A BOXING BUDGET.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 78, 8 May 1914, Page 2

A BOXING BUDGET.

EVENTS AT HOME AND ABROAD.

Present appearances indicate that one of the most interesting features of the Christchureli boxing season of 1914 will prove to be the series of boxing and wrestling entertainments which the Christchurch Athletes' Club is promoting—with the permission of the Christchurch Sports; Club—for public purposes. A few weeks ago one of these entertainments —the first—was held as a " benefit" to the Summit Road Association, and it provided excellent value for the money charged for admission. To-morrow evening the second entertainment will be held in the Choral Hall. This time the receipts will be put into a fund for despatching a team to represent Canterbury in the tug-of-war championship tournament at Dunedin.

An attractive programme has-been arranged for to-morrow evening. There will be four boxing contests, in which the principals will be featherweights G. Holderness and N. Forbes, light-weights E. Bliss and A. Guy,' welter-weights J. Sloan and D. Bartlett, and middle-weights D. O 'Connor (of the Coriiithic)s>-aridi; C.-. Lester (of New Brighton). And there will be a middleweight wrestling . match (catch-as-catch-can). between A. Craig and M. F. De la Cour. All this for one shilling! ,

JOE JEANNETTE'S LUCK.

When the. last mail to hand left England, gallons of Ink were being spilt in condemnation of the decision in the Carpentier-Jeannette fight in Paris, in which Jeannette was given the decision. The best critics —and particularly the English boxing men: who -were at the ringside—are all of - opinion that Carpentier had an appreciable margin of points at the. end of the fifteen rounds. For instance, A. F. ("Peggy") Bettinsori, manager of the National Sporting Club, said: "Carpentier won by a long way, and, the decision is Incomprehensible." "Snowy" Baker, who went across from London to sfee the fight, also severely cpndemned- the decision. And several others could be quoted. Even the promoter of the contest publicely criticised the referee, who is a Frenchman. _ WELSH BEATS CROSS.

Leach Cross, the fighting dentist of New York, lost his content with Freddy Welsh at Los Angeles, California, last week, on points. It was a 20 rounds affair, and is reported to have been very tame. Here is.an; extract'from an Independent Cable Association message: '' More than half the timfe the men were on their feet was spent in clinches. Both attempted' ineffectual in-fighting,; and neither landed More* than one or two telling blows. , During the eighteenth round the - arena resounded with cries o£ 'RottenP' f Fake!' 'and. 'Make-them fight!' * Welsh forced the fighting in;... the latter' half > of i the fcvtferitieth, ' 'aiid 'finish much ;the stronger'' , DENNY MURPHY'S WIN. '

Denny Murphy, the Wellington welterweight, who won the .professional middleweight championship 'of ■ New Zealand from Barney Ireland on Tuesday evening at Hastings, is the cleverest boxer in the Dominion at the present time. Although conceding Ireland 81,bs—he weighed lOst 61b to Ireland's I.lst — Murphy had a decided lead at the end of the 15 rounds, judging from the reports. The referee—-Mr H. A. Keesing, of Auckland —said ' that. Murphy 's lattaclc was as good as Ireland's, and his defence a good deal more sound. ANOTHER AMERICAN INVADER.

Young Shugrue, an American light-, weight with a good record, arrived in Sydney last week under engagement to "Snowy" Baker. On May 16 he will oppose-Herb M'Coy in the Sydney Stadium. Shugrue's record includes the names of most of America's best featherweights and light-weights, but nearly all his contests have been no-decision affairs in and arounil New York. He is an Irish-American. Shugrue is not quite 20 years of .age, but he has, fought about 70 contests in-.the past three and a-half years. About 18 months ago Shugrue defeated, in 15 rounds, Pal Brown, who did so well in Australia a few months ago. Taking a ' line through ; this, and through his recent form in the States, Shugrue should iiiake the Australian light-weights travel some.

ELLIS WINS AGAIN.

