MURPHY'S LAST CHANCE

Chronicle (Levin), 15 May 1948, Page 5

MURPHY'S LAST CHANCE

— Reuter,

Stakes Reputation In Fight With T urpin - ' ' %£

(N.Z.P.A.-

Copyright)

Received Friday, 8.50 p.m. LONDON, May 14. "I am very confident but desperate, " is how Bds Murphy feels about his 15ronnd fight With the coloured boxer Dick Turpin for the Empire middle- , weight championship at Coventry "'on May 18. ( j Murphy has been training for tjie' last three weeks at Brighton in a ' ' fighting Irish ' ' atmosphere. He ' is staying witli an Irishman and tWo of. his sparring partners are Il'ish"-— Johnny Wiliiams, the Irish heavy weight ehampiou, and Pat Mulcahy. He has been up everv morning at 5.45 fof three to five miles of road work followed at" 11.30 by work iirthe gynihasium, exercising, sparring and shadow bOJdng over eleven rounds. "Turpin, in my opinion, is the best man I shall have ever erossed the gloves with," Murphy said. "He is very foxy and a very good puncher. But if lie does take my title lie will know he has had a good fight. ' ' Murphy 's trainer at Brighton, Jack Jordan, who was specially appoiilted by the New Zealander's manager Sara Buvns, takes a very good view of Murphy 's chances. He is "more than pleased" with Murphy 's training, an.d by prewar standards he does not rate Turpin too highly. In his last fight, when* he was beateil by Mark Hart, Murphy felt .he was stale. According to his London traineL Jack Jones, he toolc the fight to.o casualIv, thinking he had an easv win, It is certain that if the New Zealander does not show bettef form next Tuesday Turpin will beat him, in which case he might just as well padk up and go home. If he wins his reputation, which is not high in British boxing Circles, will soar. DOUG HARRIS RUNNING INTO FORM Douglas Harris, the New Zealand Olympic runner, had his first race as part of his preparation for the Games last Wednesdav. Ile represented l.oughborough College against Birmingham University in the quarter-mile which he won easily 011 a cinder track by 20 yards in 51.2 seconds. • "I regarded it as a training run purely and simplv, " said Harris. "The track was a bit soggv af'tei heavy rain and I just jogged around and was not even puffirig at the finisli. I was not trying for a fast time. That will come later. " 'A Harris will have, anOthel -outing in a week's time ys4ien he competes at Hot-' spur Park, Lbndoh, in thdyUTniversity

Athletic- Union 's meeting which takes place on May 21-22. He will probably run in the quarter-mile. He will be at tlie White City, London, oa Wliit Monday to attend the British Games whieh will be the first Oljmipie trials. Ue will be tliere not to run but to watch two Eug'lish half-mile "pos--ibles, " Tarraway and Nanlcivell. Harris contemplates four further eng^ge-1 tnents before his final preparation for the .Games: the quarter-mile and perhaps half-mile in Tceland at the end of May, both distances in the Loughbor- ■ ough College sports on June 12, the half-mile in Amsterdam on June 20, and the half- and perhaps the quarter-mile at the Amateur Athletic Assoeiation 's championships on July 2 and 3. TROUBLE OVER ROWING STYLES Thefe- ha:s been trouble in British Olympic rowing circles over style. It concerns tlie old question of Orthodoxy versus FaiVbairnism. C. B. R. Barton, who stfoked Cambridge University when they returned a record time in beating Oxford in. the boat race, is a Fairbairtfi convert. His Jesus College crew with wliich he won the Grand Challenge Cup at Henley last year, beating the Swiss, Duteh and Leander crews, rowed " Fairbairn. " Cambridge, however, insisted on the orthodOx style for the boat race and Barton had no diffieulty in switchiilg. When Barton was chosen by the Olympic sub-selection committee to be eaptain of the official "aue" Olympic trials crew he announced that he' would build it around the winning Cambridge crew. But he- also decided to reVert to the Fair.bairn" style which t'he Cambridge men did not like. ' After about a week's rowing Barton invited two Jesus College men, one of whom had been . in his winning "Grand" crew, to row. The Cambridge men felt that they were being used temporarily and they objected to the " unorthodox " style. So they decided to lea've' the crew. Barton,' who will 1' now build it around his winniiig drew of -last year, has issued a stateffient ^ "regretting profoundly the differenee of opinion — on rowing style — that had arisen between myself and some mem-„ bers of the Cambrideg Crew which won the boat race. I feel confident .that with the support of the sub-selection "ommittee I shall produce a crew worthy to represent Britain in the Games." There now appear to be four possibie eights competing in the Olympic trials: Barton 's, an eight ffbtn Cambridge, another from Oxford, and a fourth from LincolUshire. 1