BOXING

Southland Times, Issue 19690, 24 October 1925, Page 19

BOXING

(By

“Punch.”

Merv. Williams is to meet Brian McCleary at Timaru shortly. That hard-hitting pair of lightweights, Reg. Trowern and Les Murray, meet at Grey mouth to-night. The Collins—Parker contest was the most stirring and exciting battle staged at the Stadium for some time.—Sydney Bulletin. Edouard Mascart, the French boxer, is on his way to the States for a second tour, which he expects to extend over six months, in which he will fill engagements in Brooklyn, Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco. Mascart is now evidently a light-weight, as he talks of a match with Jimmy Goodrich, the new holder of the American lightweight title. Alec Atkins the young Lincoln boxer who figured in a drawn battle at The Ring with Piet Brand, a tough opponent from Holland must be a wear-and-tear customer says Sporting Life. He has been at Southend assisting Charlie Ring, of Australia, to train for his contest with Roland Todd at The Ring on September 8, and at the same time getting fit for his own match with Brand; but he also took on an engagement the previous week at South Moulton, in North Devon, where he knocked out his man in the third round, travelled back to Southend the same night, and was at work again with Ring in the gymnasium the following afternoon! Three distinguished British and one American sportsmen, who are on a trip round the world, will visit New Zealand next year. The quartet consists of the Marquis of Clydesdale (the next Duke of Hamilton), champion middleweight of Scotland; Sir Gifford Fox, stroke for Magdalen College, Oxford; Mr Edward Eagen, American Rhodes Scholar, who won the amateur heavyweight boxing championship of Oxford, and also of England; and Mr John Pine, who is a famous horseman. The proposed itinerary includes Europe, Africa, India, Siam, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Sea Islands, South America, and the United States. In a letter to the Hon. Hugh D. Mclntosh M.L.C., the Marquis of Clydesdale and Mr Edward Eagen offer, while in Sydney, to box an exhibition on behalf of the funds of any charity that Mr Mclntosh may endorse. When Jamito fought Gene Fernandez in Brisbane, his chief second, George Boxhall, had to resort to extreme measures to stir him into vigorous action (says the Bulletin). At one stage Boxhall was cheering on the other man. “Go on, Fernandez,” he shouted. “Knock him over, Gene!” Poor old Jamito didn’t know whether he was fighting his own second or the other coon. In between rounds Boxhall told the Filipino what he thought of him. “Why don’t you do something?” he demanded. “Don’t carry him along like that.” “But it’s twenty rounds, ain’t it?” Jamito protested. “Me want to get another fight.” “And who’ll come to see you?” growled Boxhall. “I won’t for one.” George won that round. Silvi no won all the rest. If ever a referee gave an object lesson in the art of fight control it was Ensign Lyons, of U.S.S. California, on the occasion of the American naval tournament at the Town Hall says the Auckland Star. That night there was a spirit of healthy rivalry between the opponents, since something more than personal ability, namely, the honour of the respective ships of war, was in dispute, and every man was keen, but there was a marked tendency to hold and hit and keep at close quarters. The perspiring young officer would have none of it. On an average of three times a minute he prised juan aoart,. and the result was 1

