GREAT FIGHTS

Chronicle (Levin), 30 January 1947, Page 2

GREAT FIGHTS

How Empire Boxing History Was Made Queenslander Tommy Burns' fight with Welshman Eon James at the Sydney Stadium last week marks the centenary of contests between, Australian and British scrappers. James is lightweight champion of Great Britain. He went seven rounds with the world 's lightweight champion, Ike Williams, last year, before being knocked out. Burns is the Australian welterweight champion. Apart from Vic Patriclc, he is. Australia's most glamorous gloveman. • Eights between Empire contestants have provided some of the most outstanding bouts in prize ring and boxing history, and are generaliy accepted as a guide to world form. Eamous professionals among world champions who have fought in the Empire series are: Bob Eitzsimmons a.nd Tommy Burns (heavy weights), "Kid" Lewis (welter), Ereddy Welsh (lightweight), Billy Murphy (featherweight) and Jimmy Wilde (flyweight). The only three who fought in Aus.tralia are Eitzsimmons, Burns and Lewis. First Australian to meet ^ British pugilist was Bill Sparkes, of Cook's River, Temple. Exactly 100 years ago Sparkes fought Englishman Nat Langham (prize ring rules) at Woking Oommon (London). Sparkes broke his arai in the 50th round, cried when his second refused to allow him to continue. Prize fights in 1S47 were illegal. The Sparkes-Langham bont was a hush-hush aft'air. Thames barges seeretly took the scrappers and their fans miles out of the usual course to decoy the police. In Terrific Rain. Ten thousand ardent and mostljr male fans saw Englishman Johnny Summers and Victorian Hughie Mehegan fight throughout a terrific rainstorm in the roofless Sydney ^-adium of 1910. The deluge created inch deep miniature lakes on the sodden canVas. Water cascaded on to the Press benches. Mehegan was in danger of being drowned when he fell on his face in a rain-sodden depression after being knocked out in the 19th round. Physician to the National Sporting Club (London), Dr. E. Collins, once told me that the Peter Jackson-Frank Slavin fight in 1892 was the greatest ever staged in England. Jackson won by a k.o. Jackson, a West Indian, is buried at Roma (Queensland). Slavin came from Maitland. Burns and Scjuires. Pittingly, the first major fight at the Sydney Stadium was au Empire affair and a world 's championship. The contestants were world 's heavyweight champion Tommy Burns and Bill Squires, of Newcastle. They met 011 August 24, 1908, three days after the- Stadium opening scrap between the late Sid Russell and Peter Eelix. Burns won by a k.o. in the 13th. He had previously beaten Squires in U.S.A. and Erance. Cornishman Bob Eitzsimmons was 47 when he fought Victorian Bill Lang in a blazing sun in the roofless stadium on New Year's morning in 1909. Eitzsimmons had lost his world Js championship to Jim Jeffries 10 years earlier. Huge sun blisters appeared on the veteran's bald head and shoulders as the fight progressed. He was through in the 12tli. Probably the most publicised bout of j the Empire series was Digger Evans I (A.I.E.) Jimmy Wilde scrap in the 1 intcr-Allies tournament at the Albert j Hall, London, in 1919. j Wilde was world ;s flyweight cham1 pion. J Evans, a native of Cobar, was un- ! knovvn in boxing prior to World War 1 1. He was discovered in an A.I.E. ' division tournament. 1 Evans, a boxing will-o '-the-wisp, 1 made every use of the ring. He jabbed, . held artistically, and ran. Wilde made the pace, led all the time I with a fury of punches. At the end of the third round a voca] Australian 1110b roared in stentoriaii tones during the minute's spell. Welsh battalions sang national airs. I11 an electric final round Wilde tlirew hundreds of punches in a jungle display. The Australian troops ehanted ' ' Dig, ' ' "Dig,,; "Dig," as the M.C. collected the judges' cards. When the verdict for Wilde was announced, the. Australian barrackers reached tops in noise and invectives. Wilde told me several days after the fight he" was ainazed at the hostile demonstration. He formed the opinion he had won rather comfortably. Last week Evans recalled that hectic night. He -has mellowed with the years and now admits he was shaded, that Wilde had a bit up on him. Share of Sensations. Empire fights have provided more than their share of sensations. The late Jack Elliott (England) lcilled'in the Philippines in the last months" of the war, and Western Australian George Thompson staged the rougliest set-to in living memory. They fought like men at the end of a pier, broke every rule. Itinerant Australian boxers have tried their luck in England,^ Africa and. New Zealand. . Arthur Cripps, Sid Russell, Bill Lang, Fred Kay, Albert Lloyd, Hughie Mehegan, George Coolc, Jimmy Pureell, A1 Bourke, Jimmy Underwood, Cyril Pluto, and Ered Henneberry fought in England with varying success. Underwood was beaten by Benny Lynch for the world 's bantam championship. Mehegan beat Matt. Wells and Jack Ward in London, went 20 rounds with Ereddy Welsh, who subsequently won the world 's lightweight championship. The Wells-Mehegan returns in Australia were tlie genesis of a loeal fight renaissanee. Probably tlie only Australian ever to.

win an undisputcd British Empire championship is Harold Hardwick. It was an amateur aft'air. Hardwick was in England as an Empire Games swimming representative. He had never previously been in a iing, but put up an excellent peri'ormance. Australian amateur champion "Snowy,; Baker dropped a decisiou to Test cricketer, J. W. H. T. Douglas, iu the London 1908 Olynipic Games. Last year Englislunen Alcx Buxton aud Jimmy Brunt^ here as servicemen, gave the locals good fights. Englishborn Ilarry Collins and Wally Hancock won Australian cliampionships. Current approacli to the fight game is that the present-day scrappers lack the colour, viciousness, and science of the old-timers. James is a Welshman. Tliose on the inside of boxing watched liim in ' his training to see what effect the approach of the fight had on his nerves. He didn 't register any emotion. — George Thatcher in the Daily Telegraph.