SAM McVEA v. JACK LESTER.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XX, Issue 1121, 5 October 1911, Page 10

SAM McVEA v. JACK LESTER.

NEGRO WINS VERDICT. The first of the negro boxers to invade Australia, Sam McVea, met Jack Lester, the young American, at the Sydney Stadium on Saturday, and gained a points’ decision over Tommy Burns’ protege after a twenty rounds’ contest, in which the coloured man showed himself to be a far cleverer exponent than the Cle Elum boy. The contest carried with it the championship of Australia, although, of course, Bill Lang is the resident champion, despite his defeat by Lester. Sam McVea, v/hose recent twenty rounds’ draw with Sam Langford, afforded proof of the former’s pugilistic abilities, was regarded as a particularly hard nut for Lester to crack, and such contention proved correct, for the match went the full twenty

rounds, and McVea had a good points’ lead when the gong sounded after an hour’s fighting. Though beaten, Lester has no cause to be disconcerted, as with his youth and great punching prowess, he is certain, provided he gets the necessary tuition, to develop into one of the world’s greatest heavyweights. McVea, whose reputation in Paris equals that of Jack Johnson in London, is a first-class exponent of the boxing game, and the man who can stay twenty rounds with him may well be a claimant of the world’s championship. Those who have witnessed Sam McVea in action declare that he is little below the plane of Johnson, and by standing up to the Parisian idol for twenty rounds Jack Lester fully confirmed the good opinions already formed of him. Lester is a courageous fighter, who lacks experience, while at present he is a trifle cumbersome in his movements, but is said to be improving daily in speed and litheness. McVea enjoys a reputation for his modesty in regard to his boxing skill, and he bids fair to become popular with Australian fight enthusiasts. Even for the fact alone that he has thrice been an opponent of Jack Johnson he commands much respect in the boxing world, and his fourth match with the champion, which will shortly take place in Sydney, is already arousing more than ordinary interest. McVea’s defeat of Lester is another 1 striking example of the superiority of negro boxers over the representatives of the White Race, and brings more prominently than ever before the public the fact that the world’s championship chown is firmly in the grasp of the quartette of coloured pugilists, whose portraits appear in these columns. Of the “White Hopes” none have survived the ordeal better than Jack Lester and “Fireman” Jim Flynn, yet both of these boxers have had their colours lowered by a negro fighter, Sam McVea and Sam Langford respectively. Great hopes are held out of Lester forging his way up the ladder of pugilistic fame, and if Tommy Burns takes the young American in hand as at first intended, his chances of some day becoming champion cannot by any means be overlooked. The public admire a plucky fighter of the Lester type, and his future engagements with the other negro pugilists invading the Commonwealth are certain to receive a good deal of attention at the hands of colonials. The Johnson-Wells fight is now an event of the past, for though Londoners were deprived of the privilege of watching the clever world’s champion toying with the British Army representative, the average boxing enthusiast had fully pictured in his mind an inexperienced young English officer receiving an unmerciful beating from a black man. Sympathy for the fairhaired Britisher asserted itself to such an extent that the proposed match was abandoned, and “Bombadier” Wells is left to regret the loss of three thousand golden sovereigns which would have been his compensation for a defeat- Wells’ resentment of the efforts on his behalf to .cancel the match is little to be wondered at, for in addition to robbing him of quite a small fortune, this unwarranted action on the part of the authorities at Home has taken away from him the notoriety that follows in the train of a try-out with Jack Johnson. The cables announce that “Bombadier” Wells will have Gunner Moir as an opponent on the 18th inst., this contest being arranged in lieu of the former’s match with Johnson. Wells is considered to be Moir’s superior, but it must not be forgotten that the “Gunner” has improved in ringcraft lately, and is regarded as a tougher proposition than ever just now. “Gunner” Moir’s trip abroad benefitted the English boxer to a very great extent, and, unlike many pugilists, he has gone forward physically rather than deteriorated, so that his chances of regaining the championship of Great Britain are by no means remote. ♦ ❖ V # Tim Tracy’s defeat at Wanganui on Friday last must be regarded as a sure indication that the clever Wellington lightweight boxer has had his best day, as following upon his beating by “Billy” Hannan, further evidence that Tracy’s boxing abilities are not what they were is unnecessary. With all due regard to Gault’s performance in beating the Wellington crack, there is no gainsaying the fact that for Tracy to receive the only two knock-outs he has sustained during his lengthy connection with boxing in less than a fortnight is proof

