BOXING.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1139, 8 February 1912, Page 14

BOXING.

GISBORNE BOXING CARNIVAL LOWE DEFEATS HOLT. AN UNSATISFACTORY DECISION. The Gisborne Boxing Association concluded their carnival in the Garrison Hall on Thursday night, when the principal item of the evening was a fifteen rounds professional contest between Frank Holt, ex-amateur middleweight champion of Auckland and Waikato, who has turned professional, and Bert Lowe, late middle and heavyweight amateur champion of Poverty Bay, for a purse of £4 5. The meeting of these two capable glove artists aroused no end of interest among Gisborne enthusiasts, and a good house was present in conseqence to see the pair do battle for professional middleweight honours. Holt, whose remarkable gameness has always been a feature of the contests he has participated in in Auckland under the auspices of the Northern Boxing Association, was considered decidedly unlucky to have the decision given against him in the fourth round, the referee, Mr. Ike Fake, disqualifying him for an alleged breach of the 'rules, and awarding the contest to Lowe. The referee’s verdict caused considerable dissatisfaction among the audience, many holding the opinion that Mr. Fake had been unduly strict in disqualifying Holt under such circumstances. The first round was marked by a great deal of clinching, Lowe being the principal offender. The Gisborne man attempted numerous right swings, but Holt’s defence was of the sound order, while he outpointed Lowe in several brisk rallies. Lowe exhibited a desire to direct his, blows in the region of his opponent s kidneys, a proceeding which invoked protestations from the audience, the referee being obliged to caution him on several occasions. There was nothing remarkable about the round, Mr. Fake having frequently to separate the pair in the clinches, while Lowe’s rushing tactics were responsible for Hole being once sent to the floor. The second round was of a lively order, both men fighting vigorously. Lowe’s powerful swings were frequently in evidence, but the excellent defence which Holt displayed caused many of the Gisborne man's blows to go astray. Lowe was the stronger boxer of the pair, and once or twice had Holt in difficulties, notably towards the end of the round, when the Aucklander was sent to the boards and was only able to rise in time to avoid taking the full count.

The pace slackened down in the third round, both men boxing with caution. Lowe fought with more vim than his opponent, and continued to use a left to advantage, but Holt nevertheless parried with rare skill when the pair came to close quarters. Lowe went after his man with a will in the concluding stage of the round, which ended with the points in his favour.

The fourth round saw- the contest come to an abrupt finish in an unexpected manner. During a brisk exchange of blows Holt, in side-stepping, was struck by a light left, which caused him to fall to the floor. Here he remained while the referee commenced to count, and at 8 Holt was in the act of rising (his knees being six inches off the floor), when Mr. Fake called: “Box on.” Lowe was standing over his opponent at the time, and Holt, taking in the precariousness of his situation, knelt on the boards again, whereupon the referee commenced to count from one again, but after calling “two,’’ his next utterance was “Out,” and Lowe thus obtained the verdict. Holt was naturally dumbfounded at the decision, he being under the impression that the referee, in commencing the count at “one” again, intended giving him the benefit of the full count. The contest, therefore, terminated in a most unsatisfactory manner, the decision leading to considerable discussion in boxing circles. THE DECISION CRITICISED’. Regarding Mr. Fake’s action in disqualifying Holt, it is only fair to review the position from both sides. In the excitement of the moment Mr. Ike Fake, the referee, apparently made a mistake in commencing the count over again, instead of either

disqualifying Holt immediately for the alleged breach, or else continuing counting “nine, out.” Realising that he had committed an error himself, Mr. Fake, in the hope of retrieving his mistake, broke off at “two,” and declared Holt “out.” Had Holt been guilty of a breach of the rules (and opinion appears divided as to whether he was or not) no new or additional count was required, for the referee had simply to disqualify the offender without hesitation. That Mr. Fake was undecided in his mind as to whether Holt’s action really constituted a breach of the rules or not seems apparent by his delay in coming to a decision, the significance of which, owing to the manner in which it was given, did not appear plain to the audience until an explanation followed. Assuming that Holt did not commit a breach of the rules, the mere fact of the referee commencing a new count was sufficiently misleading to Holt to cause him to remain down, as the most skilled boxers now adays realise the value of taking full advantage of the count. It was evi-

