BOXING

Southland Times, Issue 18975, 23 June 1923, Page 13 (Supplement)

BOXING

(By “

"Punch”).

The position of the boxing ‘‘crowns” is now becoming of interest after a somewhat stagnant period for both their supporters and the boxers themselves. The result of the Jimmy Wilde-Pancho Villa battle for the flyweight supremacy of the world shows how a clever boxer may be beaten by age and a long absence from the ring. Villa is not the American champion, although reports are unanimous that he should have been given the decision in his fights with Frankie Genaro, holder of the title. A fresh complication conies from the action of the International Boxing Council in depriving Jimmy Wilde of his European title and awarding it to Montreuil, the Belgian flyweight, the reason for the action being the long retirement of Wilde from the ring. Montreuil was recently defeated in an attempt to wrest the title of bantam-weight from Charles Ledoux. Another possible contender for the world's title is Joe Colletti, an American who has challenged Genaro, the winner of the Villa-Genaro fight. The champions at other weights are to have a more peaceful time. Joe Lynch, bantam champion of the world, recently refused an offer to go over to Europe and meet among others the Frenchman, Charles Ledoux, and Tommy Harrison, of England, but there is a possibility of this being accepted. The intermediate champions, Johnny Dundee, feather, Benny Leonard, fight and Johnny Wilson, middle, will have no lack of competition in the future. Criqui’s victory over Johnny Kilbane does not affect the featherweight title which was recently awarded Johnny Dundee. Morelle, McTigue and “Battling” Siki form a trio of contenders for the light-heavyweight title. In the heaviest class Jess Willard, Tom Gibbons and Luis Firpo are possibilities, but the sports editor the New York Herald favours Harry Wills. He says that with all the

trouble brewing between the heavyweight contenders, Harry Wills could stop the whole bunch, one after the other, and be in good condition the next day to take on Jack Dempsey. An Australian writer has the following interesting reference to a fighter who was not so long ago a visitor and successful competitor in this part of the world:—lf there is a greater battler in the Australian ring to-day than Les Gleeson, I know nothing about him. Gleeson turns up unexpectedly in all sorts of places. Recently a visitor to New Zealand, he is now located in West Australia. At different times we have heard of him on the north-west coast of America. Always he manages to persuade hungry promoters that he is as good a fighter as he ever was. We must hand it to him, as they say in Yankeeland. This is the latest account concerning him: —“The boxing bout staged at Fremantle last night had sensational endings. The main attraction was the first meeting of Les Gleeson with the coming light-weight champion, George Thompson, who is regarded as the coming light-weight champion of Australia. Gleeson entered the ring in elephantine condition, and Thompson was in the pink. In the third round Gleeson was warned for butting. He was disqualified for it in the sixth. Both fighters wished to box on, but the referee left the ring. An effort was made to obtain another fighter, but when that seemed likely Gleeson retired to his dressing-room.” Brilliantly fine weather prevailed and a crowd of 25,000 sat and sweltered in the almost tropical heat from 1 o’clock onwards at the Buffalo Stadium, Paris, last month, the occasion being the trotting out of heavy-weight boxer Nilles to act as chopping block for Carpentier. Outside of Pans, the boxing world took little account of the match, which closed in the eighth round, with the restoration of the French idol to his pedestal. Commenting on the match, London Sportsman says:—The stories that have come through from Paris concerning Georges Carpentier’s defeat of Marcel Nilles are not exactly impressive. The French idol did not strike his form all at once, and did not box with the old supreme instinct and confidence. From one who was present at the ringside of the Velodrcme Buffalo and knows Carpentier intimately, I hear that he has gone back, but can still be regarded as a very formidable fighter for anyone in Europe. He was very fit, though the statement that he weighed less than 12st seems difficult to believe. Most people in the game expected him to win comfortably, as Nilles has never attracted much notice on this side. He is essentially a boxer, and it was when he began to decline in pace that his opponent seized his opportunities, eventually winning by means of a beautifully-timed right-hanu upper cut. Carpentier’s reappearance in June at Olympia will now be looked forward too with keen relish.

