BOXING.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 869, 16 July 1910, Page 12

BOXING.

THE ATTACKS ON IT.

ffiy Mkecoby.J \

FIXTURE. July 27,- 28, and 29.—New Zealand Ama'tenr Championships, ,/Palmerston . North. . Tlie cabled accounts of the recent Reno debac.e from Messrs. Naughton and Corbett, the "Keferee's" special correspondents at the front, shedi no -'new light, except to show that Jeffries's case was even worse than at first reported. Mr. Naughton says that Johnson "made Jeffries look like a novice," while Mr. Corbett states that the latter was '.'never.in it," and "Hint Johnson fooled his opponent in every conceivable way."' Both accounts bear. out the presumption made. in. this column last week that Jeffries' was too slow—and that is all there is to it. For.the rest, the affair has involved the ring and its surroundings in the regrettable position to which very pointed reference was made by "Mercury" .on June 25'. On that. date, when discussing the side issues of the contest, the writer expressed the ori ,: -'i that "there : are. those who'arc. alive to the fact that the pre:• ,\- with its attendant racial bit ' 1 universal high .tension, pr6vi:!-. ; .sych'olbgical mum'ent for striking . .wd blow'at what they consider ro -be V. barbaric pastime. This being so, it is not hard to see that , the future of the boxing ring will depend largely on the happenings on Monday Should there be the riot and up T roar that is anticipated in some quarters,, whatever the result; then surely enough' will the sport lay itself open—or rather will the sport, be laid open—to an attack from which it can hardly emerge- in other than a crippled condition." That its the present state of affairs—the attack is now on. Much could be written on this head, but what is the use? There are times when argument, jeason, and logic avail not, and the.present is one rot them. •■'».' City Council and Professionals. .'. In one respect, however, where the dis-.. turbance has a direct local application, a few remarks will not be out of place. This, is'in regard to the City Council's attitude-towards the Wellington Boxing. Association's application for .the. use of the Town Hall for a professional conteal. While admitting that the recent contest is not altogether responsible for. the decided negative given by the council, it must have had ..a very distinct effect upon it. The ■ position taken up ' by the councillors is decidedly illogical. Apparently the objection is not to boxing pel' se— it is only to professional boxing within the precincts of the civic hall; This is shown by the fact that amatemboxing is to be allowed therein. ' Now, where, from an ethical standpoint, does the difference lie? Ajid moreover, if .professional boxing is objected to, why not professional wrestling? There was'no objection uuulq to the Unckenschmidt-Scott match—absolutely a . professional affair. And wrestling can be made infinitely a , more "tough" spectacle than boxing. The Gotch-Hackenschmidt affray proved that. Therefore it appears that it is riot the professional' element that is objected to. Then, if it be neither the boxing nor the professionalism, what is it that influenced the council? Surely not fear? Again, as to the alleged' brutality of professional boxing as opposed to the amateur species: If the "brutality" charge 'is admitted at all, then surely it can be laid with the more truth, against the amateur bouts as held locally than against the professional contests that the association has provided in. the past. Of coarse the charge is not admitted, but certainly the conditions which (in the minds of somu) make for brutality—that is the giving and taking of hard blows—are more apparent in the amateur contests than the "professional. And the reason is not far to seek. The Aim of Our Association. It has ever been the aim of the association to make its professional matches educational as well as spectacular, and to. tins end the fullest consideration is, and always has been, exercised when .mating a match of this sort. The results speak for themselves. Since the association has . handled boxing,' ill Wellingtou there has only been one case of a "knockout" iu a proiessional contest—in the ' (Jault-Gosling bout in the Opera House— and in this case both boxers were ex : amateurs on the very threshold of. their"pro." career. There was also, the case of the ClarkMurpny affair in the Theatre Koyal several seasons back, but this was a case of exhaustion more than of the results of a blow. Such men as the association engages are, by virtue of their -prates-| sum, .better trained and better able, to look after, themselves than their amateur brethren, and thus their exhibitions are more highly skilful and far less "brutah" than those that the council: has.'decided to permit. • Moreover, again a more scientific, and thus less "brutal" (for want of a better word) standard .of boxing .is admittedly wanted among our nmateur exponents of the "art," and how can this be attained unless they are given the opportunity of seeing high-class" men at work? Unfortunately, too, tlie Town liall is the only house into which a sufficiently big audience can be got to secure tlie financial side of a good professional contest at anything like popular prices. - Boxing no "Unclean Thing." "Mercury" can quite understand the point ot view of those who.have no objection at all to boxing, professional or otherwise, but who. take the position that the tone of the civio hall is likely to be degraded by ita use as an arena for sporting contests. This, however, does not soem to be considered in the council's objection or else,again, why the Hacken-sohmidt-Scott match ? It is understood that thsre is a possibility of the matter coming up again, and it is to be sincerely hoped that, with a fuller' meeting, aim a wider knowledge of the facts', the council will at least give it the consideration it deserves, and not hurl it into outer darkness as an unclean thing as happened at the recent meeting. Events Oversea. "Billy" Elliott accounted for,R. Le Bres at the Brisbane Stadium on June 30. After six fast and clever rounds the Sydney boy's second threw in the towel. Last Tuesday at the Gaiety, Sydney, "Sid" Sullivan was to meet "Jack" Clarke. "Jack" Clarke (not Sullivan's oppon ent mentioned above), who appeared in Wellington lost season under, the auspices of the local association, was billed to meet the Melbourne middle-weight, Dave Walker, last night. On Monday last an affray of some importance took place in Melbourne'(unless something went wrong in' the meantime), when ex-champion "middle," "Ed." Williams, met "Joe" Costa. This match has been advertised in the Melbourne- papers as for the "resident' heavy-weight cham : pionship of Australia," but of course this is not so, as the title, iu the absence of Burns and Lang, naturally reverts to "Bill" Squires, the former holder. '. Tho London' "Sportsman"' tips/trouble for Burns when he meets 'Langford, sl- . though tlie, writer admits that it will be a set-to worth seeing. He finishes his par by remarking that Langford will have a man in front of him exactly his own height, something of a novelty for the black, which, of course," is a fact, but I am sure it will be a greater novelty for the ex-champion, who will also be meeting' a man lighter than himself— something new lor . Burns.. Says an exchange:—"Dees the future of the ring lie iu" the bands of the coloured race, wo wonder? Coloured boxers have been prominent ligures ■ ever since the days of Tom Molyneux, but there have never been so many of thorn in "the limelight as there are to-day. Tito championship belongs to a coloured man, mid, apart from Johnson,' most of the formidable heavy-weights of* the day belong to the same race.. We have Langford, Jeannette, and M'Vea already, and now come rumours of- a new terror, styled 'Battling Jim' Johnson, of Tennessee"