BOXING.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 584, 12 August 1909, Page 6

BOXING.

ARRIVAL OF RUDOLPH UNHOLZ. INTERESTING' INTERVIEW. Among the passengers by the Ulimaroa from Sydney yesterday was Rudolph Unholy, of South Africa, who has been matched against Tim, Tracey,. of Wellington, for the professional light-weight championship of New Zealand. Unlioiz is staying at Kilbirnie.with Mr. P. C. Barnes, who served in the 2nd Kitchener's Fighting Scouts vith. him during two years of the South African War. When a Dominion reporter called on the visitor he found him busily engaged at his correspondence. ' Around him were scorcß of post cards, bound for various parts of tho world. "You see," ho said, "I am doing a little to advertise this. country.". It was'not long before tho. pressman found.that Unlioiz is nothing, if not businesslike. Briefly described, ho ia short—only sft. 3in. in height —and icmarkably/well developed, having a chest measurement of 42 inches. He states that lie is.in.fine, form, and.hopes to_ do' justioe to himself next Wednesday evening. Sinoe he first entered the ring, four years ago, 'UnholZ" has taken part in 180 contests in various parts of the world. One of his greatest battles was against "Battling" Nelson (who is now light-weight champion of the world) in 1908. No decision was given, but the critics declared for Unholz, who received, the. winner's end of the stake. ... Unholz was, however, defeated lately by . "Joe" Gano, the coloured lightweight, who was then champion. He hopes before long to gain the championship from- Nelson.' Arriving in Australia in December lost on a honeymoon trip, .IJnholz has' since had a number Of hard contests,'as follow :—v. ■F. Thome, lost on points; v. H. 1 Meeghan, lost on a foul; v. H.'Mocghan, won in two rounds; v.'A. Douglas, lost on a foul; v. "Bob" Turner, won in 9J rounds; v. "Monty" Andrews, a middleweight, draw after 20 rounds; v. "Bob" Wnitelaw,, a 'middja-weight,'won in 20 rounds.. _ During the course of 'an interesting interview,. Unholz. remarked that he liked the sporting people in Australia. They, want, straight boxing, he explained,.and if they see anything in'the way of. a flaw, they, quickly, 'turn down.the offender.. It did not matter a great deal if the contestants were not topnotchers, but what they preferred best was a contest between a local exponent and an outsider with a record; ■ Among ..the Australian exponents whom he -liked were F. Thorne, Cripps, Williamß, Fitajohn, and Nelson. To bis way of thinking, a majority ol the boxers in the colonies did not look after themselves well oiiough. He went on to saj. that it was very bard to reach the top of th« tree in America. If a boxer went there and said that lie was champion of some country or another they Bimply smiled at him. If he persisted for a contest ho was matched, up against a second or third-rater, who. wis generally harder to beat than a first-flighter. ,It was a notorious fact that the top notchers in America evaded rivals who had not reached their grade. IJnholz then touched on what be described as a very sore point. During the few hours he had been hero, he said, numbers of people had told him that'in . Now Zealand ho ran a great risk of being 'put out' on a foul. Talk like that pained him greatly, because ho had never in his careor done anything, which waa contrary to'the rules,, wittingly. ■ It was true that he had lost more than one contest on a foul, but other referees might have looked on the alleged offencos in a different light. He always sought to keep strictly to tho Marquis of Queensborry rules, which, as was :well known, provided that a contestant could deliver blows as long as both his hands wero free. When he went in to the ring he was there to box, and onlookers never, became impatient, because something was always doing. The art of in-fighting should, he continued, be encouraged ; in the colonies, , bopause that style of boxing was more interesting,, and boxers could not keep going if they were not in the best of fettle. Among other things Unholz said that ho hoped to get a match in Australia with Britt, who was coming out with "Bob" Fitzsimmons. If he 'could' got another match in Now Zealand at onco, he would wait a few. weeks, otherwise lie would accept proposals which had been made to Bim in Australia.

BURNS HURT AT PALMERSTON.. Palmerston North, August 11. Burns gave an entertainment hero t<v night. In tho course of a short speech, ha declared that he felt better , than-ever before'. Ho skipped and shadow-eparred batter than in Wellington, and boxed a real lively clip with both sparring partners. In boxing .with O'Donnell, the former slipped and fell on Burns, restarting the old aiiklo sprain badly—the sprain which had handicapped him in the contest with Johnson. Tho doctor states that it will probably be a fortnight or longer before Burns 'can do anything, and he proposes to go to Rotorua tomorrow for treatment, as it would bo impossible for him to take up his southern dates at present. TOMMY BURNS CHALLENGED. "OLD-TIMER" DEPOSITS £200. (By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.) Auckland, August IL_ A sum of £200 awaits "Tommy" Burns m Auckland —that is to say, an old-time boxer is desirous of giving the ex-champion an opportunity'of collecting that' amount • from him if lie can. "Hie "old-timer" is Tom Lees, quondam heavy-weight champion of Australia, and , now resident in Auckland. Says this gentleman (in a letter-to the-"Star"':— "I see Mr. Thomas Burns (oxHoharapion of tho world) has arrived in Maoriland/ and is going to give boxing- exhibitions. 1 am a New ZeaJander arid an old boxer, and I-hear a lot-of. arguments about the merits of different men —Billy Faran, Joe Goddard, Peter Jackson,: and other champions that I havo fought—whether they were-as good as tho present-day ones. I say .yes, and am-qui to willing to fight Tommy Burns four-or' six rounds in Auckland for 1 £200 n-side. I herewith hand you £200 sterling: as my . deposit. I hopo Mr. Burns won't-say'that I am an old man, or want me to fight someone else. If I make a mistake I am willing to pay and shako hands and be friends. .' I would like an answer as soon-as possible, as I have a'business .appointment in reforenco to an hotel that I intend taking; Trusting Mr. Burns and his company will navo a gooa time in New' Zealand." n By way of footnote, the editor of tho "Star" adds: "I have received Mr. Lees' cheque for £200, but would.like to point out that all boxing contests must bo governed by a duly registered association, and tho best plan for Mr.'Lees would be to approach tho officials of the Northern Boxing Association, and probably they would consider tho advisability of matching tho pair."'!