that the contests were fast, open and interesting—in short, infinitely better than those sluggish affairs that can so easily be mistaken for poor wrestling bouts. Now, any professional will clinch and take it easy if the referee will allow him, but once the referee makes it clear that he does not intend to let such tactics pass, the fact that open fighting is desired will bite itself into the mind of the most stubbornly dull performer that ever donned gloves. A boxing writer has another smack at Dempsey: “I know an estimable and once gracious woman who recently announced her ambition to become ‘the most disagreeable and unpopular woman in her settlement,’ and I think Dempsey must have been visiting there, and unconsciously become inoculated with that strange virus. For he is beyond doubt the most unpopular man connected with the squared circle in America. Not a newspaper but is ‘clubbing’ him verbally, and when he gave his ‘word of honour’ the other day to the manager of Wills, the universal gaffaw penetrated the Pacific Coast seismographs and indicated earthquakes. Not only has Dempsey shown he is unwilling to meet Wills, but he has labelled himself a recordbreaking poor business man, and what could bring greater or more deserved obloquy in this material age? He could have had £120,000 last summer for meeting Firpo again, but declined the issue, and he could have corralled even more by meeting Wills this September. Which is something over £200,000 pushed aside by the man who, a few years ago, had not a superfluous sixpence. Further details seem unnecessary; either such a man is ‘yellow’ clear through, or is ‘curious in the cupola.’ ” Fidel Labarba, the 19-years-old schoolboy of Los Angeles, who beat Frankie Genaro, world fly-weight title-holder, so decisively a short time ago, was “cheer leader” and president of his class at the Los Angeles School. Five years ago he showed promise of boxing ability, was taken in hand by George Blakey and kept in the amateur ranks four years, to turn professional. Early in 1924 he won his way to the finals in the Olympic tryouts on the Coast, became a representative of the United States in the Paris Olympic Games, winning the Olympic fly-weight championship, and a few weeks later turned professional to score nine wins in 11 bouts since that time. He boxes like a veteran, but it was his wonderful play with the left that beat Genaro. He hooked, jabbed, and led with it beautifully. It is a boxing anomaly that he should not be able to take the title because he is a minor, and ineligible to box more than six rounds under the New York Boxing Commission rules. “Solar Plexus” in the Sydney Referee, has the following remarks on the ParkerCollins fight at the Sydney Stadium on October 3: —Harry Collins, who lords it over all Australian welters and middleweights, won from the much-less-experi-enced Eddie Parker, heavy-weight champion of New eZaland, at Sydney Stadium last Saturday night. But, though he inflicted much punishment in the concluding rounds the margin in his favour was not great. Collins did not fight up to his best form. By his rare grit, and unexpected good showing, Parker caused a surprise, and he should prove a draw in his next contest, no matter whom he meets. It is difficult to understand Collins’s recent form. His apparent falling off might be due to the fact that he promised the New Zealander a return fight in a month’s time—this agreement was made previous to Parker leaving the Dominion—and, therefore, Collins might not have been all out to do more than win on points. But the fight itself did not impress one in that direction. Collins frequently got home on Parker’s jaw with his right and he hooked a left to the chin now and then; but it was not until nearing the end that a series of jolts hurt the plucky fellow from over the Tasman Sea.

Mr Ted Scott, formerly "Milo,” of the Evening Post, Wellington, whose special weekly columns on boxing were much appreciated by boxing enthusiasts throughout New Zealand, has sent a letter to an Auckland Star writer announcing that he had entrenched himself on the staff of the Sydney Morning Herald, and is doing well journalistically and pugilistically. He has already made friends in some of the Sydney gymnasiums, and the amateurs over there are, no doubt, learning to respect his useful fists. Mr Scott says that so well did Eddie Parker carry himself when pitted against welter and middle-weight king Harry Collins, that many good judges of the game acclaimed him as the best New Zealander that has appeared on the other side of the Tasman since the days of that great champion, Otto Cribb. The most outstanding feature of Parker’s performance was his remarkable toughness. Without flinching he took the best punching that Collins could hand him, and then came back for more. The punches that put down such men as Tommy Uren, Archie Bradley, Leo Darton, Syd Godfrey, Hughie Dwyer and Alf Stewart for the full count merely seemed to annoy the New Zealand boy and make him fight the harder. “Those who had seen Parker in his gymnasium work and the exhibition spars could hardly credit that he was the same man in the ring against Collins,” writes Mr Scott. “While the men were adjusting their gloves before the contest odds six to one against Parker were laid at the ringside, while some of the more daring announced their readiness to bet two to one that the fight would not go ten rounds—a particularly courageous offer in view of Collins’ reputation as a slow beginner. My scoring card made Parker a winner by a decisive margin of points at the end of the tenth round .... If Collins was not doing his best, he is a past master in the art (and it is an art) of carrying a beaten opponent, and making him look like a tough proposition. In regard to the contest between the Filipino, Mariano Adriano, and Billy Grime, I should like to take the opportunity of disagreeing with the decision of referee Joe Wallis, who declared the fight a draw. Personally I think the coloured boy was an easy winner on points, and I also think that despite the decision Wallis must have inclined to the forceful Adriano. His intention evidently was to please all parties, but if that were the case his shot fell far short of the mark.”

