DONOVAN WINS AGAIN

Taranaki Daily News, 15 July 1929, Page 5

DONOVAN WINS AGAIN

MATT HATTON KNOCKED OUT BOUT LASTS ONLY THREE ROUNDS. BIG CROWD WITNESSES TOURNEY. By administering the knock-out to Matt Hatton in the New Plymouth Opera House on Saturday night, in the third round of a scheduled 15-rounds professional contest, the popular Waitara boxer Tommy Donovan has advanced a considerable step up the ladder of fistic fame. His record since stepping into the professional ring towards the close of last year has indeed been a remarkable one, and step by step he has climbed up, defeating first one and then another until his record now stands at eight wins and one loss on a foul, the wins being lite by the knock-out route and three by points. He has now placed himself within reach of being matched for the title against that clever exponent, Leckie.

As was only to be anticipated from the importance ,of the bout and the popularity of the Waitara boy who, despite his success is the same unassuming lad as ever, the Opera House was crowded. Indeed, it would have kept more than the severe storm that was encountered to have kept the crowd away. Opinions were divided prior to ■ the match, many holding that Donovan was due to meet his Waterloo, whilst others held that his well-known aggressiveness and dogged determination would prevail. Few, however, expected that he would win in such an easy fashion, the bout hardly lasting ten minutes, placing Donovan on a par in this respect with Lcekie, who beat Hatton similarly. HATTON’S UNDOING. The honours appeared to be fairly even for the first two rounds, and it looked as if the public would see a good fight for their money, but Donovan landed a fateful right to the point in the third round that proved his opponent’s undoing. So much force was there in the blow that Donovans impetus caused him to fall on his opponent, who also hit his bead heavily on the mat. Rising at the call of nine Hatton was again at Donovan's mercy and blows to the body and the face sent him down again to take the count. The suddenness of the victory astounded the crowd as much as it did Hatton's trainer, but the crowd acknowledged Donovan’s triumph with enthusiasm. The six preliminaries, while they did not provide anything particularly outstanding, nevertheless whetted the appetite of the crowd for the professional contest. A feature of the bouts was the appearance of a number of novices, some of whom showed considerable promise. The majority of them were pupils of Tommy Thompson, New Plymouth, or B. Johnson (Eltham). The winners of the bouts were Al. Sheehy (New Plymouth), A. Turner (Waitara), B. Goodwin (Oakura), D. Roebuck (New Plymouth), C. Talbot (Eltham) and D. Russell (’Tikorangi). At the conclusion of each bout the winners were presented with their trophy, a suitcase, by the announcer, Air, P E. Stainton. The third, man in the ring was Air. Earl Stewart, Wellington, and his businesslike attitude kept the bouts as open as possible. His decisions with one exception, that of the Goodwin-Furze bout, found general satisfaction.

The tournament was well managed, the various officials all doing their work well. They comprised: Announcer, Mr. P, E. Stainton; timekeepers, Messrs. J. Bennett and F. C. Ferry; call stewards, Messrs. W. Roebuck and R. Harvey; ring stewards, Messrs. V, S. Prudcn and T. Campbell; weight steward, Mr. J. Horlor; glove steward, Mr. O'. E. Roebuck; official seconds, Messrs. J. Payne?, W. Searle, C. Tippins, J. Allen; house manager, Mr. H. Collier. The committee, and particularly the chairman, Mr. IV. N. Stephenson, and the secretary (Mr. E. J. Sarr) are to be congratulated on the excellence of the arrangements. THE AMATEUR BOUTS. M. Sheehy (New Plymouth), 9.G, defeated T. Carr (New Plymouth), 9.4, on a technical knock-out. This bout opened the proceedings and proved a lively and interesting mix-up, setting the audience in a good frame of mind to view the subsequent proceedings. The first round of a scheduled four two-minute rounds bout provided a bright exhibition of open work, both mixing it well. They exchanged blows freely and stood up to each other in a manner that pleased the crowd. Both possessed solid punches and used both hands. Sheehy used his left to greater advantage. Sheehy forced the pace and had all the better of the opening stages of the second round, Carr occasionally getting home with his left. There was a little close work and in the ensuing mix-up Sheehy showed cleverness in evasion. The third round opened with Carr aggressive, but Sheehy cleverly side-stepped and then landed heavily, sending Carr to the mat for eight. When he rose he appeared dazed and would have been at his opponent’s mercy, so the referee stopped the bout and awarded it to Sheehy. A. Turner (Waitara), 8.12, defeated W. Mancer (Eltham), 9.0, on points. This bout went the full four rounds and though Turner won he appeared to lack the dash he has infused into previous bouts. Mancer showed clever footwork. The first round opened with some close work, Mancer smothering neatly. Then Turner did some pretty sparring in looking for an opening, but Mancer evaded cleverly and later scored to the body in close work. The second round saw Mancer just miss with a vicious uppercut, whilst Turner neatly connected with both hands. A lively bout of infighting followed, Turner having the advantage, and he again made Mancer miss with a dangerous uppercut. Just on the gong Turner again scored with the right and left to the face. Mancer opened aggressively. in the third round but Turner by clover footwork evaded. The Waitara lad forced the fighting, Mancer being sent down on his hands. The Eltham lad made a great recovery and just failed to connect with another uppercut, Turner neatly evading. Turner continued to force the pace and towards the close Mancer appeared to be tiring. Mancer opened the final round in aggressive fashion, but in close work Turner scored and made Mancer miss in the breakaway. Mancer drove Turner to the ropes hut the Waitara lad came away in determined fashion and had all the better of the last minute, scoring solidly to the face. GOOD SHOWING OF NOVICE. J). Goodwin (Oakura). 11.6, defeated R, Furze (Tikornngi), 11.0, on points.

