A MASTER PUNCH.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 835, 13 October 1916, Page 2

A MASTER PUNCH.

! HOW DARCY KNOCKED OUT CHIP

It was with a splendidly-timed right j cross to the chin that Les Darcy, Auk- ; Italia's 20-year-old middle-weight chain pion of the world, knocked out- George ; Chip, once acclaimed as the world's | champion, in the ninth round of their contest in the Sydney Stadium on Sep-j tember MO. Describing, in the Sydney ■ "Referee," how the knock-out occur-1 red, Mr W. f\ Corbett said:—"Darey j jabbed a left home, but not 'with quite, enough power to prevent the hardy | Chip from attempting a similar punch in retaliation. Immediately the Australian stepped to the side, and so (dose that his wallop travelled through no more than a foot or so of space. It! crossed the hostile sinister weapon in a snappy, partly choppy, way, as (dean as! could be and with the precision of mech- ! anism. Contact was made with Chip's! chin, and such contact that he dropped | heavily and limp as a dead snake, deaf' to the count and oblivious of all sur-1 rounding!) and occurrences subsequently ! for several minutes. In all my long ex- i perience as a critical watcher at the , ringside I have never seen the thing i done bettor or more truly. It was a master stroke. Chip Has No Excuses. Darcy had much the better of the contest almost all through. But for his remarkable stamina and great fighting power, Chip must have taken the count long before he did. "He beat me fairly j

and squarely," said the American, a day or two after the fight. " I did my best, but Darey did better. That's just the] siMiimiiijr up of the whole thing in the ; old nutshell. Excuses? No! I haven't any. There is none to be made; but something might be said in extenuation, | it only to take the rough edge off my | licking. 1 want to tell you in a few words that T am strongly impressed with the belief that Darey'is the greatest: middle-weight fighter in the world, j Gibbons would have no chance with him. Dillon might, but lam not strong on that tip." Jimmy Dime, ('hip's j manager, and once a famous featherweight boxer, agreed, and added: j "Darey is wonderfully strong. Dillon! is the only one Oil our side of the Pacific j who could have a possible chance with him at catch-weights; but at 1601b (list! (din. Australia 'f and England's middleweight limit. Darey would sure get away wil ii i lie bacon. "Time after time,' - says Air Corbett, j Chi]) reeled before the vigour of Darey's ' onslaught, and on occasion he ,ook blows which seemed to have sufficient weight ! behind them to more than satisfy the hunger for punishment his reputation makes him out the possessor of. The whites of his eves were shown, and he looked sorely battle-worn here and there . but recuperative powers of no ordinary quality stood so well to this absolute fighter that he shook the shattering effects off in a moment or two. and, charged forward again. All Fight.

Tn a fight that was all fight every moment or its time, Chip faced his task bravely. But lie was slow, though a rugged goer, comparatively, and very open, as a rule. . . . Only when the

severity of the struggle and the pounding he received began to tell seriously | harmfully upon him, did the American ! attempt anything in the way of clinch- i ing, and then his offences were not actual sins. They did not exceed the j limit allowed by the laws of the game. I Not once was Dnny seen in the light of j a likely loser, despite that now and j again Chip landed a solid blow. Darcy's Tine Left. " Darcy's left was a strong factor in] his success. The story of how often ; that member made contact was painted I thickly on Chip's mouth and nose. The same weapon also connected with the body in the form of a slab; how many! times would be difficult to even guess,: but certainly a great number. Chip brought, a good deal of trouble upon, himself by constantly claiming his opponent's left and holding it. while] Darcy kept his right going at the head] and body in a manner which apparently baffled the defensive resources ef the sufferer. Just so long as Chip chose to . remain in this position, then for that length of time he had to endure severe punishment. Net he did it again and again. It was simply running his head into a noose. In an interview published elsewhere in the 'Referee.' to-day, Chip says he did not claim I farcy's left at all. On the contrary. Darcy gripped his body witli that member. This sort of thing j can be done in such a way that the! spectator would find it very difficult to

say with any degree of certainty who was to blame, particularly when the arm of the gripped man was allowed to hang at the side which his opponent held. "Some pretty work" often shown by Darcy was when, at close quarters, he brought his right, to the head and then, by a dexterous twist, whipped it to the chin in the form of an nppercut. This he treated the spectators to three or four times in each round. Jt was anything hut a treat for Chip. Dan-y has perhaps never before shown to such advantage. Chip stood up to him and gave him a chance, which he certainly did not get. with Knock-out Drown, for one. All the time the Australian maintained that unshiftable coolness characteristic of him, and presented the same boh! front to the enemy, hacked up by the same eagerness for fight.

“ (‘hip's incessant attack suited Dan-v well. Les does not often have it so boldly and continuously served up. There were times when the lighting was slop- for sloe, Imt the home ehani|iion slogged the harder and the more frequently. Wo never once saw that mighty punch which Chip was credited with carrying about with him, or. perhaps, I should say, we never saw it effect'! ve. ’' Splendid Boxing. In its report of the contest the Sydney “Sun" said: —“Perhaps never in bis career has Darcy given such a line exhibition of boxing sis he gave last night. Jle has always proved himself to be a cool, fast, and determined lighter, but in this, his latest display, his punching was snappier, and he was much Custer. Those closely associated with him have recent Iv noticed an ini-

provcmcnt in his work, nml it was stilted during tlic week that his punching was improving wonderfully. So it prov ed. Not for many a day has such splendid two-handed fighting been seen at the Stadium. In the Mist place, he was much the stronger el' the two. But the point about his work that stood right out was his wonderful straight left. Tie was as cool as an iceberg, so to speak, and he moved with eloeklike precision. He hardly ever missed with his left. He timed 'it excellently and the snap in it troubled Chip every time it landed. He not only placed it to the face, but he hooked it to the body time alter time, and the force behind it en many occasions nearly lifted Chip oil' his feet. Besides the great display with the left, he used his sledge-ham-mer right, which seemed to have more behind it than ever. In close, his favourite method of milling—namely, belting the ribs with the right, and then using the same hand to the side of the head, was in evidence, and the effect of the hammering on Chip was most noticeable.

"Darcy has been seen mostly in close fighting, but he changed things often last night, and showed that he is a great out-fighter. His excellent judgment of distance, his effective left jabbing to the face, his hooking to the body and face. and his brilliant footwork in getting out of tight corners, and at times his stopping in to effect punishment, all proved him to be well able to look after himself in either out or in-fighting. lie certainly can be looked upon as a freak in the fighting world.''

Both men entered the ring in splendid condition, although influenza and a strained abdominal muscle had interfered with Darcv's training*. Each man scaled list s|l'b. The fight was watched by 12,000 people.