Amateur Provincial Championships Have Schooled Many Distinguished Boxers

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 725, 26 July 1929, Page 7

Amateur Provincial Championships Have Schooled Many Distinguished Boxers

Monday Night’s Bouts Promise to Produce High Standard of Competition —Many Fine Performers in Past Have Won Titles at Auckland Championships —Team that Represented Province in 1921 Gained Brilliant Seines of Successes —Entries for this Year’s Tourney Reviewed.

JpOR nearly thirty years, boxing in New Zealand has been under the control of associations in the various centres. During all that time, and ever since it was constituted. the Northern Boxing Association has paid a great deal of attention to amateur

boxing in this city, in addition to the ! professional side of the sport. On Monday evening 1 another of the ; annual amateur championship tournaments will be staged. From the large number of entries received and the class of boxers competing, the meetshould be quite up to the standard of any in previous years Some of the boxers who have won honours in the Auckland ring and have represented their city at New Zealand championship tournaments have been outstanding. Today we have not a championship team such as represented Auckland at the New Zealand tournament in 1921 and which was one of the best—perhaps the best —to leave this city and gain further honours. The 1921 team which represented Auckland at the New Zealand championship at Greymouth was composed of Charley Purdy (bantam-weight), Matt Hatton (feather), Harry May (light), B. Baker (welter), and Dick Meale (middle). Baker was the only one to be beaten in the contests for the New Zealand titles, and the Auckland team came back with the great

! record of four wins out of live entries. 1 Subsequently, Purdy, Hatton, May 1 and Meale, with the addition of 1,. O’Neill and Brian McCleary, welter and heavy-weight champion of New Zealand respectively, .vent to Australia to compete in the Australasian championships. Purdy, May and Meale all won the title in their respective divisions, and Hatton was runner-up to Kay, being beaten in the final. The amateurs of today are not the class of the boxers in that team, but nevertheless they manage to put up quite good performances. It is not possible to compare them with the Australian amateurs, as teams are not now sent to Australia. Auckland has produced many fine performers. Pooley, Gault, Blewden, Ross, McHugh, Jock Graham, Laurie Cadman, Savory, Bennetts, Matt James, Neil McLean, and the Donovan brothers. Henry and Eugene, were some of the shining lights among the amateurs of a decade ago. And in later years, there have been Purdy, Trowern, and Hatton. Many of these made names for themselves in the professional ring.

f A large number of entries bus been ' received for this year's Auckland I championships and many good boys will be among the competitors. There is always the probability that there will be a “dark horse” among the unknowns, and some of the most fancied are apt to strike a snag. That clever little boxer. Frank Pearcey. who has won the Auckland fly-weight title for the last two years, and annexed the Craig Cup for the most scientific boxer at the tournament oil both occasions, will defend his title. In 30 fights Pearcey has only been defeated on fivo occasions and he will provide plenty of opposition for the aspirants to his throne. Others in the class will be Andrews, who won the South Auckland championship last Monday, and a number of practically unknowns. The bantam division should provide good contests, for entered in it are Fob Purdie, who has just won the South Auckland title, and the cup for the most scientific boxer at that lixture; Keenan, a brother of the renowned Jack, among others. The largest number of entries has been received in the feather class. It is impossible to give details of all, but

1 there are such good performers as 1 Manson, Spragg. Fraei. MeLachlan. > Karim and Johns engaged. In addition. there is Tommy Collins who, about ? six years ago. was well-known in the - Auckland ring. He was bady hurt in 1 the Ongarue train smash while on the way to compete in the King Country ; championships, a companion and feli low-boxer, Paul Currie, being killed. , Collins has been showing good form in • the gymnasium, and is confident that t he can go close to winning the division. I The light-weight class has also proj duced a good crop of entries. "Bunny” Martin, Don Cleverley (a brother of ' the Olympic representative), Lindesay. 4 Fraei and Conmee are among those ' who will do battle. Fred Fraei, who is to turn professional shortly, and Clarrie McKnight. who was runner-up in the light- - weights in the New Zealand champion--5 ships last year, will be hard to beat in J the welter-weights. Entries in the middle-weights include Shadbolt, Neale, Brown and Shorter. The last-named made a very good impression with his performances 5 at Hamilton at the beginning of the - ! week, when he carried off the South t * Auckland title. Another entry is Gault,

who was runner-up in the Southland championships last year, j Percj v McCarthney, who has won the I heavy-weight title for three years in i succession, and the light-heavy-weight ; title in addition last year, will defend j both titles. He has hard nuts to crack j in the light-heavies in Gifford. Hogg ! and Mullins, while in the heavies Slade. I and Litt, who are little known, will ' endeavour to wrest the title from him.