BOXING

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17345, 18 July 1924, Page 12

BOXING

NOTES AND COMMENTS BY

“CESTUS,”

Julj- 31 Canterbury Championships at Timaru. August 4-s—Southland Championships at Invercargill. August 11-12 New Zealand Championships at Wellington. August 22-23—Otago Championships at Dunedin. September—L Murray v. E. Volaire at Invercargill The Dempsey-Gibbons Fight Picture, showing the whole fifteen rounds, is being released in tho North Island by Mr J. Matheson. Tommy Harris, the Dunedin ex-light-weight, who joined the professional ranks and fought one fight at welter- weight against Lachie M’ Donald, has repented the step and is applying to be reinstated as an amateur. Los Murray, New Zealand’s lightweight champion, is to again try conclusions with Eugene Volaire, this time in Invercargill in September. Meanwhile Los intends having a spell from the ring in oi*,der to fully recover from bic recent accident. Eddie Parker, who defeated Fred Zimmerman at Timaru a week ago. has returned to Hastings. He has not been signed up for a match just yet, but Jack Heeney would like to meet bim again. Tommy Fairhall is also anxious to meet Parker. The Wellington Association is departing from its usual procedure when ot? Monday night next two ten-round bouts will bo staged. Tho principals will bo D. Cliton, v. Roy Overend and Bert Brown and Charlie Gann. The latter lias been out of the game tor a time and. his reappearance will bo eagerly looked forward to by enthusiasts. A-t tho recent Christchurch Sports Club tourney a new welter-weight of promise was unearthed in W\ Elvy, who defeated Alex Thompson in tho final. The decision was close, but »t says much for Elvy that he gained the decision over suefy a seasoned customer as Thompson. Elvv, by tho way. is a good Rugby footballer, and was considered unlucky not to have been selected to wear the All Black jersey this year. Tommy Armstrong has received an offer from the 'Westport Association tr. meet Dick Pascoe, the Grevmouth amateur in a six-round bout on July 2b. He has decided to accept the offer as he is eager to prove that he can reverse the decision given against him at Gieymouth recently. L stated in these notes -recently that I expected Pascoe to win against Armstrong at Greyn.outh, l>4it 1 did not anticipate the decision being so close. The verdict was not wholly satisfactory to tho crowd es a section hooted it. Armstrong. in the course of a conversation r\ith the writer was very reticent over the matter, but expressed his desire to meet Pascoe again. “His style suits me,” he said. He keeps coming in all the time. J think I can just about win next time.” The most promising display given bv the novices at the local tournament was that of L. Jarvis whose clever feinting, snappy punching and persistent attack put him far ahead of the other competi tors in the junior paper-weight class (says the Southland “Times”). Those he defeated—S. Johnstone and. M. Little—were game, but they were opposed t-o a cleverer boy, who had been carefully coached in. all departments of tho game by an experienced tutor, F. Jarvis, who must have been proud of his son’s display. Ilia two victims were giren few chances to at-

tack. Jarvis weaving in with lefts and rights. They came in pairs, then in quartettes and then almost continuously Under these conditions his opponents thought only of defence. Jarvis is undoubtedly brilliant, but with no unnecessary flourishes. Ho seldom moved his feet, save when he needed to, and never hopped, stepped or jumped, but concentrated on penetrating his adversary’s guard. As ho weighs only 4st 131 b, there was little chance of his showing a. knockout., but bo will not depend on more punching when lie grows up. He is more of the Purdy stamp of boxer as opposed to tighter. A-j one of his admirers said on leaving the theatre, ‘'You can’t put him up against Purdy yet, but he wll be a champion one day.”

Tommy Xlre\f. who recently went down before Harry Collins, is keen for another match, hut would like to meet Archie Braclley first.

Albert Lloyd is after Billy Shade, and bo is confident that he can beat the American. Shade, too, has also issued a challenge to Lloyd, so it looks as if the pair will be matched at an early date.

Earl France, the American boxer who has not met with a great deal of success during his sojourn in Australia, has returned to America. France’s first opponent, in Australia was Les Murray., New. Zealand’s lightweight champion, and Murray won by tho eliort route!

Hughie Dwyer, cx-light-weight champion of Australia, lias not given up hopes of regaining the coveted title. Itespite his ■ defeat at the hands of Kddio Butcher recently, he is again in solid training for a match with Harry Casey at Brisbane on July 20. ■wdh the prospects of a contest with i aul Dcnjs.Uy.at a later date.