This bout went the scheduled three rounds. Furze, a novice from T. Thompson’s school, made a good showing and, but for a tendency to use the open glove, was quite on a par with his more experienced opponent. Indeed, the decision in Goodwin’s favour had a mixed reception. Goodwin had the advantage of height and reach as well as weight. His opponent is ver*, solidly built, being very broad in the shoulders and light on his feet. He possesses a punch and should develop into a useful type. It proved a willing bout that at once aroused the crowd. Furze made the pace willing but Goodwin kept him off with straight lefts and an occasional right. Nothing daunted, Furze came again and connected, Furze scoring in the breakaway. The second round opened with a willing mill, Goodwin using his reach to advantage. Furze showed cleverness in evading and speed in coming in, just missing with an uppercut. Another good mill saw Goodwin score, but Furze came in close and had the better of some infighting. The last round was also will-

ing. Goodwin landed solidly to the body but-Furze came in and connected to the ‘face. Goodwin then scored with both hands to the face, Furze hanging on and being ordered to break. He then cleverly evaded. Both were tiring as the result of their efforts, but Goodwin had the better condition and towards the close forced his opponent to the ropes. D. Roebuck (New Plymouth), 7.12, defeated Alulvaney (New Plymouth) 8.1, on points. This bout went the full distance and provided a pretty display of tootwork, especially on the part of Alulvaney, who relied on his speed and lightness of foot to keep him out of the danger zone, and for a while his elusiveness somewhat baffled his younger opponent, who forced the fight throughout and showed cleverness in attack as well as good defence, his straight left proving very useful. The first round opened with Alulvaney standing off in characteristic crouching attitude, sparring for an opening, and when Roebuck attempted to bring the fight to him he gracefully side-stepped out of the danger zone. However, Roebuck managed to land with the left and towards the close also get home a solid blow that steadied his opponent. The second round was somewhat similar, save that midway Alulvaney attempted to force the pace but Roebuck showed clever evasion of the somewhat wild swings. In the third round Alulvaney, in ducking to avoid trouble, ran into a right and went down for one, Roebuck having all the better of this round. CLEVERNESS DISPLAYED. C. Talbot (Eltham), 8.6, beat J. Sheehy (New Plymouth), 7.12, on points. This was a bout full of interest, the pair showing cleverness on attack and defence. It opened briskly, Sheehy forcing the pace and fighting with both hands, so that thou h Talbot evaded cleverly and occasionally poked out a straight left, Sheehy connected more frequently and had the better of the round. Sheehy sprang from his corner in the second round as though determined to end the bout, but he met his match and the crowd became very enthusiastic as they mixed it in a very willing bout. Talbot appeared to time his blow’s better and hit more cleanly and he had his opponent very tired. Sheehy, however, made a great effort with an uppercut which missed, and the close of the round saw the crowd roused to frenzy as the pair exchanged blow for blow. Talbot stopped Sheehy with a clean, straight left. Sheehy opened the third round aggressively but more cautiously. Talbot, however, poked in his left. Sheehy tried to end matters with a right swing that missed and a willing bout between tw’O tiring lads right to the gong saw Talbot gain a popular verdict. D. Russell (Tikorangi), 11.13, beat H. Gardiner (Kaponga), 11.7, on points. This bout between two novices went the full distance and proved a quiet display, neither appearing to want to use his full strength.- Both were powerful men, Russell having the. advantage of height as well as weight, but his opponent was built on more compact lines. When they develop a punch they will be hard men to meet. Gardiner made the pace in the first round, in which both men were sparring for an opening. Towards the close Russell connected but failed to follow up. The second round was a repetition save that Russell sent Gardiner to the boards for one, though Gardiner appeared to have the advantage. The third round saw both start as if they meant business, a willing mix-up following in which honours were easy. Then Russell sent in a solid blow, sending his opponent down for one and nearly falling over him. Some in-fighting appeared. 0 even. but Russell hit quickest in the breakaway. Towards the close Gardiner scored to the face with some lefts that lacked sting. THE PROFESSIONAL CONTEST. A resounding thump as two bodies strike the canvas; one lightly springs to its feet and dances away to a neutral corner, while the other lies prostrate, dimly aware through fogged senses of the niotonous chant of the referee counting out the seconds. At “five” the body stirred; at “six” its muscles quivered and its eyes dazedly looked at those around the ringside. “Seven” and “eight” passed unheeded, but at “nine” it sprang to its feet and groggily stumbled back to the ropes. Padded fists automatically guarded its vitals as its opponent rushed in to apply the closure. It gave ground at the fury of the onslaught, worked the ropes to a corner and then—“thud” sounded a ripping left to the solar plexus and “crash” landed a terrific right hook to the jaw, and again the. body collapsed and lay stretched out in the I resin dust. This time it did not hear —could not hear—the seconds pass by. It did not see the referee raise the other man’s arm in token of victory, and it was taken to its corner and revived by its seconds. Thus Matt Hatton, of Auckland, suffered defeat at the hands of Tommy Donovan, midway through the third of what was scheduled as a fifteen-round bout. It' was a. sensational, almost bewildering, ending and it took the large crowd some time to realise that the contest was over and that Donovan had been successful in knocking his opponent out. Naturally the crowd was disappointed, for it had already been on tiptoes in expectation of what the future rounds held in store. In its earliest stages the contest showed promise of beino- a particularly clever, clean and exhilarating display. There was a feeling of tenseness in the air as the contestants entered the ring. Hatton, followed by his manager and trainer, Harry Donovan, stepped through the ropes looking calm and confident and made a graceful blow in acknowledging the plaudits of the crowd. Donovan had a rather grim and determined look a<3 he took his corner, but there was’ just a trace of nervousness noticeable, for much hung in the balance for the Waitara boy.

