BOXING.
a THE WEEK'S BIG PROPOSAL.. ■ (By Mbhcdat.'i J Sports Club in Sight. The Wellington Boxing Association is in a fair, way, to provide the athletic section of our public with what has been wanted/for many a year—a sports club. Fro;n tirne to time various movements have been set on foot in the city with this end in view, and, so far, all have proved abortive.,. The present, movement, however, has all the appearances of success. For - some seasons |ba:ck—in fact, practically : ever since its inception seven years jago—the association has been aware that it cannot attain its full measure of usefulness unless it acquires premises big enough to contain a ring and hall, withseating capacity for all members and guests. Once this is achieved, it can go ahead with the fostering of boxing—amiteur boxing, in particular—without let or hindrance. At present it is hampered in its desire to-do good in this, direction by several things. Of these,'the regulations governing the sport locally is one, and the necessity, of hiring a public hall at very heavy, cost every, time it desires - to put on a tourney,, is another. - Efforts in the Past. Up till, recently the want - of suitable premises has prevented any tangible issue from a variety of schemes gone;into by the association; At one time and another, nearly every. empty flat in. the . town has been inspected by the committee, headed by ' the indefatigable , treasurer, Mr. W. Beauchamp-Platts, to whose ' labour the credit of bringing down the present scheme is mainly due/■ Ultimately a' suitable locale at a suitable rental has been- discovered, and a special meeting of association members was called for last Tuesday night to amend the rules, and, generally, - to takti' .the,. steps : necessary. to. enable the leasing and fitting up, of the promises to be gone on .with.. , Of -the proposed alterations brought, down by the committee, the most: important :were those relating'to the financial side of the proposition for, of course, it is ■ obvious that nothing- could be done in the desired direction with -the: limited income and small membership hitherto obtaining. : The Scheme in Brief. Briefly, the. association:. scheme is this —That the membership' of the association be raised 'from .the 'present- maximum .number of .75 to 250., That the . prescxir subscription' of, half a- guinea .be raised to 1 two guineas, '.all members joining after' November 1, 1910, ,to pay an entrance fee; of one guinea. .With the income thus derived the association intends to;acquire a five .years' .'lease of a flat next to G. Winder's, and over the Tiffin Tea Rooms,, in Manners Street, and to-fit . the premises lip with a permanent ring, surrounded uy permanent seating accommodation for 300, gymnasium, dressing-rooms, shower baths,etc. ■ This will make an institution' on the Unes of the London .Sporting- Club. , ...' ?or the'increased. subscription' members will. bo , provided with, plenty of entertainment in the way of bouts.: An amateur '; competition,: extending' .over two nights, .would -be -held at' least' once a month,, thus giving the amateur. section that Slip' SO ;much,, .needed' at present. Such professional contests as might, be considered advisable for educational .purposes, and, for .the. entertainment of members, would be conducted. All "try-outs," for which, at present,'the. association has to hire a room, and . which members have ■no chance of seeing,; would be held whenever necessary,- and generally, the. 1 controlling body 'could, readily place its finger on the pulse of the sport, as it should do v ": It, is proposed that.the .'premises ,'should be; open every evening, so that members could have the use of the gymnasium, etC. . The'scheme' was : unanimously approved by the meeting, and the necessary, altera-tions-were, made, with . one wise proviso, that; the - committeewould.- not commit' the association ..to' anything, or. proceed with; the leasing' of, the premises .'.until a. minimum . number' of- 175 members had 'been 1 , elected, it being, felt 1 that; the income ■■ from; this -number: was the smallest figure■ at . which,-the venture could be financed. l ., The ..association's, option: over the-premises expires • very shortly, so.that > it behoves those- desirous of joining to apply -to the secretary, as soon .as possible. - . An additional : argumentv.iii' favoiir of' celerity in- this respect will' be found in the fact that: those joining' before... November; 1. .'will i escape-, the -. entrance ; fee of one guinea, , : . : Trouble.Awaiting Sullivan. ' , Both Sullivan and Wells have: reihirned to Sydney. ' For some, reason or . other, not known to the . '■writer,' .the negotiar-. '.tions.'betweeii .the "Dealer":-and the .Napier Association -fpir,.'o : match'.- with ,W,.. Wenand; collapsed suddenly between the night , of- the. contest at the Opera' House. and the: time . of the departure of the Sydney, boat' the'next; day. On Sullivan's arrival he.'