dently Holt's intention in the first place to take the full nine seconds in rising to his feet, and the referee s ordered to “box on” must have appeared to him to be a little premature. In boxing matches in which one of the contestants has been sent to the boards, it is always considered a sportsmanlike act on the part of the other boxer to allow his opponent to properly regain his feet before inflicting lurther punishment upon him, even though there is nothing to yr vent him from rushing in and finishing his man before the latter has gained his equilibrium. In the case of the Holt-Lowe contest, the latter boxer was almost standing over Holt at the time the Aucklander was expected to rise, Holt being given an unfair chance to regain his feet under the circumstances. Taking all things into consideration, especially the

feree s technical error, it would have been better had Mr. Fake let the contest proceed, as Holt was plainly the victim of a misunderstanding, and to have the decision given against him in this manner was undoubtedly more the result of ill luck than anything else.

AN EXTREME MEASURE. That in disqualifying Holt, Mr. Fake was guided by his own sense of justice there can be little doubt, and as is known to all followers of boxing, a referee’s position is not always an enviable one. Nevertheless, in a case of this kind, where the breach appears so trivial as to almost escape the attention of the referee and is surrounded by doubtful circumstances, it is questionable whether it is not good policy to allow the fight to continue, as to adopt extreme measures only sows seeds of dissatisfaction among the large audience who have paid at the doors in anticipation of witnessing a good boxing contest. It can certainly be urged in favour of Mr. Fake’s decision, that a boxer who goes down before being struck is liable to disqualification, and that the veteran referee acted in accordance with the rules, but when the incident in question is subjected to unbiassed criticism there can be little doubt Mr. Fake allowed himself to overstep the bounds of discretion in this particular instance.

LESTER’S BREACH RECALLED. Although not an exactly parallel case, the Holt-Lowe incident recalls to memory the first match between the young American Jack Lester and Bill Lang, which took place in Sydnay in May last. It will be remembered that Lang won the decision over Lester, as the result of the American committing a breach of the Marquis of Queensbury rules by going down before being struck. The incident in question happened towards the end of the sixth round of the Lang-Lester battle. The American delivered a heavy blow at Lang’s body, but it landed on the Australian’s fending elbow, and Lester’s hand was partially crippled. Suffering intense pain Lester turned his back on his opponent and started to walk to the middle of the ring. Lang followed, and was preparing to deliver a blow when the American dropped on one knee. The referee, “Snowy” Baker, thereupon disqualified Lester for dropping without receiving a blow and declared Lang the victor.

THE REFEREE’S EXPLANATION.