Who was responsible for the appearance of Eagle Thomas in the ring at the Melbourne Stadium on Saturday, October 10? Whoever dug him up and exported him to Australia should be spoken to severely, says a Smith’s Weekly writer. Thomas is a full-blooded negro, a vest-pocket edition of Siki as far as appearance goes; but when it comes to ability, ah, well, let us be charitable. Anyhow there he was in the ring and there he stayed for twenty rounds and was made very comfortable and very welcome by Richard Congress, his partner in swipe. Thomas’s attacks were a joke in spite of his advertised ferocity and ability to knock out an opponent with one mighty swipe. His main offensive consists of a wild rush and a series of left and right swings delivered with open gloves. He then hugs his opponent round the knees, the neck, or the waist, and calmly waits till the referee prises him off. Very early in the piece Congress discovered that the coon was open to uppercuts, and he won the fight on points solely by encouraging Thomas to rush in, and have his abdomen and face peppered.. Rarely did Congress try to make a fight of it. He invariably waited in mid-ring until the coon came at him and then, in a careless detached sort of manner, lambasted him. Now and again he smiled a tired sort of smile, which appeared to indicate he was bored stiff. But he wasn’t as tired as those who watched him. BOXER’S BRAIN AND BRAWN WHERE SOME FAMOUS MEN LOST AND WON. (By Arthur Lynch, in the Sunday Chronicle.) For athletes I have an admiration which in moments of cool reflection, if such be really better, I may acknowledge to be exL*asaive; and of all the great athletes it is

the boxer who is called upon to show the highest degree of physical accomplishment. Let us talk of boxers.

Jem Mace stands out in my mind as incomparably superior to all others for the wonderful combination he displayed of fine physique, quickness and ease, suppleness and strength, and rare powers of attack and defence. It was as a boy who had slipped away, from school to see the famous fighter that I first beheld Jem Mace. He was then in the veteran stage, but having been a boxer all his life he had retained his qualities wonderfully well. Mace was of gipsy blood, for, although in his later life he denied it, the fact was written all over him —in the swarthy skin like brown leather, in the dark eye with its soft glance ready to flash with light, in the figure beautifully balanced, muscular without exaggeration, lissome and quick as he moved his head out of danger or swung limber and elastic from the waist or, changing feet with dancing step, shot out a crashing blow from left or right. Mace at his best was a small man as boxers go nowadays, standing about sft BAin in height and weighing well under list. He was light for a middleweight, somewhat thicker in the build than Johnny Basham, who had the build of a runner and whose flashing speed was the nearest I have seen to that of Mace. But Basham had a one-handed style of fighting, and his blows lacked force.

Mace, who was a fine runner over a mile, had all the qualities of Basham with something greatly superior of his own. He was said to be lacking in courage, but we may apply to him the words of Gibbon in reference to Diocletian, who was similarly accused, that one who had made his way up by personal prowess from the position of private soldier to that of emperor could hardly have been deficient in valour. Joe Beckett was superior to Mace in many respects, and all those who have seen him cast aside his robe in the ring have been impressed by the superb lines of the form shining like a bronze statute. Beckett evidently has gipsy blood also, but his resemblance to Mace did not carry much further. He was absurdly easy to hit, and he was lacking both the boxer’s art and the fighter’s temperament. Bob Fitzsimmons had a great record, and it is customary to speak of him as one of the greatest fighters of all time. That is an exaggeration. The great advantage of Fitzsimmons was that with his thin lanky legs he was built above the waist like a heavy-weight. His peculiar build, throwing the weight where it was most wanted, enabled him to fight as a middle-weight, and amongst his opponents in that class he was formidable, but not without a peer. He certainly gained laurels as champion of the world, but in his famous fight for the championship he was hit by “Pompadour Jim” three times to one return, though the red-headed, freckled, lanky fighter, with stoic courage, endured the punishment and waited grimly for the chance of his solar plexus blow. Corbett himself was light of foot, quick of eye, dazzling in the speed with which he could carry on a fight; but accomplished athlete as he was, he was a trifle deficient in rude strength and endurance. Perhaps his best performance was that of fighting a draw with Peter Jackson, a boxer who has left a deep impression on all who have seen him.