Frank Ellis, the Wellington featherweight, has won another contest in Australia. At Brisbane a few „days ago he met Hector Melville, a promising featherweight from Sydney, and beat him on points. The fight is thus reported by the correspondent of' the Sydney '' Referee'': -—'' Patrons <of the Stadium were treated to a great scrap between Frank Ellis, the New Zealand feather, and that game youngster who recently came to us from Sydney, Hector Melville.' The-Sydney lad forced the fighting for practically the whole of the 20 rounds, and it required all the clever footwork and ring tricks that Ellis learned from Hock Keys to keep away from the weighty punches the boy from Newtown 'sent after 1 him. As a fact, he didn't keep away from more than a percentage of them, whilst every time he came back to land a punch he found the charge waiting. Hector was unlucky in getting twice bumped by Frank's lowerctl head. The first was in the seventh round, a deep gash over the left eye, and a blinding flow of blood resulting. In the tenth he got another split over the right eye, in just the same way, though fortunately not so deep, but they were irritating, troublesome wounds, which spoiled the lad's judging of distance, and made him look bad. The readiness displayed by Ellis to rub those cuts with his glove, to smash his right to the kidney, and jerk up the elbow and forearm on occasions awakened some hostility, and this, combined with the feeling of warm admiration which Melville's fair and plucky fighting -awakened, was probably in a measure the cause of the hoot which went up when Mr Mick Dunn gave the decision to the New Zealander, whose splendid footwork, back-moving, and .defence generally had ,na doubt impressed him. That there were plenty who agreed with Mick's judgment was, however, shown by the dheer which broke through the hoots. Anyway, it was a fine performance for , such a

youngster as Melville is, and granting the verdict was sound, it should still be an encouragement for the game little Newtown feather."

GLOVE TAPS,

Lou O'Halloran, the New Zealand lightweight, who has been in Australia for some time past, won a points victory over one Tom Blackmore in a contest at Sydney Olympia last week. It has become apparent that contests between '' foreigners'' are less attractive to 'Sydney crowds than any in which an Australian is one of the competitors.

Jimmy Hill, featherweight champion of Australia, is unable to fight at present, owing to a damaged right hand. Hill knocks tip his hands by hitting too freely his hard-skulled sparring partners. Lee Johnson, therefore, was substituted for Hill against Frank Thorn. Harry Marquet, the former Christchurch heavy-weight, who met with some success in Auckland and then in Australia, is now back in Auckland. He seeks a match with Bert Lowe, of Gisborne, for the Dominion professional heavy-weight championship. Alf Goodwin, the Englishman who went to Australia as a light-weight and became a welter-weight, and boxed there with some success, is looking > for a match in New Zealand with any man weighing from lOst to. lOst 71b. - Hughie Mehegan, Australians crack light-weight, will meet Milburn Saylor, for the second 1 time, in v Sydney tomorrow evening, and Kid Lewis* a clever boxer from England, three weeks later. Jimmy Clabby, the noted American middle-weight, arrived in Sydney last week. On May 23 he will fight l Jeff Smith, another of the contenders for the world's middle-weight championship. Jules Dubourg, the promising French middle-weight, now in Australia, will be pitted against Eddie M'Goorty on May 23, in, Melbourne. - - j /. Hagerty has agreed to the Christchurch Sports Club's terms for a match with Peter Cook,, of Christchiirch, on August 11. Hagerty and Cook therefore will contest the light-weight championship of New Zealand —held by the former—and a' purse Of £SO, on that date. There will be a very strong flavour of Hawke's Bay about the tourney which the Christchurch Sports Club will hold on June 2. In the three contests- which will comprise the tourney there will be three fighters from Hawke's Bay —Barney Ireland, Walter Ireland, and Cur,ran. Barney Ireland will meet GuS T)evitt in a middle-weight professional bout of 15 rounds j Walter Ireland will fight a return bout of six rounds—three minutes each this ;i time —-with amateur: N. Vernall. In the other six-rounds' amateur contest Curran will, oppose J. Digby, the Ashburton feather-weight. A. L. C.