In explanation of his decision in the Holt-Lowe contest, mr. Ike Fake, the referee, writes as follows :—“ Lowe delivered the right, which floored Holt for 8 seconds. At the count of eight Holt was distinctly on his hands and feet (which is up). I called out “box on.” Lowe advanced to attack when rwlt immediately dropped on to one knee (which is down). Being entirely unprepared for such a sudden breach of the rules I started to count again, and had reached 2 when I realised I was making a mistake. I immediately put Holt out by disqualifying him for going down without being struck. Starting a second count was a technical error only, and does not, or should not, be construed to protect Holt for going down deliberately to avoid punishment. Holt was strong and clear-headed at the time, and knew perfectly well what he was doing. It is all “moonshine” for Holt to say he was waiting for the second count. He knew none of the other lads at the tournament got a second count, therefore, why should he. Had the blow been a severe one and Holt had risen dazed and weak andagainfell while in that condition (after being ordered to box on) then the position would have been entirely different. However, such was not the case, and I say emphatically that Holt knew what he was doing and took the risk. Personally I ha,ve alwayte kept the game clean, and while I am connected with the sport I shall continue to do so. Consequently I will not be a party to bring the game into disrepute, which certainly would occur if tactics as described were allowed to go unpunished. PROTEST FROM HOLT. In consequence of what he regards as an unfair decision, F. Holt has forwarded the following letter to the secretary of the Gisborne Boxing Association: — I protest against the payment of the stakes to Bert Lowe in the match Lowe v. Holt on February 1 on the following grounds. Firstly, that the referee, placed his hand on my shoulder and prevented me, by so doing, from rising from my knees to continue the fight. Secondly, that in the first count he (the referee) stopped at “eight.” turning and placing his hands, as beforesaid, on my shoulder, starting a second count; on reaching “three” stopped and awarded the fight to Lowe contrary to any boxing, ruling, or rule of the N.Z. Boxing Council. Thirdly, the referee (vide Poverty Bay “Herald,” February 2nd), admitted he had made a mistake, and I ask for the sake of my future career that the matter may be investigated and brought through rhe proper channels to the N.Z. Boxing Council. SHOULD MEET AGAIN. The Holt-Lowe match has created great interest in boxing' circles, and it is quite evident that the staging of a return contest between the pair would not only set at rest al’ doubts as to the cleverer boxer of the 2, but would result in the boxing association which took the r atch in hand receiving a fair share of remuneration for its trouble. Should the Northern Association hold a carnival in March, it should certainly give the prospects of a return match between Holt and Lowe due consideration. GISBORNE CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS. The winners in the various grades at the Gisborne Boxing Association’s tournament were as follows: —Bantamweight: Davis; featherweight: Parker; lightweight: R. McCallum; welterweight: Richardson; middleweight Lvng and Nicolas (a draw); heavyweight: V. Lowe. Owing to Sam McVea’s obstinacy in refusing to give Sam Langford a return match in Australia, Mr. H. D. Mclntosh has served the coloured one with a writ for breach of contract, and the case will be heard in the Sydney courts. * * * * At Hastings on Thursday night the contest between Barney Ireland (11.2), of Waipawa, and Jim Sharp (12.5), of Tinui, resulted in an easy victory for the former, who knocked Sharp out in the fourth round. Ireland’s quickness and cleverness completely baffled Sharp, who was outfought in each round. * * * * Jack Lester and “Cyclone” Johnny Thompson were to mee last night

(Wednesday) in Sydney and the result of the battle between these two well-known American boxers will be read with interest. The contest in question is Lester’s last fight in Australia, for he is under orders to sail for America by the next boat.

Young O’Neil, of Westport, whose portrait appears in these columns, is anxious to box any lad in the Dominion at 7st lOlbs. O’Neil turns the scale at 7st 41bs, so that his challenge is one that should receive consideration from aspiring flyweights. The youngster in question is agreeable to travel to any part of the Dominion to box for a suitable trophy, provided his expenses, are paid. Young O’Neil has quite' a number Of performances to his credit, which he may well feel proud of. It was while weighing but Gst lOlbs that he won his first tournament, beating lads 141bs and 201bs heavier than himself. Since then he has won 6 other turnaments, in addition to which he has "fought six special bouts, winning on four occasions, and losing twice, the two boys who defeated him having a •big advantage in weight, one scaling 8.13. O’Neil has also secured four •valuable cups, presented to him for exhibition sparring. He was to have fought Jimmy Ferguson, of Waipawa, at the last tournament, at Westport, but Ferguson failed to put in an appearance.

Jim Barry, the young American fighter, who ic to meet Sam Langford at the Sydney Stadium on Saturday is expected to make a big showing against the Boston coon, for it is stated that Barry was not seen at his best when he beat Lang a fortnight ago. Saturday’s battle with Langford will be their tenth meeting, and as Barry seems to have got nearer and nearer his goal every time he has met the “Tar Baby,” a great fight is anticipated, for there is no doubt that the American is the best of the white boxers at present in Australia.

Jimmy Clabby, the clever American middleweight, gave further proof of the effectiveness of his boxing powers at Melbourne last week, when he accounted for heavyweight Jack Howard in the seventh round. Howard’s weight was given at 12st 71b, while Clabby only tipped the beam at list, but was nevertheless a strong favourite in the betting. Clabby s varied stock of blows, combined with his lightning speed had Howard in trouble from the start and early in the seventh round the end came. Howard dropped from the effects of a haid left and right to the jaw and mouth. Regaining his feet, he received a second dose, which had a similar effect. Again Howard’s pluck asserted itself. He wildly chased his opponent swinging with both hands. Clabby measured him coolly, and dropped him again with a smash on the chin and an

uppercut. Howard again arose, but he was dazed, and Referee Mitchell very property stopped it and declared Ciuoby the winner.

