BOXING

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18254, 24 November 1933, Page 11

BOXING

HAWES V. FRANKLIN TO-NIGHT’S PRO. CONTEST Followers of the sport of boxing are looking forward with keen interest to the meeting of Percy Hawes, of Christchurch. and Joe branklin, of Gisborne, in the featherweight championship contest at the Opera House this evening. Both boys have records full of fighting, and it is an interesting fact that though both have hacl more than 70 fights as amateurs or professionals, neither has been knocked out, or even seriously inconvenienced by punishment, though Hawes and Franklin have had their beatings. The champion has the better record as far as successful fights are concerned, but one reason for this is that Franklin lias not stayed in his class so consistently, but has fought heavier weight classes on numerous occasions, and not always unsuccessfully. His defeats, with the exception of those administered in amateur championship competition, or by. Hawes since his entry into - the pro-1 j fessional ranks, were practically all re- j I cen-ed when Franklin was a rank ama-j ! teur, packing a hard punch but showing j j little skill or promise of the development j ; lie has shown since those days, 110 was j 1 always fighting with Alec Robertson and j Paddy Roderick, at various tournaments, j and in his early ring experience lie found them tough opponents. To-day Franklin * would probably make short work of I Roderick, and be is far above the stand; > a rcl of Robertson as a boxer as well as in hitting power. Jt takes a champion or something very close to championship standard to extend him now-. In the case of Hawes, who lias had 76 contests and won 62, with four draws ; and 10 losses, the development into ’ championship class was more rapid than in that of Franklin. The Christchurch boy bad none of the setbacks suffered by ■ Franklin, and went on from one success to another until, with only a short professional career behind him, he is acknowledged head of the featherweight division in New Zealand. Franklin seems to be the only one likely to trouble him, and it 'is significant that both Hawes and Franklin are now offered more chances to fight at lightweight limits than at their own limit of feather- j ' weight. For the preliminary bouts this evening, the Gisborne Boxing Association has secured first-class material, and the bouts should ho as good a group as anystaged in the past year or two, good as the record of amateur bouts in that time Jqis been. The appearances of amateurs from Wellington ami Christchurch against the pick of the district boxers in their respective classes will be the liighI lights of the amateur programme.