Corbett beat Sullivan, but the great John L. was then past his day and, moreover, ill-trained. For strength he was far superior to his conqueror, and though even at his best he lacked the light step and panther speed of Corbett, he fought like a tornado raining blows. He certainly was one of the best of all time. His faults were that there was a stiffness of action of his lower limbs, and in a prolonged contest his “wind” was somewhat below his other magnificent qualities. Dempsey is powerful, but he is harmoniously moulded, and so supple and easy in his carriage and free in his movements that he looks smaller and slighter than he is. He is perhaps the best model of all, and his art is little inferior to his physique. He “cuts away the frills,” but the essentials are all there, for he is wary, swift, and keen and at every moment in the ring presents the aspect of a fighter bound to win. GRACE’S UNBEATEN RECORD FIGURES WHICH WILL ALWAYS REMAIN. The following letter appeared in London Sporting Life of August 1: At the present time, when the great batting performances of Jack Hobbs and the very interesting “century race” between him and the late Dr W. G. Grace are the general theme of conversation amongst cricketers, it has occurred to me that a list of the great performances and records established by the greatest cricketer of all times would be of interest to all cricketers—old and young alike. I have therefore made a selection from his great achievements which should demonstrate the fact that although his “century record” may shortly pass to another great batsman, yet his other records will remain to him—probably for ever. I have compiled these particulars very carefully, but it may be that there are some inaccuracies, and, if so, some of your readers will not doubt be good enough to correct me, particularly those who may have had the privilege of playing with him on many occasions.—Walter G. Morrison.

RECORDS IN FIRST-CLASS CRICKET. 1. —W. G. Grace played in more matches than any other cricketer. 2. —He made more runs than any other cricketer (54896 runs). 3. —He played in more Gentlemen v. Players matches than any other cricketer (85 matches). 4. —He played for a longer period than any other cricketer (44 years, 1865 to 1908). 5. —He headed the list of averages twelve times (during a period of fifteen years), 1866 to 1880. 6. —He three times made a score of over 300.

7. —He first played for England at the age of seventeen (August, 1865). 8. —He first played for Gentlemen v. Players at the age of sixteen (July, 1865), and last played at the age of fifty-eight (in 1906). 9. —He scored over 1000 runs in the month of May (1895). NOTABLE PERFORMANCES. 1. —ln three consecutive innings in 1876 he scored 344, 170 and 318 (not out). (First-class cricket.) 2. —Ln 1876, in playing against XXII. of Great Grimsby (with 22 in the field), he scored 400 (not out), and was batting for two and a half days. 3. —He first played for Gentlemen v. Players in 1865 at the age of sixteen, and his last appearance was in 1906 (when he was top scorer) at the age of 58, and the most remarkable fact is that, as regards the other twenty-one players who took part in this match, not one of them was born when he first played in these matches. 4. —ln all matches he made 217 centuries. 5. —ln the Kent v. Gloucestershire match in 1895 he was on the field while every ball was bowled. 6. —He took 2876 wickets in first-class matches. 7. —He never “bagged a brace” during his 44 years of firat-class cricket. 8. —ln all matches he made about 80,000 runs, and took about 7,000 wickets. Another correspondent supplies the following additions to the above records: —- Playing for M.C.C. and Ground v. Ox ford University, at Oxford on June 22, 1886, he scored 104 and took all ten wickets in an innings. Playing for Gloucestershire v. Notts, at Cheltenham in 1877, he took seventeen wickets in the match.