Referring to the Collins-Unm battle on July 5. the Sydney Referee”' said: Youth prevails over

age m any branch of sport, and at tho Sydney fatadium on Saturday night Tommy -Dren found Harry Collins a too young and virile opponent. Tommy showed plenty of his old-time brilliance in the first ten rounds, and the fact that Collins held his own as far U 3 actual fighting was concerned stamps him as one of the best boxers that have been produced in this country for a long time. He lias all the halfmarks of a champion. The fight was characterised by the demonstration of fine sporting spirit on the part of Collins. In the thirteenth he advised Uren to throw in the towel, but Tommy was too weak to answer. Then Collins urged - , the seconds to order the close, but' met with a rebuff. The sequel of the incident was the removal of one of the seconds by the referee.

Billy Shade, the American heavy--weight now in Australia, seems to have slipped back to an unbelievable degree. On his first visit to Australia, a couple of years ago, he fought middle-weight and beat all who were

i put up against him with the exception I of the Frenchman, Charles, to whom lie lost on a foul when he was leading easily on points. On Saturday night last, at the Sydney Stadium, Shade was opposed to Merv "Williams, the Queensland ex-middle-weight eh amp - pion. The latter was at a disadvantage as to weight, bur Shade was not tho Shade ot old. His former speed [ and cleverness were missing, and ha was slow and awkward Williams won all the way. In Shade’s previous battle with Waddy, the Australian veteran had the best of matters until he was disqualified for a low punch. Shade's prospects of a- rich harvest in Australia now look the reverse of rosy. George Cook is still battling away in England, and bis latest victory was over Paolirii, a Spaniard, in a tenrour.d bout in London. Tommy Gibbons has sailed for London, where ho has been matched with Jack Bloomfield. ! According to English papers, Joe Beckett intends coming back into the game. He has been matched with Anders Anderson, an American heavyweight. Kid Lewis still retains the welterweight championship of England by his defeat recently of tho contender Johnny Brown, a promising welter. Some time ago it was announced that Lewis intended visiting Australia, but evidently there is easy money to bo picked up in England. Tho American correspondent of the Sydney “ Referee ” furnishes the following summary of the Carpenfcier-Cib-bons contest:- The crowd was with the Frenchman at the outset, but when ho made a violent protest concerning Ins ankle in the seventh round, it turned against him. and from that time on his portion was nothing more than hoots and jeers. Even when he left tho ring he was given the raspberry by the assemblage, and instead of being lionised in defeat, as ho was after his fight with Jack Dempsey in 1921. tho Frenchman was merely a hooted individual. There was nothing extremely spectacular about the light. Gibbons, with more aggressiveness, might have finished Carpentier at any time withiu the first six or seven rounds. But the American elected to do some long range fighting and chop Carpentier down rather than risk being smacked by the Frenchman’s famous right hand too often. Therefore, Gibbons did not step in with too many of his punches, and the Frenchman went the full distance. Carpentier received 70,000 dollars for his end, and Gibbons, who fought on percentage, was enriched to the extent of 61,000 dollars. The promoters spent approximately 50,000 dollars in putting over the show, which meant that they made a profit of between 40,000 and 50.000 dollars on this buttle. OLYMPIC GAMES. PURDY?S DEFEAT. The cabled report that Charlie Purdy, New Zealand’s sole representative in the boxing section of tho Olympic Games, has been defeated in the preliminary round will be received with considerable surprise and disap pointment by New Zealand followers of boxing. However, his admirers may receive a modicum of comfort from the fact that the decision was not approved by tho American judge anil met with a hostile reception iroin the crowd.. Purdy entered for the feather-weight class, but on tho toy age he put on weight to such an extent as to compel iiini to withdraw from the lighter class and compete in the light-weight. Jn all probability he would be giving away a fair amount of weight. The report states that Purdy outclassed his opponent (Tholey, of Fiance) in tho first two rounds, out in tho third the Frenchman got home a blow that almost had the New Zealander out. One of tho judges van American) decided that Purdy was an “easy winner”; tho other (a Frenchman) decided in favour of liin countryman. If tho cabled report is to bo taken, as correct then Purdy appears to have been a victim of the reprehensible ; S 3 stem that allows a judge to act in a bout in which a fellow-countryman is engaged. Had anyone but a Frenchman been the other judge, the decision must bare gone to Purdy, if tiio opinion expressed by tho American judge i.s correct, for the term “ easy winner” can only mean that the margin was so wide as to be unmistakable by an unbiassed official. I am not making any excuses f or Purdy’s defeat, nor am I saving or implying that the French judge deliberately gave a wreng decision. Nothing of the kind. But I do know how unconscibusly biassed an official i can bo when judging a bout in which a fellow-club man or a fellow-country, man is engaged. The system that permits this is so thoroughly had that ouo can only express amazement 4.hat it is tolerated in connection with wn.it aro world’s amateur championships And we sent our representatives thousands of miles to bump up agaiust this sort of thing. As the xild gardener said in Hutchison’s novel: “ It's’ard, damn ’ard.” At tho Antwerp Games the English team were loud in tneir condemnation of the system of selection of judges, and the matter was freely discussed in tho columns of the London sporting Press, but no alteration appears to have been made in connection with tho present GamesBOXING IN ENGLAND, (Special to the “Star.'’) Mr r- LONt> ON, J„ no 5. , * fc.’-u© C-orri the boxing corre spondent of the “ajar” follows: *• Elites as „ G 7 or S, e M’Kenzie, of Leith, like his uncle, Taney Le e , befoie him, has won w d f^^ t^ pion * hil N title h„t tt : V .. v?- at w-it.ii tho Holland Park Slit^n/Rink Leach. Indeed, there were many at the r,nK ; side who did not agree with tho derasion. To those-who saw the Yorkshire iad tor the first time lie was a revelation • we have seen no better or cleverer fighter in London for ages. “Peg-ry” Bettinson went even so far as to”deolaro that Leach was the best featherweight who had fought under the auspices of the club since Jim Driscoll •

