BOXING

Southland Times, Issue 17482, 24 July 1915, Page 10

BOXING

At .Sydney Stadium this evening Mick King will engage American Billy Murray—middleweights. A Herb McCoy-Hughie Alehegan bout at lOst will interest followers of the game in Melbourne to-night. The Otago Boxing Association’s annual championship tourney will be held in Dunedin on August 2. Les Darcy and Eddie McGoorty have been definitely matched for the world’s middle title on Saturclav evening, Julv 31. it is reported that several of Southland’s leading boxers will take part in the Otago amateur championship events. The winner of the Mick King-Murray contest is to be matched with the victor of the McGoorty-Darcy champion - ship clash of July 31. The people of Maitland, Darcy’s native place, have engaged two special trains to convey them to Sydney to see the native son engage McGoorty. Two important featherweight battles are scheduled for Brisbane, Geikie-Simp-son ancl Hill-Ellis. The winners are to meet and the ultimate victor will tackle Slew Edwards, feather champion of Great Britain.

Dick Burge, ex-lightweight champion of England and boxing promoter, has enlisted in London. Despite the fact that lie is r>o years of age and prosperous, Burge considers it his duty to go to the front. In arranging for the continuance of boxing at The Ring weekly while he is serving Burge remarked; "I know there are thousands of good fellows who are unable to Join the services because they are wanted at home in the ammunition factories, and there is no reason on earth why they should be deprived of their .sport. Their work is arduous and in order to get the best out of them they must he provided with some relaxation. To most of them boxing makes its appeal, so The Ring remains open."

In its reference to the enlistment of England's heavyweight champion, Bombardier Wells, six or eight weeks ago. London Sporting Life said: “Tiie news that Bombardier Wells has rejoined the array as a private in the Royal Welsh Fusiliers created more than a little comment in sporting circles. For several months Wells lags been 'shot at’ by some critics, who hinted more or less pointedly that it was up to him, as a trained soldier, to enlist. Wells lias always contended that it was his duty to stay at home as. bread-winner, not only for his own family, but for other members of the family. His three brothers enlisted, and one of them was killed in action early in the war. Apparently something lias now happened to induce Wells to reconsider his decision, anti as a matter of fact lie has always contended that if lie had consulted only his personal inclination lie would have been in the army long ago. Wells is now a private in the 2nd Rhondda Valley Aiiners’ Battalion, R.W.F." Apropos of the mighty punch possessed by Joe Choynski an American writer says; “Fourteen years ago in Galveston, Texas, Joe Choynski, the Californian Chrysanthemum, knocked out Jack Johnson in three rounds, and as a reward was put in the cooler for breaking tiie law. Johnson told me a few years since, while speaking of that affair, that he wasn’t the least bit sorry when the sheriff jumped into the ring, because he thought the top of his brain hud been knocked clean off. f’hoynski was born in San Francisco, November 8, 1868, and although he fought the biggest and best men of his time, was never lucky enough to grab a title. He was a bit shy on weight, always scaling 16.6, or thereabouts, and often fighting men such as Jeffries, who tipped the beam at 220. Choynski started his career in the burg by the Golden Gate, aim was amateur champion at the time Jim Corbett was teaching the boys at the Olympia Club the trick of hitting and getting away. Tile pair lived in Hayes Valley, a part of ’Frisco, and where rivals. Roth had plenty of brothers, who helped the tiling along. Old freckled Bob Fitzsimmons was another man who never slopped talking about the wonderful kick packed by Choynski. He fought Joe five rounds, and once in Boston barely weathered the storm. In the second round Choynski nailed the Cornishman on the chin with his right, and the air was Immediately filled with breckles, while their owner reposed on the vancas. Fltz was so dazed that, he says he though up was down and down was up, and kept trying tOSpush his'bald knob through the bottom of the ring. He was certain, also, that tiie balconies 'had fallen through. At the count of nine he was on his feet, and got away with it, but he couldn’t tell pepper from salt for three weeks. Choynski finished up his career in Philadelphia, when he boxed Jack