The 20 rounds contest between Dave Smith and ‘ Cyclone” Johnny Thompson drew a big crowd at the Sydney Stadium, despite the fact that the former was perhaps the hottest odds-on favourite that has ever boxed at the 1-ushcutter’s Bay convincing ground. Lmith knew his opponent’s tactics to a. nicety, and the majority of the American’s cyclonic hits were wasted on the elusive Australian, whose generalship and excellent judgment enabled him to win all the way. Thompson repeatedly attempted to lure his opponent oh in the close fighting, but Smith contented himself mostly with blocking the American’s furious ■onslaughts, while in the open he outboxed Thompson badly, increasing his points lead in every round. In the -final round Thompson fought savagely for a knockout, but all to no purpose, the agile Smith ausing him endless trouble, and gaining a popular decision by a wide margin.

American papers to hand convey the interesting news that Jack Johnson will of a certainty re-enter the pugilistic arena at no distant date, and the champion has lately been besieged by boxing promoters with their

tempting offers. Notwithstanding the scarcity of good boxing material, there appears to be no difficulty in finding opponents for Johnson, but whether these aspiring heavyweights will ever actually stand face to face in the ring with the celebrated'negro pugilist is quite another matter. A cable received in Sydney from San Francisco towards the end of last month announces that a syndicate at Newhaven, Connecticut, U.S., have offered Johnson a guarantee of £lO,OOO to fight two fifteen rounds contests in the same afternoon, one against “Fireman” Jim Flynn, and the other against Al. Palzer. The syndicate have applied to the police for the necessary permission to stage the bouts, and meanwhile further developments are awaited with no little interest. The matching of Jack Johnson against Flynn and Palzer in the one afternoon emphasises more than ever the great superiority of the coloured boxer over the white man, for Flynn and Palzer are unquestionably the two greatest white heavyweights of the present day. Jim Flynn is already well known to 1 boxing followers, having basked in the limelight, of ringadoration for a number of years, but it is only of late that Al Palzer’s name has flashed across the cables as a coming world-beater.

Despite his ten years of prize-ring-fighting, and the fact that he is the greatest white fighter cf to-day, Jim

Flynn, the Pueblo fireman, is not as well-known to the average boxing enthusiast as many lesser lights of the ring. Flynn has always been referred to as an Italian, whose real name was Chiariglioa. This, however, is a mistake, accreditee to the lact that he assumed the name of his stepfather. The great pugilist claims Irish-German parentage, with Flynn as the correct name. Fiynn was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1882, and when he was about four years old his people n.o/ed to Pueblo. Flynn attended school as little as possible until he was able to go to work as a blacksmith’s helper, which was when lie was fourteen years old. After a three years’ apprenticeship he worked as a locomotive fireman for seven years on the Denver and Rio Grande railroad. His salary varied from £32 to £25 a month. Plenty of opportunities for rough and tumble fighting offered, and Flynn was so uniformly successful he began to consider a ring appearance.

It was in 1901 that the chance Flynn had waited for came his way, for he was matched to fight a barber named Ed Chambers, who had quite a reputation, before the Rovers’ Athletic Club of Pueblo. This was Flynn’s first appearance for money, although he had been in many private bouts. Chambers ran out of the ring after

four rounds and Flynn was given 8125 as the winner’s share. Finally the railroad authorities began to take notice of Flynn s ring activities, and before his first fight with George Gar-dei-.er, a 20-round draw, he was sent a letter warning him either to keep up his firing or get fired. Flynn managed not to receive the letter until after the contest, so was reinstated in his position after an investigation. Soon afterwards, however, he resigned and formally entered the boxinggame. Then followed bouts with the best men in the light heavyweight and heavyweight ranks, including a go with the present champion, Jack Johnson, who stopped him in eleven rounds in San Francisco in 1907.

