BRIGHT BOXING AT THEATRE

Southland Times, Issue 23848, 20 June 1939, Page 11

BRIGHT BOXING AT THEATRE

Davis Beats Adams On Points SURPRISE PERFORMANCE BY WINNER Not generally expected to provide anything out of the way in fast-action boxing the bout between Les Adams (Ashburton) and Jack Davis (Hastings) at the Civic Theatre last evening was a surprise packet in more ways than one. Both men threw themselves into the bout with a zest not usually associated with professional contests and the good crowd of spectators which attended was entertained to 10 rounds packed with exchanges and hard hitting. There was not a dull moment. Davis caused a surprise with a good display. He carried the fight to his opponent almost throughout the bout and won on points with a good margin to spare. His best scorer was a hard right to the body. With this punch he got through Adams’s guard repeatedly, and towards the finish he brought it up to the head and rarely failed to find the target. In the eighth round he rocked Adams with a perfectlytimed punch to the jaw, and for the remainder of the bout, although Adams stood his ground and fought back gamely, he was clearly the master of the situation. Adams relied mostly on nis left, and with it he scored many times but he could not keep Davis from boring in and scoring with short-range punches. As in his fight a few weeks ago with R. Baker, Adams fought well, but once again he met an opponent who was just as rugged and who showed he could take punishment so that he could get in close. Infighting marked most of the ralhes. On this occasion, however, it was not the monotonous clinching and wrestling which has marred many fights. Most of the work was clean, and actually the hardest punching was done at close quarters. The verdict in Davis’s favour was well received. Mr G. Singleton was the referee and Messrs N. W. McGorlick and R. Bagrie were the judges. A novice tournament was held before the main bout. Several good amateurs were seen in action. There were also two open bouts. On the whole the programme was one of the best staged by the Southland Boxing Association.

A GOOD OPENING The boxers were well matched in physique. Each weighed in. at 10st 31b. Davis was more stockily built than Adams. He adopted a low-set stance. Round I.—Adams went in from the first gong and scored with his left to the face. Davis stood his ground and mixed it well in a bout. of infighting. There was plenty of action, both men scoring with short work. Davis drove rights to Adams’s head and body and Adams scored with a straight left. It was a good opening round. Round 2.—Adams missed with a right uppercut, but followed up and clipped Davis with his left. Davis fought back apd twice drove his right to Adams’s ribs. Davis showed a keenness to get in and fight. He worked hard with his right and usually found a mark. Adams’s best punch was a left to the face. Round 3.—Each man connected with a left; then Davis stood off and threw a hard right which Adams knocked down and countered with a short right Adams followed this up with a left to the mouth. He back-moved a lead by ■Davis but could not keep the Hastings man out and took more hard rights to the body. Davis excelled at infighting and plied his right hand freely to Adams’s ribs. ROUND 4.—Good left-hand .work gave Adams points at the opening of this round. He scored with four punches. Davis then got in and worked hard on Adams’s body and head. He swung a vicious punch at Adams’s head and missed but in a clinch scored freely with heavy punches. Adams was warned for holding. He scored before the gong. ROUND s.—Davis manoeuvred Adams into a corner and drove his right hard to the body. Adams recovered well and connected with his left. The exchanges were full of interest, particularly as Davis at this stage was throwing all he had into his punches in an attempt to knock out Adams. Adams crossed his right cleverly just before the gong. ROUND 6.—Adams countered a rush by Davis with a well-timed right cross. He spun Davis around with the punch but Davis quickly recovered and once again sent his right to Adams’s body. Adams was fighting well at this stage but he found Davis willing to mix it. He could not stop Davis’s right drive to the body. ROUND 7.—Two lefts by Adams were followed by a rally by Davis who forced Adams onto the ropes and punished him with both hands. Adams backmoved a second onslaught and caught Davis on the nose as he was coming in. Adams got inside Davis’s guard with his left but could not stop two hard rights to the ear by Davis. ROUND B.—A bright opening to this round saw Davis pummel Adams with his right. He shook Adams with a terrific right to the side of the head and Adams held on. Davis was unable to connect cleanly with another punch and Adams weathered the round. ROUND 9.—Adams came out refreshed and got through with his left but Davis once again worked in close and scored with neat, short ' work. Adams was far from done, however, and used his left strongly to keep Davis out. Adams won an exchange on the ropes and relied on his left to keep out of danger for the remainder of the round.

