A CHANGE AT LAST.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume II, Issue 616, 31 January 1916, Page 2

A CHANGE AT LAST.

AMERICAN OPINION OF DES DARCY. American boxing critics have been so reluctant to give Les Darcy full credit for his victories over American middle-weights who have visited Australia, and have so ignored the young Australian's claim to the world's mid-dle-weight championship, that they change in their attitude is significant as well as very interesting. Under the captions " Darcy 'a Victory .Boosts his Stock; Australian Looms Like Champion," Douglas Erskine wrote as follows id the "San Francisco Examiner" of December 28: —

''The dispatch from Sydney, conveying the news that Les Darcy, champion middle-weight of the Antipodes, had won another battle from Eddie McGoorty, confirms the opinion that Darcy has not. been given the proper credit in this country. His knockout of McGoorty in a previous bout was a Surprise, but this confirmation of his superiority leaves no question as to the relative merits of Darcy and McGoorty, Advices from Australia, dated about the time that Darcy and McGoorty were matched for the light that took place on Monday, conveyed the intelligence that McGoorty realised how formidable an opponent he had to face, something which probably did not impress itself on him when he undertook to battle Darcy the first time. The American middle-weight was reported as going through a serious course of training in tiie hope that he could reverse the result of the first bout, which terminated in a knockout for the man from Oshkosh. " Darcy 's victory over Jimmy Clabiiy must also have impressed McGoorty, although Eddie stated after Hie bout that he did not believe, dabby was as good a man as he formerly was. Nevertheless, McGoorty must have made up his mind that he had a hard task on his hands, and it is reasonable to suppose that when he entered the Rushcut tors' Hay Stadium on Monday he was prepared to establish himself as Darcy's superior or forever waive till claims to consideration in the middle-weight; division. Yet the Australian won handly. Any middle-weight who can punish Eddie McGoorty so badly in eight rounds that his seconds have to throw up the sponge must be some boxer. "So let us take off our hals to Les Darcy and Australia, temporarily, and wait, for the appearance of the Antipodean in this country, so that, we can decide definitely whether the fact •'thai he was fighting iii the land of his birth was an advantage to him. "With Olabby and McGoorty .already disposed of, the only hope that this country has in the middle-weight division is Mike Gibbons; unless we figure I'uckey McFarlaud as a possibility. I'ackey is rather light to oppose a man who wants to enter the ring at, LfiOlb. Mike is also lighter than this figure, full he can come closer to it than the Stockyards champion. " Voting Ahearn is a claimant for the title, bui he is known as "John Hull's boy," and a victory for him would only remove the championship from one end of Great Britain's dominions to another. We have George (..'hip, Al McCoy, and others who claim to be aspirants for the middle-weight championship, but, nobody iu this country would take their chances seriously against a man who hail decisively defeated McGoorty twice and, C'iabby