BOXING.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 July 1923, Page 3

BOXING.

Dempsey beats gibbons s . I WON ON POINTS. 0 ' DECISION UNPOPULAR. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright . New York, July 3. ( The Dempsey—Gibbons fight starts at 3 p.m , Shelby time, corresponding with 5 o’clock New ! York standard time. (Our time is ahead of New York by 16% hours, so the fight was at 9.30 p.m. on Wednesday, New Zealand time.) NEW YORK, July 4. Dempsey defeated Gibbons on the referee’s decision. The fight lasted fifteen rounds. THE FIGHT DESCRIBED. Dempsey’s weight was 13st. 61bs. and Gibbons' 12st. 7%lbs. In the first round Dempsey led viciously, landing heavy body blows, and drew blood from Gibbons’ mouth with a left hook. Gibbons retreated and landed twice on Dempsey’s jaw, but the champion knocked the challenger about easily. Round 2.—Gibbons landed a' hard right to the body and then opened Dempsey’s eye. Dempsey jarred his opponent by a left to the jaw. Round 3. —Gibbons protested against Dempsey mauling him in the clinches. Dempsey pounding his body savagely and both exchanged head blows. Round 4.—Gibbons laded a right uppercut and in-fighting followed. Gibbons was boxing well, and the champion was having trouble in hitting him. Round s.—Gibbons drove Dempsey back, knocking him to the ropes with two lefts to the jaw. Dempsey kept clinching, but Gibbons again drove him back. Round 6.—Dempsey knocked Gibbons between the ropes as he came out of a clinch. Gibbons protesting. Dempsey gave him severe punishment at close quarters, which he continually sought. Round 7.—The crowd was angry, as Dempsey held and hit, and then twice hit Gibbons below the belt, without the referee protesting. Round B.—Gibbons rocked Dempsey with two lefts to the jaw. Dempsey hit low, and the crowd resented it. The round ended with an exchange of head blows. Round 9.—Mostly a scries of clinches. Gibbons was distinctly outboxing the champion and standing body punishment well. He also landed several hard blows to the jaw. Round 10. —Gibbons improved in the clinches and also neatly dodged Dempsey's uppercuts and straight hits. Round 11.—Dempsey was out-manoeuvred again and struck below the belt. The crowd was furious. Gibbons retaliated with two hard i blows to the jaw and dodged Dempsey’s coun- | ter. Round 12.—‘This was marked by savage-in- . fighting, Dempsey roughing it all over the ring . and striking low. Round 13. —Gibbons outguessed Dempsey, dodging terrific uppercuts. The challenger, boxing beautifully, forced Dempsey to miss repeatedly. Round 14.—Dempsey, tiring, missed continually at long range, and sought to get close. Gibbon’s generalship was far superior. Round 15 —Gibbons was now strictly on the defensive. Dempsey, desparately trying for a knock-out, landed on the right jaw, badly shaking Gibbons, but the bell sounded. The referee’s decision was in Dempsey’s favour. The wildest excitement followed the fight. The referee rushed out of the stadium immediately he had announced his decision. ]

THE GATES RUSHED. DECISION CONSIDERED FAIR. FOUL HITS ALLEGED. Received July 5, 8.15 p.m. New York, July 4. Shelby reports state extraordinary scenes preceded the Dempsey-Gibbons fight. Half an hour before the main bout there were less than ten thousand spectators, while a big crowd outside the stadium repeatedly endeavored to crush through the gates. Inside, the occupants of cheaper seats frequently swept forward into the dearer seats, the police and cowboy guards being powerless. Meanwhile, Harry Drake, an English boxer, and Bud, a German, refused to fight a preliminary unless they were paid. Kearns offered a thousand dollars, whereupon the fighters entered the ring. The referee, Dargherty, up to the last minute was doubtful whether he would officiate at the main bout, declaring he was not paid. The majority of the newspaper critics at the ringside regard the decision awarded Dempsey as fair, despite Gibbons’ display of superior boxing and his ability to outguess the champion longer than any other man. Toward the end of the bout Gibbons was plainly only desirous of lasting, and took terrible body beating. The crowd, however, applauded vigorously for Gibbons, threatening personal violence to Dempsey when he several times hit below the belt without the referee professing to notice it. The referee was always regarded as a close friend of Dempsey. His decision was made without regard to the judges, who made no statement. The fight took place under a blistering sun, and was witnessed by twenty thousand people, halt of whom entered at the last minute, wh-n the promoters lowered the • prices from liity dollars to five. It is believed the receipts will not exceed three hundred thousand dollars, and thus Gibbons Is likely to get nothing. Critics agreed that two years’ absence from the ring has done Dempsey no good.