Bandages and gloves attended to, the pair walked to the centre of the ring to be introduced. The Aucklander was sleek, perfectly proportioned, with an advantage in height and reach, and looked a picture of health. Donovan, too, was in perfect condition, but had more the appearance of a wrestler alongside Hatton. His shortness, his ruggedness, and his abnormal shoulder development were accentuated in contrast with his opponent. There was only three-quarters of a pound difference in the weights, Donovan being 8.12 and Hatton 8.12|.

The pair warily clinched at the commencement and Hatton was told, not to hold. Donovan also held with his right and Referee Earle Stewart made it apparent that he would not put up with it. The Aucklander was using his feet to advantage, but Donovan, rushing in when Hatton was back-moving, landed a straight left to the face and skinned his opponent’s nose. Hatton, in clo.se, was holding his own, and he met several of Donovan’s rushes by stepping in and shooting lefts and rights to the body. His good work over the later stages evened the session.

In a clinch in the second round Hatton gained points by swinging his right around Donovan’s left and landing to the body, but the Waitara man pulled his left free and .severely jolted his opponent with a succession of solid left hooks to the head. Hatton landed three “rabbit-killers” and was told by the referee to keep his blows in front. The Aucklander earned applause by slipping Donovan’s left lead and countering with a left to the body and right cross to the head. However, he tried it once too often, for Donovan connected with some stinging rights to the midriff and a left to the°head which gave the Waitara man sessional honours. Donovan bounded from his corner in round three and threw a right which jerked the Aucklander to the ropes. In attempting to evade body punishment' Hatton slipped to his knees and Donovan jumped back hurriedly. Up again and Donovan was on his man with a bombardment of blows from all angles. Hatton gave ground but Donovan followed up and shot a terrific straight left to the jaw. The blow caught Hatton off his balance and he crashed to the canvas with Donovan spread-eagled over him. The fireman lightly jumped to his feet, while his opponent lay where he fell. At “nine” Hatton bounded to his feet, but he appeared dazed and stumbled back to the ropes. Seizing the opportunity Donovan rushed in and belaboured Hatton with lefts and rights to bodv and head. The Aucklander worked" the ropes to a corner, but was too far gone to get out. With a ripping left to the solar plexus and a terrific right hook to the jaw Donovan knocked his man out and was crowned the winner. Fully a minute elapsed before Hatton was revived.