BOXING AT THE N.S.C.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 18757, 14 April 1923, Page 5

BOXING AT THE N.S.C.

BUGLER LAKE BECOMES 1 A CHAMPION. Bugler Lake, the young Plymouth boxer, became a champion and the holder of a new Londsdale Belt when he beat Tommy Harrison, of Handley, on points at the National Sporting Club, last month. The fight was tor the British bantam-weight title, and a new belt had become necessary becauce. over two years ago, Jim Higgins had won the championship tor tuc third rime in succession, and, since then, there had been no contest which involved the possession of one of Lord Londsdale’s trophies. Tommy Harrison had had such a remarkable career since he began to meet boxers of the championship class in 1912 that few people cared to back their belief that he was not capable of beating young Lake, in spite of the latter’s fifty fights and steady improvement in skill and physique. Before the war Harrison had fought with credit ag-ainst men like Kid Lewis, Bill Ladbury, Taney Lee, and Joe Symonds. Later, in 1916, he Jost on points to Joe Fox, and Jimmy Wilde gave him many pounds in weight and a bad beating, but in 1921 he startled the boxing world by defeating Charles Ledoux on points at Hanley. Since then, again, he had met Ledoux twice in 20-round contests and no ntore than lost on points in one of them, and through an error in training been forced to retire in the 18th round of another. Harrison also had knocked out Jim Higgins, and altogether lie had become a dangerous, because an uncertain, quality. Harrison’s lean, well-trained body looked as youthful and lithe as ever, but his face was thqt of the longsuffering pugilist, arid, as it proved most of the latent qualities of speed and punch had deteriorated. Lake, on the other hand, proved himself to be a greatly improved boxer, and his stinging straight lefts, quite apart from his ■wonderfully quick countering with both hands, had almost reduced Harrison to impotence long before the end of the 20th round.

Harrison has a pleasantly easy style, but, from the very first, he found it difficult to lead and to prevent his opponent’s lefts from reaching the face. In the second round both as it were by mutual consent, went hammer and tongs for the body, but Lake hit the quicker and harder, and, for the next few rounds, Harrison tried drawing his man on u swift right from under cover being the intended punishment. As it proved, however, Harrison scored very seldom, and Lake scored in a variety of ways very often. Lake’s footwork, too, was quite as effective, if not so flambovautly easy, as that of the old hand.

Harrison, indeed, became desperate in a subtle kind of way when he experienced a series of left and right hooks to the jaw, in addition to the aggravating lefts. This led to some holding and butting in the clinches, not to mention the use a. the heel of the glove and other devices. Still, these did not prevent Lake from piling up tlie points, and it was not until the ninth round that Harrison landed a sharp right which steadied and, 1 think, shook the Plymouth boxer. At any rate, Lake

was slower in the next round, and Harrison followed up his advantage and scored with a series of lefts to the face. Lake’s nose began to bleed, but he fought back well, and this proved to be the last round in which Harrison held a lead on points. Lake’s toll of left loads, In fact, became almost monotonous, and the best feature of Harrison’s display was his calm acceptance of punishment and his never-failing efforts to find an opening for a telling right. That opening neveir was found, however, and Lake must have won with a tremendous margin of points in his favour.