Williams, a newcomer. Joe was very Wild, but earnest. That was all that could be said. He know then that when he couldn’t handle a beginner he was through as a fighter.” A friend of “Straight Left” of tlie Otago Times, writing from Egypt, stated that lie saw a number of the New Zealand boxers with the Main Expeditionary Force in action at Cairo, and they all acquitted themselves well. He made special mention of Allan Maxwell, since wounded at the Dardanelles, and said that .Maxwell beat every man he was pitted against in a masterly manner, ".iron bark” Jimmy Hegarty, too, proved himself to be of the right stuff, and put tlie cross on each of the men he boxed. Woods, the, ox-Southland boxer, was another boxer who greatly pleased those who saw him in action. He boxed in welter and middleweight classes, and on each occasion came out a winner. The writer of this epistle concludes his reference to boxing hy statins; “A great many people in Xew, Zealand look down upon boxing, but. to-day if they could only see the largo number of amateur and professional boxers who are here ready to fight for the Empire they would call in all their cant about prohibiting boxing except of the drawing room order. Most of our follows take a turn with the ‘niits,’ and while not being up to tlie standard of champions they are generally pretty hefty with tlie gloves. We have possibly the largest contingent of boxers that ever left Xew Zealand, and the sparring they get daily is doing a lot towards putting them in fighting form when they get into tlie firing line. It is noteworthy, too, that tlie men who have fought in the ring are very quiet and unassuming, and rarely if ever, get into bother of any kind. There have, of course, been occasions when individual members of our "lighting” force have stepped in to save a less experienced mate from molestation hy others who were looking for a row, ant) 1 will leave it to you to imagine what tin- j-«-. =.• i . has been.”

It is reported that .loimny Summers, ex-light weigh I champion boxer of Bugland, has joined the Royal Field Artillery, East Ham Brigade. Our Indianapolis exchanges of May 2'J. state that the contests between lightweight champion Freddie Welsh and Milburn Saylor, and George Chip and .Tack Dillon, which were scheduled to be hold on May 28, will not be permitted, according to an announcement of Mayor Joseph V. Bell which became public to-day. It lias been customary to hold a boxing match on the day lie fore the 500-mile race at the Speedway, but Mayor Belt says that the sport "degenerated into fake prize fights, conducted solely for the money there was in it.” Jack Johnson has found ins way to London once more (says London Sportsman 1. Mo was in the West End this week transacting some business, clad in a. light suit and a white hat, with motor almost matching in colour. The French boxer, Eugene Tfickri, well known as a crack featherweight, was wounded in September last at the front amt subsequently promoted sergeant for his bravery. At Los Eparges he also showed such marked gallantry that he was commended in the Army order. Appended is the quotation; "The officers and most of the non-commis-sioned officers of his company having been put hors do combat, he took, although wounded, command of the men of his company who remained and kept them in the dangerous position entrusted to them to defend.” The gallant featherweight is to he promoted to the rank of adjutant.

The .London Sportsman scribe “Cestus" contributes his quota to the. discussion in regard to the life disqualification inflicted on .left' Smith in Sydney;-—This is what we hear—by cable, mind you—has befallen .leff Smith, the smart American middleweight, who was taken to Australia some litle time ago by Alt’ Lippe. Smith met his I rouble in a bout he had early last week at Sydney and Leslie D'Any, a young Australian, who was born at Maitland, the place where Frank Slavin first saw light. O'Arcy is a protege of Dave Smith, who was this way a couple of years ago, and Is one of the most promising boxers in ail Australia. He must he much thought of that way or he would never have secured a contest with a man possessing such a reputation as that held by Smith. The men drew a house of £2400, according to a cablegram sent me the day of the contest by Mr Snowy Baker, who wired as follows: "Jeff Smith badly fouled D'Arcy second round to-night; house twenty-four hundred pounds; D’Arcy groat worlds champion.” Mr Baker made no mention of ‘ disqualification for life," which followed from another source. Of course, Mr Baker had no power to pass such a sentence. He may perhaps have disqualified Smith so far as his own stadiums 'are concerned, but more he could not very well do. D’Arcy and Smith should have met a, month ago, but the proposed match fell through because Lippe, Smith’s manager, stood out for two judges and a referee. ‘‘Snowy” Baker, however, declined the proposition, and Lippe giving way the men eventually came together with the result stated. It will be interesting to know what really happened, for Jeff Smith had always been looked upon as a clean and honest boxer, and about the host middleweight in the business. D’Arcy must be good; indeed, Australia just now seems to have some of the finest boxers at all weights, barring perhaps the heavies. There is some talk of Bill Squires coming back, but at his best Squires, though a good man, was never a. champion. Frank Etne, the American, who in his day was at the top of the lightweight class, -recently expressed, the opinion that, taken all round, the light weights to-day were a poor bunch by comparison. Speaking of his contemporaries in the ring he gives the palm to the late Joe Gans. "Gams," he said.

