MURPHY OUTPOINTS PATRICK

Chronicle (Levin), 29 April 1946, Page 4

MURPHY OUTPOINTS PATRICK

Les. M.

Murphy)

SUCCESSFULLY COUNTERS AUSTRALIAN'S S0UTHPAW GrueUing And Thrilling Contest

(Special— From

WELLINGTON, April 28. Murphy- the winner! Pandemonium reigned for some time after referee Len Stewart hoisted Murphy's right arm ilhhesitatifigly at the sound of the last gong in the 12th round of one of if not the greatest. fights ever staged in a New' Zealand boxing ring at Petone yesterday afternoon, when Bos Murphy, welterweight champion of the Dominion, and Vic Patrick, Australian light- and welterweight champion, met dver 12 rounds of thrilling excitement for the large crowd present, • " •

Many held the impression that Patricx made up the leeway in pomts and at the conciusion of the last round gained the necessary points to score a narrow verdicr. However, they failed to realise that MUrphy scored heavily in points with his teiling straight lefts to the faqe in the early stages. The five rounds he won he piled up the points to such an extent that a knockout would have been the only manner in which Patridk coUld nave won. In fact it was realised m Patrick's corner that the only hope was a knockout. This tne Australian . tried hard to do over the last three rounds, but Murphy was just as wide awake to this as his opponent, and although tiring, j he kept hangihg on to avoid . trouble — wise tacticS against a man with the great experience and ringcraft wizardry such as Patrick posseSses. Murphy's shrewd judgment and clever -weaving stood him in great stead. He di.d not.display his usual clever footwork, out stood up to Patrick and exchanged. blow for blow, scoring heavily to the Australian's face. In the first round he opened a gash on Patrick's nose and this proved a good target for -him to concentrate on in succeeding rounds, the bridge and side of the nose being seVereiy damaged by the end of the fight. Murphy's previously damaged eye was slightly opened again while a blow to the nose caused it to bleed freely for one round. Counter for Southpaw Patrick met, for the -first time in his professiohai career,. a counter!ror nis southpaw, Murphy - providifig rhe necessary acumen to, keep rt -m checki This seemed-.to ;w,orry PatricK, who always kept,- it ready, xor acoion, but each ti'me -he. ; triedto work ■ it o,ut Murphy purposeiy . stepped out of po'sition', or cqugpt it on his elbow. , , Y .. Though, full of, fight at the, end, Patrick looked- a sore fi,gure" when ne stepped . from the ringA-rather disappointed at the failure to bring his lavourite knockout punch into action successf uily. He' frankly admitted that Murphy 'Was a,'nluch' better boxer-'fighter ihan he rated nim to be and thought that, he would go a long way in' the profession if ne sought.matches pyerseas'.; "He was inciined to 'hang pn unnecessarily," was Patrick's parting" shot as he made for his" dressing • room. Murphy Can Give and Take It For the first time in his professibnal career Bos Murphy proved to ifie large crowd present that he could hit with terriric force — alrnost as hard as Patrick — and take any severe punishment meted out and then sail mto his opponent full of fight. Patrick scored witli some neavy punches to the plexus and one uppercut to the cnin, which caused Murphy to hang on, but he eVentually weathered the storm, and returned tne compiiment with a ;two-fisted attack to face and body. Thought He Was Foxing During the "six round Patrick dropped his hahds and ciaimed to have been fouied. When the referee ordered him to box on the crowd called out to Murphy to rush in and finish the fight. Instead he stood back, as many thought, to enable Patrick to recover himself, but such was not the case. Murphy sifced up the position quickly and

said after that he preferred to stand off rather thari run into that southpaw. "I thought Patrick was foxing and I did not want to make the mistake of other boxers by walking into danger," said Bos to the writer this afternoon. , "Patrick is a smart and very fast man in the ring and he possesses a punch with a terrific sting. He xept up such a fast pace that I thought I would hardly see it out," said Bos. "He proved to me that he eertainly was all that they claim him to be in Australia." Asked how 'he successfully stalled off Patrick's southpaw, Murphy was reticent, his only reply being a cheery smile. r Gory and Marked The fight was gruelling and hard, the pace set in the first five rounds being terrific — in fact it was too fast to last — but from the eighth round on it noticeably slowed up, the punching and rips were not so powerful, both boxers feeling the effects of the torrid early pace. By the seVenth round the scene was gory, both boys being smothered in Diood, and it was visibly noticed that both were marked by the heavy punching exchanges. All efforts were made between rounds to patch up Patrick's nose, but each time he came out at the gong Murphy tattooed it with further punisnment so that it bled freely, the blood from it smeuring Murphy When in a clinch. The blood flowed ,back into Patrick's throat and |seemed to occasionally affect his I breathing. , Controversy Over Yerdict : .'The verdict in favour of Murphy hgs caused tremendous controversy, some holding that Parrick had won and others backing up the referee's 'deCisiOn. Even high officials in the boxing game dift'er in their sum(niing up. Mr. Len Stewart, the j'teferee, kept a chart of points - stored by the boxers in each round •which cieariy shows that in his opinion Murphy had the points' edge on Patrick at the end of the last round. The controversy is sure to be kept alive for some time, but -as the referee was the sole judge, ,1ns verdict, an unbiassed and hon--fest verdict, must be accepted by all. Trip to Australia Likely "I am thinking seriously of seeking fights in Australia if the necessary mdueement is offering," said aos, "out m the meantime I have plenty to keep me busy here." Ern McQuiilan, Patrick's manager, said after the fight that he was surprised at the referee's decision. He thought his charge had won by virtue of his points winners over tne last four rounds. "I have given no consideration to a return uout here, but if Murphy likes to go over to Sydney a match will definIteiy be staged," said Mr. McQuiilan. He said he would like to get Murphy under his charge. "He is a grand ooy — a boxer-fighter of the best uype," he said. Seen yesterday, Bos looked none the worse for hiS- gruelling fight, and greeted all his: fridnds: with his usual cheery smile. arid gentlemanly manner. He has already beeii dubbed in boxing circles as "the gentleman fighter." Patrick also looked well and fresh, though he said his nose was causing him some discomfort. Murphy's next fight will be against tne Australian Sel Hamilton in the Wellington Town Hall early next month.