and he does not exaggerate 111 the least degree. How, then, it may be asked, is it that Leach did not win? The answer is simple. Leach was too much of a, boy; twenty rounds, as yet,:is not the distance h© should l>o asked to travel, especially when matched with a fullgrown man, as M’Kenzie is. Surely his time will come, and very soon, too. Ho cannot b© shut out from the ranks of champions, for his years he i:-> much of a wonder—a complete twohanded fighter with such a high sense of distance as to remind one of the Sam Langford we saw vears ago against Iron Hague. He has uncommon speed, and is not given to wasting blows. And, better, Leach so carries himself as to leave his body splendidly free: there is no bunching up with him. As a guard is understood he has little or none; and yet by means of footwork he has a defence as strong as lie would have if he were the very embodiment of orthodoxy. And. like. M Kenzie, he fights clean, and in a. way most engaging. Their exposition put to shame many, recent samples of “ boxing, ’ and the pity was that more people did not see it. M' Kenzie won all our admiration for his aggression and refusal to retreat. A plqekier little fellow never drew on a, glove. He was trained to the minute, and never 'once was lie ruffled. He stuck to his job like a limpet. It was his dourness, coupled with the fact that he was a fullydeveloped man, and one of wide experience. that won the belt, but I should be very much surprised if he beat Leaeh, sav, in a year’s time. Certain it is that Leaeh should not be discouraged. He has every reason to be heartened by his showing against the Scot, and, unless I am all wrong in my judgment, Leach will become a very big noise. Doncaster could not have produced a more promising boxer. Leach will go far ; unless, of course, bo is spoiled. OTHER CONTESTS. Monday night at Holland Park, had many interesting features, not the least being the bout between the allconquering sailor Spiller. and old Tom Berry, the Custom House cruiser. For heavy-weights, they went one better than some of the more famous men we have seen lately. There was, it is true, nothing very wonderful in what they did, but they did succeed in making a fight of it, doing very little or no holding. Berry was the winner in the ninth round, when Spiller seemed in such a bad way that the referee intervened. The old man was naturally pleased with himself, and at the cruiser limit he has it in him to put up a good show against the best of the division. French people had a regular shock last Sunday when Eugene Criqui was knocked out by Danny Frusli: but I was quite prepared for such a happening. Oriqui had his fighting heart pretty well destroyed when he had the world’s feather-weight title taken from him by Johnny Dundee, and his chances of beating Frusli were the smaller because he bad don© no fighting for "something like eight months. Griqui tells us that he will not be seen in tho ring again. A most likeable young fellow Oriqui, and one who will carry into retirement the good wishes of all those privileged to know him. "With Carpentier and Ledoux, he did much for the boxing of his country. ABOUT CARPENTIER. T was hoping to have news from Carpentier; at least some explanation of his defeat b\- Tom Gibbons: but non© has come. Judging by what the special correspondent of the “ Echo des Sports” says, however, there can be no question that Carpentier was fairly and squarely beaten at Michigan City. I certainly feared for his chances against Gibbons. Had Carpentier. as he is now, beaten the American, I should have been astonished. T have for long held the view that Carpentier’s big days are over. He cannot take punishment, and, against any strong men of a little more than average ability the odds would be on his getting beaten. Not many mistakes have Carpentier and Descamps made during their wonderful partnership, but they set out on the wrong tack when they headed for Michigan. My opinion is that Gibbons is the second best big man in America, and Carpentier is not now fitted to try conclusions with near to world’s champions.