BOXING

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18466, 18 May 1928, Page 12

BOXING

NOTES AND COMMENTS

By

"CESTUS."

A meeting was held last evening for the purpose of considering the position Of the sport in Christchurch, and to discuss ways and means of reviving it. The meeting was not open to the Press, but it was announced that a committee had been set up to report on the matter. It was not entioned whether the Christchurch Sports Club would be wound up, or whether it would continue to operate under new control.

Johnny Leckie having cleaned up everything in New Zealand in his class may now favourably consider the offer he recently received for matches in Australia. His latest victory was at Wellington on Tuesday, when he scored a technical knock-out against Melton, of Sydney, in a return match. Leckie was master of the position from the outset, being Melton’s superior in every department of the game. The outcome of the result was that the Napier Association cancelled the match it had arranged for May 23 between Melton and Griffiths.

The cable informs us that Tunney has- commenced training for his contest with Tom Heeney, which comes off in July. I doubt if there are very many followers of the game who give Heeney much of a chance against the champion, but my belief is that he has a chance. For this reason: I cannot find in Tunney’s record that he has met one who fights as Tom does. According to reports Tunney depends largely for scoring upon his left, followed by the right, and I am inclined to think that he will find some difficulty in landing his right solidly. Heeney is so strong, so tough and so persistent, that he will be always crowding his ponent, and he is sure to score consistently at the close-in work. The onlv thing is—can Tunney hit hard enough to keep Heeney from crowding in? If he can then he must win by hia superior skill; if he cannot, then Heeney must have a good chance of getting the decision. Battling Levinsky, once holder of the light heavy-weight championship, is again figuring in the ring as a contestant, though it was repbrted several years ago that he was permanently retired through ill-health. He recently gained a decision in New York. It was his first contest in the big city since 1922. American boxing writers and boxing fans are watching with the keenest interest the progress of two light-weights. One is Jimmy M’Larnin, who has done most of his boxing in California, but who crated a sensation in New York on February 21, when he knocked out the classy Sid Terris in the first round. The other is Bruce Flowers, a negro, who gave the hard-hitting and formidable Billy Petrolle, a bad thumping at New York on March 16. M’Larnin has been matched against Mandell for the championship.

It appears that tho New York Boxing Commission has ruled that the holder of a world’s championship must defend his title at least once every six months. Tunney was challenged by Sharkey, Heeney and Risko in that order, and was allowed up to March 22 to make his selection, the commission apparently granting him that privilege. As is known Tunney selected Heeney as the one who had made tne best showing in the two series of elimination contests. Of course, the commission’s authority really does not extend beyond the borders of New York State, but it has powerful influence with other State commissions. Westbrook Pegler, one of the foremost sports writers in America, in a recent syndicated article said:—“ln the prizefight profession there have been in the last eighteen years a total of eight heavy-weight championship prizefights, excluding those legalised cases of second degreq assault in which champions met setups, and in the eight fights there was only one regarding which there was no suspicion of faking, conniving, bribery, drugging or other species of fraud.” Mr. Pegler very well might have mentioned the names of those who contested the one honest fight. If what he says -is true the game must be crooked in America.

Ihe defeat of Roberto Roberti, the huge Italian, by Phil Scott, was probably the greatest performance accomplished by the English champion. It certainly will cause promoters and Press writers to view him from a different angle to that held by them after his inglorious display against Knute Hansen last year. That was a great setback for Scott, but he made something of a recovery by his two subsequent performances before returning to England. On his second visit to New York he opened with a decisive win over Charles, the Belgian heavyweight, a man whom Press writers regard as a very tough customer, and now having defeated Roberti, Scott should be in the way of getting amongst the big purses. The Italian was brought from Italy by his fellowcountryman, Humbert Fugazv, next to Tex Rickard the biggest promoter in New York, and in his previous nineteen contests he won thirteen by knockouts That he was not given the opportunity to appear in Tex Rickard’s eliminating contest may have been due to his being under the wing of a rival promoter. Another heavy-weight who has been bowl-

ing over his opponents with regularity and in short order is Otto Van Porat, a Norwegian. It would not be surprising to learn that Sharkey was selected as Scott’s next opponent, and, if so, that the winner will Ix 3 matched against the winner of the HeeneyTunney contest.