AN AUSTRALIAN VICTORY. Paul Hannah was counted out, as the result of a smashing straight right to the jaw, by Tommy Fairhall, the Australian, at the Petone Palace Theatre recently says a Wellington paper. This culminating blow was not unexpected, for Hannah was visibly worn after a preceding punishing five rounds. Fairhall’s elusive tactics, effective body jabs, and, above all, a dangerous right, marked him a winner from the start. Hannah scaled 10st 111 b. and his opponent 9st. 121 b. Fairhall had an advantage in height of three inches, but the thickset, sturdy-looking New Zealander impressed with his visible strength. Fairhall, led with a right to the point. In the in-fighting that followed both men delivered punishment to the body, but the visitor’s blows had most sting. Towards the end of the round Hannah went to the ropes with a powerful right cross-swing. During the next few moments Fairhall was aggressive, and when breaking away from the close fighting always evaded the full force of his opponent’s drives. In the last rally of the second round Hannah aroused applause by getting home two hits to the body. In an exchange of uppercuts in the third round the New Zealander’s face fared badly. Again this was Fairhall’s round. Two blows by Fjairhall—an upper and a downward swing—went home at the beginning of the fourth. Hannah momentarily recovered, but soon after staggered under a right to the jaw. The fifth round saw Hannah offer game resistance, but he was tiring, and went down for eight seconds from a body blow. In the sixth round Fairhair drove his opponent round the ring. Then came the end. A succession of straight rights was followed by a well-timed, smashing blow to the jaw, and Hannah went to the boards, and was counted out. The decision was well received but throughout the contest it was apparent that Hannah was the favourite.

SAM LANGFORD’S CAREER. After 21 years of fistic striving, Sane Langford has achieved a title, says the Referee. Champion of Mexico is something they are tacking just now after the name of the Boston Tar Baby. In pugilistic annals there never has been a fighter like the black battler from Massachusetts. In the heyday of his career it wasn’t lack of ability that kept him from being a world’s champion. It simply was lack of opportunity. When Langford was at his best no fighter would go against him unless Sam practically agreed that he would play “nice,” and that he either would let his foeman stay the limit or would submit to the loss of a fight on decision. Most gladiators earn their ring livelihood through a succession of victories. But in Langford’s case the opposite was true. For if Langford had gone out with the idea in each and every one of his pugilistic starts, it is a certainty that he would have been blacklisted ten or twelve years ago, and that he would have had to go into fistic retirement because of lack of opponents. A dwarf in stature, Langford could hit as hard as any man that ever lived. He knew the fight game from beginning to end, and then backward again. Within the ebony dome there is confined more of ring knowledge, more of ring trickery, and more of ring generalship than probably any fighter ever knew in any era of the game. When Langford was at his fighting best and really went out for victory, he was absolutely invincible. When he decided that the other man was not to hit him, it was utterly impossible for his foeman to drive a punch through his terrific defence. But when Langford aspired to end festivities in a hurry, the bout rarely lasted long. It endured only until such time as Sam could find the needed opening and drive through with a blow to the vital spot. And whenever that happened the other man went to the floor—and never got up of his own accord. No better illustration of Langford’s powers can be cited than his battles with Gunboat Smith. Back in 1913, when the Gunner was going along in nifty fashion, they sent him against the Boston Tar Baby in the latter’s home town. The records show that Smith won the decision after 12 rounds of milling.

Some months later Smith and Langford were matched again. When the deal had been consumated the boxing authorities summoned Sam and said to him: “We don’t know exactly what happened in that other fight you had here with Gunboat Smith. But we have our suspicions concerning the reasons for that defeat. And we want to say right here and now that if you don’t step out in this coming fight and show us what you can do, you will never fight again in Boston.” Whether the first fight was a framed affair isn’t definitely known. And whether the second tussle was to be a repeater is also a fact not fully established. Nor is it known that Langford permitted Smith and the handlers of Smith to know that he (Langford) was going to wni in a hurry—because the boxing saloons had so ordered. The records will show that Langford simply toyed with Smith for two rounds, then went out in the third, opened up, feinted Smith into a trap, let loose—and the fight was over. And, mind you, that was at a time when Smith was regarded as the greatest white heavyweight in the game. Years ago, when Stanley Ketchel was moving along in cyclonic fashion, they matched him

with Langford. The affair took place in Philadelphia. It was six rounds, no decision. And when it was over the newspapers had an idea that a draw was a fair sort of verdict. Which was true. But in later years it was noised around that Langford went into that battle after having forced from him the promise that he wouldn’t “pull any rough stuff,” no matter how nasty Stanley might become during the proceedings. Times without number during the fight Ketchel, a wide-open battler, left, innumerable openings for chin and body. The fact that Langford, marvellous sharpshooter, never took advantage of a single one, and never gave his full power into any of his punches, has simply corroborated the stories that Thammy was under a heavy “pull” throughout the whole contest. They’ve had some wonderful ringmen since the fistic game began; brainy fighters, fast and clever warriors, and those who were terrific hitters. But in all the days of pugilism, it is doubtful if there ever has been a single gladiator like Langford —one who possessed ring brains, ring cleverness, ring courage, and terrific punishing power at the same time —the same Langford who, at the age of 38, has become a “champion.”