ROUND 10.—Adams fought hard in the last round, but within half a minute of the start Davis was on top and scored freely with rights. It was a good finish to a good bout.

AMATEUR PRELIMINARIES Mr J. Powley was referee in the amateur bouts. NOVICE CLASSES BANTAMWEIGHT M. Mason 8.10 beat D. McKillop 8.8 on points. There was plenty of action in this bout although the punching lacked power. McKillop boxed well and appeared to score more cleanly than Mason. The latter’s strength was the deciding factor in the last round and he probably got the decision because he carried the fight to his opponent. Final L. Neylon (Nightcaps) 8.6 beat W. Mason 8.8 on a technical knock-out in the first round. This bout lasted less than 15 seconds. Neylon went in and connected with his left and shook Mason. The second rally brought the end of the bout. Neylon dropped Mason with his left and the referee stopped the fight.

FEATHERWEIGHT J. Redpath 9.0 beat B. Agnew 8.12 on a technical knock-out in the second round. Agnew used a good left, but was unable to counter Redpath’s twohanded attack in the second round. The referee stopped the fight when Redpath shook Agnew with hard rights. WELTERWEIGHT R. Niederer 10.5 beat J. Harper 10.6 on points. This was an excellent bout. For novices the boxers displayed a good knowledge of the art and they led and countered in good style, Niederer’s straight left brought him many points. Good rallies in the second and third rounds entertained the spectators. The boys stood toe-to-toe and traded punches until they tired. Harper’s body work was good. He scored well with his right, but failed to guard his head. Niederer won by a narrow margin. I. Herbison 10.7 beat M. Nearpe 10.6 on points. A clever display of boxing was given by the boxers in this bout. Herbison’s counter-punching gained him points and Neame scored cleanly with straight lefts. There was little between the pair. MIDDLEWEIGHT F. Kemp (Invercargill) 10.12 beat R. Campbell (Tuatapere) 11.3 on points. Kempt did most of the leading and scored cleanly with both hands. He won fairly comfortably. Final F. Kemp 10.12 beat A. Evans (Tuatapere) 10.11 on a technical knock-out in the second round. Kemp was too strong and scored almost at will. OPEN BOUTS FEATHERWEIGHT W. Brown 8.12 beat A. Jones 9.0 on points. Jones carried the fight to his opponent, but found difficulty in connecting. Brown’s longer reach enabled him to stand off and keep out of trouble. It was a fair bout, with Jones showing up in the last round. BANTAMWEIGHT N. Harper 8.9 beat A. Cameron 8.0 on a technical knock-out in the second round. Cameron opened strongly and scored repeatedly with a left to Harper’s head. Harper fought back strongly and •“dropped” Cameron with a short right to the jaw. Cameron took a count of eight, but was groggy when ha resumed and was unable to counter a strong attack by Harner. The referee stopped the fight in the second round and awarded it to Harper. BANTAMWEIGHT F. Denny (Bluff) 7.7 beat B. Ferguson 8.3 on points. Ferguson, fighting southpaw, swung his left hand often, but he lost balance when throwing his punches and was unable to counter Denny’s two-handed attacks. Denny fought confidently and scored a well-earned decision. It was a good bout. DAVIS TO MEET R. BAKER PROFESSIONAL BOUT ON JULY 10 The Southland Boxing Association has matched R. Baker (Invercargill) and Jack Jarvis (Hastings) at Invercargill on July 10. MUDGWAY BEATS PARRIS (United Press Association) AUCKLAND, June 19. Two professional contests were held tonight by the Auckland Boxing Association. The main attraction was the challenge of Billy Parris, of Wellington, to Neville Mudgway, of Auckland, for the welterweight championship of New Zealand. This was a spirited bout in which Parris did most of the attacking and quite a large section of the house, which was well filled, would have awarded him the decision for this reason. However, the officials favoured Mudgway, although not unanimously. The second match was a lightweight one between Les Wise, of Australia, and Henry Wellington, of Gisborne, this being won by Wise. The referee stopped the contest at the end of the sixth round, during which Wellington was knocked down three times.