BOXING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Taranaki Daily News, 2 September 1929, Page 4

BOXING CHAMPIONSHIPS

D. ROEBUCK HAS TO DEFAULT

RECORD CROWD AT GREYMOUTH.

THE FINAL STAGES DESCRIBED.

By Telegraph—Press Association

Greymouth, Last Night.

The Dominion amateur boxing championships concluded last night in the’ presence of tho largest crowd ever seen locally at a boxing gathering. The financial result sets a new record for the Dominion, exceeding tho previous record held also by the Greymouth association to the extent of over £5O. The visitors were afterwards entertained at a social gathering, when the trophies were presented amid'great enthusiasm by the retiring president, Mr. Arthur Beban. To-day the visitors were taken for a motor trip to the scenic resort of Punakiki. Tho results are:— . Flyweights.

In the semi-final D. Roebuck (Taranaki), 7.10, boat A. Ennis (Canterbury), 7.8, tho winner being the better in the first part of the bout, while Ennis finished tho stronger. T. Cates (Ashburton) defaulted to F. Pearcy (Auckland). For" the final Roebuck, owing to an injured eye, defaulted to F. Pearcey (Auckland). Lightweight. In the semi-final H. Thomas (Wellington), 9.10, beat A. Craig (Te Aroha), 9.7, the winner doing nearly all the leading. Craig defended well but might have won had he not relied on defensive tactics. W. Carey (Canterbury), 9.13, beat G. Thomas (Wellington), 9.6. The heavier man was the aggressor and harder hitter, but Thomas scored some good, clean hits, though obliged mostly to remain on the defensive. In the final Carey beat H. Thomas after a gruelling bout in which Thomas performed well, using effective left leads, but the stronger opponent wore him out and finally knocked him out in the last round. Heavyweight. In the final A. Gardiner (Canterbury), 12.1, beat A. Campbell (Oamaru), 12.2. Both men were speedy, Campbell doing the forcing, but Gardiner was superior in footwork and in clean hitting with a fast left. Bantamweight. In the final R. Purdie (Auckland) 8.0, beat H. Knopp (Wellington), 8.2. The loser forced the fight throughout, while Purdie retreated and relied on light lefts for points, his defence being very clever. The decision met with a very mixed reception. Welterweight.

P. J. Stone (Wellington), 10.7, beat L. Ada s (Southland), 10.5, in the final, the winner exhibiting speed anl cleverness, both in attack and defence, and outclassing the Southlander. Featherweight.

H. Johns (Auckland), 8,10, beat W. Leckie (Otago), 8.13, in the final after being floored, for the count of eight in the first round by a hard right to the chin. Johns staged a brilliant recovery, showing defence that baffled his hardhitting opponent, whom the Aucklander repeatedly peppered with fast lefts and rights for the two remaining rounds, scoring a very popular win. . Light-heavyweight.

G. McEwan (Southland), 11.6, beat P. McCarthy (Auckland), 11.13, in the final, the winner attacking the oftener and doing the better at short range. Middleweight.

In the final R. Nicol (Southland), 11.2, beat J. Connors (Wellington), 11.4, the winner keeping close up and scoring to the body frequently, while the loser showed to advantage only in the final round. The Jamieson Belt for the most- scientific boxer was awarded to H. Johns, Auckland. The Morgan Cup for the welter division was won by R. J. Stone. The trophy for the gamest boxer was awarded J. McMahon, Taihape.

HOW TARANAKI BOYS FARED. D. ROEBUCK -HAS BAD LUCK. (By Wire. —Special Reporter.) Greymouth, Last Night. Though it won no championships the Taranaki team acquitted itself well at the New Zealand boxing championship meeting. D. Roebuck secured the run-ner-up medal in the flyweight, being next to P. A. Pearcy (Auckland), whilst the others were all vanquished by the man who was later adjudged champion in his class. In the majority of cases, particularly in the case of Childs (Stratford), the Taranaki boys had the satisfaction of knowing they had made the champions move. Purdy’s victory over the Stratford boy was very slight. Roebuck, who is only 15 years of age, put up a great fight with Ennis, who is ten years older. Towards the final stages, however, Ennis landed heavily in the face, cutting Roebuck’s face above the eye, necessitating medical attention and preventing him meeting in the final Pearcy, who also won the semi-final by default. Roebuck was later present to receive the medal. There was a record attendance on the final night, hundreds standing. The door takings were £3OO, making over £2500 for the tournament, which shows a profit of £2BO, beating the record established in 1921 at Greymouth by £5O. The decision in which Referee C. Thomas awarded the bantam bont to R. Purdy when the judges, Messrs. Baybutt and Guise, had disagreed, aroused a hostile demonstration, the majority of the crowd holding that Knopp (Wellington), a hard and forceful fighter, had won. Trainer Meyers carried Knopp round the ring, receiving a great • ovation.

Roebuck (7.10) opened nervously against the experienced A. Ennis (Canterbury), 7.6, but quickly warmed up and shot in a left, neatly evading a vicious right hook. Honours were even in the greater part of the round, but towards the close the Taranaki boy was more aggressive. Roebuck forced the pace in opening the second session and scored heavily to the face and body. A good interchange of open fighting followed, and then Roebuck tvent in, sending in rights and lefts and cleverly evading the returns. He sent his opponent to the boards on the sromr.

The third round saw Roebuck driving his opponent round the ring, scoring with lefts and rights. Towards the. close Ennis fought back gamely arid landed heavily, cutting Roebuck’s eye. Roebuck, however, kept busy and received a great ovation on getting th® decision, though a section from Canterbury evinced disappointment. ,

COOK-STRIBLING FIGHT.

VENUE CHANGED TO MACON.

By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. Received Sept. 1, 5.5 p.m. New York, August 31. Cook (Australia) will be .fighting Stribling on Monday at Macon (Georgia) instead of at Atlanta.