positive that New Zealand’s most popular boxer is considerably below his usual form. When Tim Tracy last met Gault at His Majesty’s Theatre, Auckland, the latter was not in the best of health, and his worn appearance in the ring bore evidence of this. That particular contest, though a good one, resulted in a fairly easy victory for Tracy, who gave a first-rate account of himself. Few who witnessed the contest in question thought Alf. Gault would turn the tables on Tracy in Wanganui, but the fact must not be lost sight of that the Auckland representative is at the height of his form at present, and was confident of victory in last week’s match, whereas the Wellingtonian was probably feeling the effects of his recent mill with Hannan. However, the Auckland lad had the best of the contest, outside of administering a knock-out to Tracy, and his forthcoming match with Arthur Kelly, of Sydney, which eventuates on the 11th inst., should provide a very even contest- Tracy’s next contest of importance will be his return match with “Billy” Hannan in Auckland on November 9, when, should he again have to take the count from the clever West Maitland boxer, his ring career will be to all intents and purposes a thing of the past.

Another of the world’s best fighters, in the person of Jim Flynn, the Pueblo fireman, is at present on his way to Australia under contract to Mr. Hugh D. Mclntosh. Flynn has proved beyond all doubt that he is the greatest of the white boxers, and his battles with the coloured men when he arrives in the Commonwealth should be of a lively character. A match with Jack Johnson is being arranged, and Flynn fully expects to leave on his return trip to America with the world’s championship in his possession. It is said of Flynn that he is a much more effective puncher than Bill Lang, Kaufmann, Morris, “Bombadier” Wells and other aspiring heavyweights, and there seems every prospect of him handing out sufficient punishment to McVea, Langford and Co. to secure a victory over those coloured pugilists, but whether he will vanquish Champion Johnson is another story.

Ted Green, whose match with Wenand, at His Majesty’s Theatre, Auckland, some time ago created an uproar among the audience, who made no secret of the fact that they looked upon the contest as a fake, gjot himself into serious trouble as the result of his return match with Jimmy Hill at the Sydney Gaiety last week. The contest proved the greatest disappointment imaginable, and satisfied that both men were not doing their best, Referee Barron at the end of the twentieth round declared it “no fight,” and disqualified both men for life.

Billy Wenand, the ex-New Zealand featherweight, has signed an agreement to meet Tom Jones in a return match at the Boulder Stadium, West Australia, on the 18th inst. The fight will be to a finish, thirty rounds being stipulated.

An eye-witness of the recent Wol-gast-Moran fight in ’Frisco arrived here (says the New York. “Sun”) with the statement that the bitterest enmity was displayed by the men in the ring. They abused each other soundly, calling each other names and threatening to do dire things. They wrestled, butted, back-heeled and choked each other without the slightest interference from the referee, but as the sporting element plunged on Wolgast there was no fault-finding when the light-weight champion won. In the opinion of the observer it was the roughest and foulest glove contest ever decided in California or anywhere else.

Sam McVea has introduced a novelty, as far as Sydney is concerned, into the boxer’s training impedimenta (says the “Referee”). It is a large leather bag four or five feet in length, filled tightly with sand, and weighing in the neighbourhood of 2501 b. The thing swings nine or ten feet from its moorings, and is wrestled with and roughed as far as it can be by the boxer training, who thus prepares himself for the bustling, pushing, and shoving that occurs in the ring.

Al Kaufmann, the young Californian heavyweight, will also be amongst the visiting boxers to Australia, and with Lester, Flynn and Lang will endeavour to uphold the boxing prestige of the White Race against, the coloured quartette.