.will, find;a challenge .waiting, for him: from "Billy"" Elliott, vwho 'has. posted aVfcrfeit'of. ,£2O to bind a match', with him'. This is ; what is technically ' •called "seeing Sid's bluff" as, beforethat wily littlo. gladiator departed for these shores, ho. rashly. promised. to meet the ex-New Zealander, and back' himself for,_any amount at' 2 to 1 ohV r Now. he.has'a chance ' to "make good," 'but .."Mercury" fears that. he won't—on /those' terms. In the meanwhile, .Elliott has a match -booked, for October 1: with I "Joe" Russell at, 'Brisbane.. This, will be the third time -of' asking,; as Elliott already • has. two decisions over' the Queensland champion. Sydney Stadium Reopens. - Monday night will see the reopening of the . Sydney Stadium. , The opening- bout,' between "Johnny" Summers and Hugh Mehegan, should be worthy of tho occasion. Of other fixtures;'..the"Referee" says:—Douglas and. Summers follow On the following Wednesday, October' 5; and the next; week Dave -. Smith '■ and Arthur Cripps . will 1 figure, in -ffieir much-adver-tised battle. Now that the boxing season has' made a start,' lovers" of boxing' are in for as great'a. treat it has ever been their.lot to -enjoy. Tho arrival of '"Ray" Bronson (9st. 41b.) Billy Papko (the great middle-weight), "Packy". ll'i'arland (who is considered by many, to be-the absolute' champion lightweight. of the world), and "Abe" Attell (world's ohampion bantam) to oppose/our cracks, 'will surely cause as big a boom in the boxing business as this country has ever before experienced. Mr.. Corbett ("The Amateur") will journey: by tho same boat as these boxers, which leaves Vancouver - on ■ Friday next. ;V . At the' Cyclorama, Melbourne,- on September 13, Hugh/Mehegan beat Frank' ,Thorne after, a hard battle of 13 rounds, at wliich ■ stage; the latter broke a small, bone in his hand, and was forced to retire after having none the worse of the encounter. Some Freak Fights. ■ ' During- the American -tour of Mr. W. Corbett ("The -Amateur"), he interviewed Mr. Hartmg, a New .Zealander - mho has been acting as .timekeeper for all the big .contests. for years' past. In . this capacity, tha veteran' is l quite an r institntion in the State 3, and, naturally, he can recite' some queer experiences of, ringside happenings. Some of these he retailed to Mr. Corbett,, and the' following is:an extract , from his ' remembrances:—'.'The longest fight I have ever timed," said Mr.'Hartmg, "was that memorable battle between Danny" Needham and "Patsy" Kerrigan in San Francisco a-score of years since. It went 104 rounds. The shortest battle I havo held-, the watch for.was a-reoent affair at Colma, California, when "Billy" Papke knocked Hugo Kelly out in .45 seconds. The freakiest clash in the control of which I took a hand was one wherein "Dal" Hawkins and "Freddie" Bogan figured at San Francisco a good while ago. They fought 86 rounds- without result, ,and -the match stood over for conclusion till the following night, when Bogan triumphed in 25 rounds." . Lang Just Escapes Death. ' - Last week's American mail brought tho news that Bill Lang,, while training for his recent bout with Kaufmann, nearly, lost his lifo by drowning. This happened at Stratford, Connecticut, whero tho Victorian "heavy" was indulging in tho daily swim that, forms part of 'his •preparation. He ventured rather far, and got into a_ current which carried him out to sea. Fortunately, when a mile from shore, his predicament was observed by
his companions, who, with New Zealander Charlie Griffon among them, launched a boat, and reached Lang just in time. "A Sweet Story," One American paper at least has printed what purports to be an authentic account of the happenings at, and leading up to, the recent Reno debacle. Of its findings, the Sydney "Bulletin" says, with deep scorn: 'The absolutely-final inner history of the fight is given by the New York 'Sun.' It-is safe 1 to bo accepted by the public in the United States of America because it makes out practically all parties concerned to be liars (including- the refei'ee),. and most of them thieves. (1) Jeffries would not fight unless assured, that he would win. So 'the fighters 'got ' together, 'signed with Rickard, and each got 10,000 dollars.' All parties were fer ma&e, millions by backing Jeffries, who was .to retire permanently after winning, and let Johnson retain the title. (2) The Governor of California got a tip that the thing, was not to be on the square, and blocked it. Ii is presumed'he-did this from some bad motive,' but -there are no details. (3) The Governor of Nevada insisted, doubtless,(with the'worst intentions, that the best man, should win— at least he did this' openly ' whatever 'game' he might l have bad on privately/, (4) So Jeffries, who thought he ■ was going -to -win for certain, was left in- the lurch by his fellow-iniquities,, who - went back on the agreement.; (5) H© got to know, of this—presumably because one of the 1 others turned!, on' his colleagues— Ihence the state of fright in which he entered the ring. ; True or . untrue, it is a • sweet ( story, andtypically American."
"Sentimental Tommy." , • - Tommylßurns has called his baby:girl "Sydney,"; in appreciation of. the, treatment that the ex-champion received in Australia.—Recent Cable Item. :
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Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 931, 26 September 1910, Page 5
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1,638BOXING. Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 931, 26 September 1910, Page 5
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