Jim Flynn is not likely ever to be world’s champion, but he is likely to upset premature aspirations of any “white hope” who is not pretty well fortified with cleverness and experience. Flynn admits he never has been a clever boxer, doesn’t ever expect to be, and furthermore, doesn't want cleverness. He’s afraid cleverness might rob him of his punch. What’s the use of being clever, argues Flynn, when you can defeat clever fellows of your weight. Flynn believes he can defeat any white pugilist of his weight in the world, a good many above his weight, and, furthermore, he is willing to meet any of the rest of them, whether he thinks he can beat them or not. The willing-

ness to meet all comers is what has earned Flynn his present prosperity, for no game is too tough for him. He can take a terrific lacing himself while the “kick” he carries in his right mitt always represents an interesting possibility for an opponent.

Flynn’s notable battle with big Al. Kaufmann gave fight critics an idea of the tormer’s remarkable calibre. Flynn took a great deal of punishment, but in the last round of a ten session affair he gave enough more than he took to put Kaufmann down for the count Flynn then “tried out” big Carl Morris, the Oklahoma “Hope,” in New York, and while no knockout was secured owing to Morris’s gameness and strength, boxing critics declared Morris was far from ready for the game of Champion Jack Johnson. Flynn does not make any big claims as the result of these victories. Johnson once defeated him, and Flynn isn’t clamouring for a return match. He thinks he has a “chance,” and if an opportunity offered he would fight Johnson simply because fighting is his business.

Al. Palzer, who is named as Johnson’s second opponent, lately defeated Al. Kaufmann in five rounds, and if all that is claimed for this new White Hope” is gospel, then he is surely destined to take a prominent part in the world’s championship dispute. A year ago Palzer was a farmer's boy working on his father’s farm in lowa, but being modelled on the lines of the ideal heavyweight, he decided to quit farm life and try his hand at the boxing game. Lie won several minor fights, and then placed himself under the control of that great boxing tutor, Tom O’Rourke, who spared no pains in moulding young Palzer into a perfect fighting machine. During his short term at the boxing business, Palzer has shown wonderful improvement, and possesses all that goes to make a champion—aggressiveness, gameness, and stamina. Palzer’s worst fait is too much anxiety; he wants to beat his opponent in one round, but with further experience it is almost certain he will adopt different tactics. Good judges, however, affirm that within .a year Palzer will be the toughest stumbling block ever .seen in the heavyweight division.

Referring to the Barry-Lang fight, the Sydney “Sportsman” comments: Jim Barry is an ugly customer. He is a man a couple cf inches shorter than Lang, but with his colossal limbs, deep chest, mighty buttocks, and heavy shoulders, he looked much •heavier than Lang. Barry has clearout features, and a large, straight nose, which shows no signs of fist visitations. As a fighter, he is a sort of a glorified Jack Lester, with a Joe Grimm flavour. A hard, pressing, rushing fighter, he invariably had Bill Lang back-pedalling away from him with considerable speed. He is not too slew on his feet, and it was very seldom that’ Lang’s punches appeared to cause him the slightest harm. He came out of the battle absolutely unmarked, whilst the Melbourne man’s left eye was a fearsome spectacle; his lip was split, his nose was bleeding, his tongue had become lacerated, and, once, what very much appeared to be a tooth flew from Lang’s mouth, although some wags aver that it was Snowy Baker’s collar stud which had suddenly burst. It must be said that Barry fought fail' all through, as also did the Australian,. Lang’s straight left appeared to' {.rouble the visitor most, but it never appeared to have any great power behind it. All the time Barry’s right swings to the head were the most dangerous to the local man, and injured eve kept stopping them with monotonous frequency, although by a head-shift Bill frequently allowed them to pass round to the back of his neck. Barry also kept smashing in short hard punches to the body calculated to take a tremendous deal of steam and fighting force out of his enemy. Taking the fight all through, though, he pretty well landed three blows to Lang’s one. He invariably made the fighting, and at the conclusion of the fight Snowy Baker declared him the winner. He won most decisively: there was only one in it.

A match is talked of between those two clever lightweights. Jack Read and Billy Hannan, with Melbourne suggested as the scone of combat. Should the contest, eventuate it is fairly safe to predict that the meeting of the pair will provide one- of the best lightweight battles seen in the Victorian capital for some time.