided that a tournament'' be staged in June. Entries for the various classes were called, and tho officials of the Pastimes Club are understood to have submitted a series of matches, with the assurance that the amateurs named were anxious to assist.

In connection with the tournament, however, a demand was made by the amateurs or their representatives for a change in the arrangements already entered into by the association, arrangements, which, the associations officials claim, the contestants had no right t<y question. Upon the association executive refusing to entertain the demand, the list of matches proposed by the Pastimes Club was withdrawn, and the association thereupon invited entries in the ordinary way. The response was not encouraging, for only nine amateurs forwarded their names, and this number was insufficient for the purpose. In the circumstances the only course open to the association was,, the abandonment of the tournament. Members of the public will regret that the split has developed, more especially as the prospects of putting on a, professional tight of real merit are now much brighter than for some time, and any disputes between the controlling authorities and the active participants in the sport must jeopardise those prospects. JACK HEENEY MATCHED:

The ex-middleweight champion, Jack lleeney, has been matched to tight Harry Casey, the Australian, at hew Plymouth on July 9, with the probability that the light will be for the title recently won by Casey, lleeney has been training assiduously for some time, and though he naturally finds himself slower than when he last ceased to train with a light in view, he is limbering up in good style, and should be in good form for his meeting with Casey. Tin* possibility of lleeney beating Casey is one that has provoked keen discussion at titoes throughout the New Zealand boxing world, and it is generally held that if the veteran boxer can recapture his title from the present holder he will not have a great deal to fear from other aspirants in the Dominion.