BOXING

Waikato Times, Volume 113, Issue 18850, 21 January 1933, Page 17 (Supplement)

BOXING

IS SPORT CHANGING? LOSS OF CLEVER EXPONENTS. SYDNEY WRITER'S VIEWS. Is boxing veering round from a point scoring matoil to a feud in which a knock-out is the ultimate end of a contest? writes Jack Elliott in the Sydney Referee. Well may the present generation of Ilstic enthusiasts wonder how the spectators in the old, old days retained sufficient interest to the end of a battle that lasted 40 rounds and more. It all seems incredible. And, if the boxing chroniclers of the. time can be believed, these amazing boxers possessed the stamina to fight these marathon bouts, at speed. Everybody knows that a boxing match is no longer an exhibition of the so-called -noble art of self-de-fence.

It is doubtful If you could drag men into a stadium, free, to see a contest advertised as such. Whether the sport has been elevated, or whether It has not, a successful promoter these days is a success because he promotes and gives to the publio, tights—and tights between two men who combine boxing—the finer points that bring an admiring orowd to its feet—with the thrill of a knock-down, and possibility of a knock-out. Consequently,. from a clever boxing match between two men instructed and yersed in every move that may trick an opponent, soore points, and yet reserve wind and stamina for a long contest, it has evolved into a bitfer disregard of all these things, with each man working for a knock-out, and the referee leaning- to the man trying hardest for a short-cut win. Attitude of Referee. This attitude of the referee has a very definite bearing on modern fisticuffs. A wise modern boxer thinks of three things when he enters the ring—what his opponent has in the way of ammunition, how the referee Judges a fight, and what the crowd thinks of the battle.

'Ninety-nine per cent of the paying faithful pass through the door of a stadium, hoping that somebody will get knocked out. This may sound slightly orude and conducive to the hopes of prehistoric man; yet, nevertheless, the poor purses boxed for by non-punching boxing wizards fighting one another, and not a puncher, bear witness to the truth of this statement. -So the old art of self-defence is now produced as the spartan art of hectic aggression, a sort of modified glove murder —if the professional contestants in the sport, the promoters, and such, wish to amuse the spectators. Consequently, boxers touch gloves at the opening bell, looking to the vital parts of the other man—planning a campaign which will eventually put the other man on his back for the allotted ten seconds. The crowd cheers suoh efforts; the referee responds to the lad with the “killer” instinct; and the oritlcs sit up and look bright. A possible knock-out is in the air. All eyes are o» the ring. Press pencils tracing action in notebooks. An atmosphere of tense anticipation to every individual present. Worth paying for? Yes! Instinctively, every thought Is centred on that punch, or sequence of punches, that will bring a prostrate body level with the canvas. Even though every spectator has paid to watch 15 rounds of boxing, there is a hope between the unbiassed fans that the distance will be shortened by a sudden and dramatic ollmax. The referee calls the points these days against the clever boxer, and in favour of the puncher. No longer can a boxer jab a light left, score a point, and gallop before a threatening right-hand punch. He has to do other than jab. He has to do more than score points! The printed rules, as presented to him from the book, are somehow amiss. He has to fight, and, in fighting, if he possesses a semblance of a punch at all, he will use it, and score knock-downs, knock-outs!

A Now Division. The knock-out division has taken the plaoe of clever boxers, a division promoted by the Increasing popularity of the sport, and the growing finances associated with it. Perhaps a parallel of how the old fan sat—or stood—watching 50round fights may be found in wrestling. It Is reasonable to presume that If the two best wrestlers In the world wrestled before a British audience—excluding a few Northern English counties —and gave wrestling pure and simple, the orowd would go to sleep. Ye the same matoh would have a mid-European or a Scandinavian crowd oreatlng Bedlam. Perhaps the old fan knew his boxing, and had a liking for the man most skilful in demonstrating the beloved art, and gave the puncher little oredit on the point that he was born a puncher, and had not acquired that potent sleep-producing asset. Perhaps the clever side has been overdone. But It is certain that the punchless wonder of old Is wasting his time in . the ring to-day as a professional. The fistic generation is filling boxing arenas and cheering for knookouts. It is possible that the knockout fetish may be overdone, too. They tell me that clever boxers are most popular in the Philippine Islands. It appears that all the local boxers are knock-out sloggers, and boys who xvould set an Australian crowd afire, fail to arouse the slightest interest in the Filipino, who has seen no other kind of fighter. Yet lie will llock to sec a light-footed artist tap jabs, and escape punishment by the aid of his nimble feet. There is a hope that in the days to come an Australian crowd will thrill to a la-round bout of clever boxing. Yd, Lire day seems far distant.