THE BOXING RING

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 970, 13 May 1930, Page 14

THE BOXING RING

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"LEFT COUNTER"

Fixtures Trowern v. Hancock, Wellington, May 19. Donovan v. Leckie, Napier, May 24. Pau! v. Fraei, Taumarunui, May 24. Leckie v. Shack, Auckland, June 3. Matt Hatton was in town last week and reported himself to be in excellent condition. He is very anxious to climb into the ring again and is not particular whom he fights. mm# While training for a return bout with Donovan, Grime severely injured his ankle and the Hawera association lias postponed, indefinitely, the contest which was scheduled originally for May 16. • * * According to advice received, Fred Fraei, the Auckland light-weight, who some months ago stated his intention of joining the professionals, will open his campaign in the moneyed ranks at Taumarunui on May 24, when he will tackle Jack Paul. • * * An unofficial report states that Sarron received £4lO and Donovan £3OO for their match at Dunedin. If this report is correct Sarron must be a 100 per cent, business man to induce associations to give him more than the man who had twice previously been his conqueror. “Babe” Herman, who drew large crowds in Australia because of his power of punch, took up the position of receiver in a recent bout in Buenos Ayres, being knocked out in Imin 20sec of the first round by Justo Suarez. • * * Knockout and Flogging “Public opinion, which approves prize-fighting, including the knock-out blow, cannot logically condemn flogging as at present administered. The Chancellor of the Exchequer might as well set an entertainment tax on that as well as on the other.” This was Lord Darling’s “considered opinion” on flogging, which provoked widespread comment. “This, to my mind, is an amazing statement, and I cannot understand how Lord Darling can find anything analogous between the two things,” Mr. Lionel Bettinson, manager of the National Sporting Club, told “The Daily Chronicle.” “I cannot speak, of course, with any authority on the merits or otherwise of flogging and capital punishment. But the great difference between these things and the knock-out in boxing is this: Two men boxing are willing to risk the unpleasantness of a knockout, the effects of which are only momentary and in most cases painless. “The whole thing, knock-out or no. Is regarded as a sport, and both parties are generally the best of friends afterward. But one can hardly imagine a man feeling the same way about a flogging, and congratulating the man with the whip when it was all over.” Kid Berg told an interviewer that he would rather be knocked out 10 times than receive one flogging.

If an Australian critic can be believed, New Zealand has bred a potential world’s heavy-weight champion. Writing of Ted Pickrang, an ex-New Zealander who has been fighting with some success in Australia, the scribe says that although Pickrang is slow and inexperienced he has the physique and punch to annex the title, providing he is handled correctly. * « « Auckland's Next Match The Northern Boxing Association last week made efforts to match Sarron and Donovan for the fourth time and as a fourth meeting between two men seldom provides a good fight it was perhaps just as well that Donovan was unable to come to Auckland and Sarron’s price was prohibitive. Therefore the association matched Johnny Leckie and Sammy Shack and the bout promises to be 100 per cent, better than another Sarron-Donovan affair. Shack has settled down to hard training and every morning finds him on the road, in company with his wrestling friend “Scotty” McDougall. The American is already in excellent condition and is confident that he can prove that Leckie was very lucky to get the decision when the pair met at Dunedin. WRESTLING GOSSIP Tom Alley is bringing out a team of wrestlers under contract to the Wellington Association. # * George Walker and Ramzan Khan come to grips at Wellington tonight When the pair met at Greymouth Walker was the winner and the return contest, which was to have taken place last month, was postponed owing to Walker having a poisoned leg. * * * Unjust Weight Limitation “I am not quarter the man I should be!” This statement was made by Fred Ebert to the writer on being questioned regarding his condition before the bout last evening. Ebert informed the writer during the week that he had been put under a forfeit to scale 13st 131 b for the bout and he entered the ring last evening a stone less in weight than a week ago. Ebert was probably put under forfeit to get him training hard for the bout. He had been having a spell for a long time and had consequently put on a deal of weight. Therefore it seems he was put under forfeit at a weight below that of his previous contests. The New Zealand Wrestling Association has no right to put a heavyweight under forfeit. Heavy-weights are any weights and as such should be able to enter the ring at whatever weight they please. If they come in fat and untrained they will not be able to stand the pace and are only asking for trouble. A fortnight ago Lundyn wrestled at 13st against McDougall’s 14st 51b, but Ebert was put under forfeit to make 13st 131 b for the same man. There appears to be some queer ideas among some officials regarding the control of wrestling.