“was a master. He could feint you into any position he pleased, leaving you an easy prey to a solid punch, hard because it was so unexpected, lie was the master hitter. Von perhaps have seen an impromptu battle in a cafe. A man will be hit, sending him across the room. That man wasn’t It it. he was pushed. Another man will swing and the other fellow will go flying sideways in the wall. Not a punch. He was pulled round. When Cans hit you you didn’t move out of your tracks. You just crumpled dead to the floor.”

On the'subject of “tin ears” an American paper says; “Tin ears" are barred in the British Army, according to Matt Wells, ex-lightwoight champion of this country with an interesting account of how the war has affected sports across the water. Matt says lie tried to join the Army, but the authorities would have none of him. To put it to the uninitiated, “tin ears” come as a result of blows on the bead that hit the ears and cause them to til! with blood. They can be punctured and the blood let out, but they never look the same. The ears will he misshapen to a greater or less extent, depending entirely upon the amount of punishment the fighter may have suffered. Rattling Nelson is probabl’ - as good an example as a lighter who suffers from this misfortune as any that can be found. His ears have closed in until it lias’ practically caused him to become deaf. Of course, lie is an extreme, for Nelson, far more than the ordinary scrapper, would take a beating for the sake of landing a few punches of his own. The clever boxer is not so marked, unless he has had an except ionally long ring career. Abe Attel, in spite of his many matches, doesn’t look the part of the pug, and neither does Willie Ritchie. Ad Wolgast has been more or less ‘chewed tip” in the game, and there are mighty few who have the “velvet” left. Wells, the subject of these remarks, is very much of a “tin ear.” He explains that after he was refused permission to join the Army because of his ears, he asked if there was any chance of a conscription, ajirl was informed that was not likely.

One Round Hogan, the American lightweight. is now seldom heard of as a principal. He makes a living nowadays as a sparring partner. He was a terrific puncher, and acquired the name of One Round by the speedy manner in which lie settled some of his opponents. In talking ..recently about the power of hitting lie said; —"The hardest punch I ever landed on a- man in Hie ring was the one I landed on Battling Nelson in onr ten-romid fight at the Harlem Casino in New York. 1 found the Battler slow and easy to hit, and I said to myself I’ll nip this bird' with one that he’ll never know anything about. 1 waited and waited for a chance to shoot my right over. Finally it came. As usual, I led with my left and drew Nelson In. As he came I turned my back and started away as if 1 was afraid of his rush, an old and valuable fighting trick of mine. Nelson fell for it. As he saw me start away lie came in all the faster. As he was in the middle of his stride, I wheeled toward him swinging my right with all the force in my body. Bang! Right smack on the chops it caught him. He spun right around like a top four times. I nearly dropped dead when he stopped spinning

long enough to say with a cackle: ‘Nice tap. One Round. I didn’t think you. could hit like Gans.’ I knew then why he had been called the Durable Dane by Uncle Bill Naughton, and I knew why he outgamed the old master Joe Gans. I didn’t try to knock him out after that. What was tlie use? H ave him laugh at me? No,- sir.”

Some people’s vanity is tickled by the Insinuation that they are terrible spendthrifts and fond of chucking thenmoney about. Xot so Jack Johnson. Jack told an interviewer recently that lie hud still got a nice little parcel put away in the cold storage chamber, and that lie could afford to live at the rate of a couple of thousand a year and still leave enough money for liis heirs and assigns to consider ft worth while squabbling over. “I ain’t been a fool,” said Johnson, “I knew that some day I would have to travel the road of all champions. That would end my earning powers. I know that the only friend a man has,- especially in misfortune, is money. So J decided to keep mine, it always made me laugh when 1 read stories about how I was throwing away money. That certainly was funny. Sure, 1 spent money—and a lot of it. But I didn’t spend one-tenth of tlie amount that 1 was credited witli. I’ve got some of my money well invested, and I’ll never be broke even if 1 never get a cent from tlie moving pictures.”