A BRILLIANT CONTEST.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 873, 27 November 1916, Page 3

A BRILLIANT CONTEST.

EDWARDS BEATS McCQY. Australia gave to the world in the distant past the best that boxing science, with its natural auxiliary, physical strength, could provide England, America and scattered portions of the globe where boxing claims a big part in athletic life readily admit this. But a change has come over the scene. We have good men; still, the lessons in the past have been so well taught that the lustre that shone so brightly on Australian boxing is now reflected more I on the men of other nations, As illus-1 tinting this, another big championship was lost on Saturday (says the Mel-1 bourne of November 13), when J Llew Edwards (9st. 7Alb.), ■■ England's premier feather weight, now a lightweight, defeated Herb M'Coy (Out. j 91b) on points in twenty rounds at the I Melbourne Stadium. The attendance was very large. While technically the | lightweight championship of Australia goes to an English boxer, actually it re- , mains in Australia, for it is a home creatiou. Edwards fulfilled residential I qualifications, but being essentially Australian, the title will remain behind when he leaves. The merit of the performance, nevertheless, will be generally recognised. It was a great contest. Every blow in the category of legitimate boxing was exhausted. Science and strength was matched against skill and stamina —synonymous terms, but expressed in this way to indicate that both boxers combined the two splendidly in working out, their end. Blows that ordinarily would have brought retreat had the opposite effect —they galvanised the rivals into greater activity. There was vim, but no .venom. Fortunes swayed in several rounds, and so even was the scoring that one or two blows meant the difference between victory or defeat in the round; quite a number of sessions were even. The mill ground hard throughout, but in the gristing there was hardly a trace of injury. The popularity of both men grew on the spectators as convincing blows were dealt out. Thrills ran throughout the contest. They were especially pronounced when Edwards scored with his specialty punch —the right cross —and sent the Victorian's head back. M'Coy had his own way of treatment —his short jolts aud uppercuts —blows which practically had a similar value, bur. were administered in a different way.

It was evident from the start that each man desired victory by a count out. Edwards jumped into action, but his opponent was more stolid —no spring about the ankles. M'Coy stood his ground and worked in to the body. His uppercutting and half-arm work was a feature of all the early rounds. He had Edwards near the ropes in the third round, gave hot punishment, but eventually received more than he had given. Both han<ls were employed by Edwards in the fourth round for a series cr? successful body attacks, and, as they had left their sting, M'Coy commenced to hold on. It was a casual happening that grew into a habit, and when the referee knocked down the embracing arms spectators looked upon M' Coy 's act as that of a weakening man. There was, however, nothing in his subsequent boxing to support that contention. In the sixth round, in fact, M' Coy gave his opponent 3uch a gruelling that the Englishman came away bleeding from the mouth. Edwards from this point did much better infighting, although he was never a failure. He had the two strings to his bow, long and short arm play working in harmony, whereas M'Coy kept to his one plan of infighting, occasionally sending out the left to keep his opponent steady until he worked himself into a favoured position.

The following rounds up to the sixteenth were either even or in Edwards's favour; but at that stage M'Coy show- j ed splendid boxing, and fairly battered the Englishman's head down almost ta his knees. There was still hope for the Victorian. The seventeenth round was also his, but Edwards, who had plenty of strength and spring in reserve, had the better of the remaining rounds, and secured a well-deserved decision. The four matches between the pair have been the best series in Australia for a considerable time. Two contests were drawn, and the other two won by Edwards. The M'Coy-Mehegan matches, and, earlier still, the Hock Keys —Thorn events, were hardly up to the standard of these contests for closeness in scoring, sustained vigour and hard punching, although equalling them perhaps in skill and ring-craft. Edwards came to Australia a champion, and will leave with his reputation enhanced. Besides being a remarkably clever boxer, he is scrupulously fair. M'Coy won the title from Mehegan in Sydney early in 1914.