BOXING.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 984, 26 November 1910, Page 12

BOXING.

(B7 "Mercury.")

A Gentle Word to Wenand. ' Tli'o Australian mail this week brought several items of interest regarding Jiew Zealand boxers on "tlio other side." Tlius, last Saturday "Gus" Dovitt was scheduled to'have'met "Toin" lludj' at the Stadium, Brisbane. "Billy" Wenand has arrived in Australia, and is matched against "Jack" Bead in llobart on November 30. Both lads' havo excellent amateur' performances • behind them—both, in fact, havo secured Australasian '.championship honours—and though Wenand's professional performances in tho Dominion, especially those against "Ted" Green, had a very peculiar appearance, there is 110 doubt that ho is high up in his class, and he will, if he plays the game, do well in the Australian ring. Another boxer, once well known here as an amateur "heavy," Percy Hale, is mentioned as being ono of tho principals in, a: match which was to have been decided last night in Sydney, his opponent beiiig" "Bull" Nicholls. Gould Smith Smite Papke? Tho mail also brought particulars of another victory for the New Zealand examateur champion, "Dave" Smith, who is reported as having beaten that good Victorian boxer, "Ted" Whiting, in Brisbane, in 12 rounds. The result of this engagement was looked for with great interest, as the Dominion representative is to bo the next opponent for the redoubtable American middle-weight, "Billy" Paoke. .The.Hcw Zealander, it will be remembered, -recently defeated Arthur Cripps, tho' Australian middle-weight champion, in Sydney, and this, his latest victory, stamps him as being tho only man in his division capable of giving, the American importation a run for his money' and title. The following account of the battle is taken from tho Brisbane "Courier">' ■ . . "Twelve rounds of fast and exciting" milling > took place before .Smith was returned tho winner, and it was of championship quality throughout. Indeed, 'it may be said that no battle could possibly have given more complete satisfaction. Smith proved. that ;ho has lost: none of tho speed, the, clover footw.ork, tho graceful carriage, and judgment which, have, characterised'his previous battles in this State; .but ho was against a tough proWhiting, a: boxer of rare pluck, experience, .and.'.quality. After) fast, even going in tho first round Smith established a lead in the second round, when ho did somo good work with his left hand, ' and brought trouble from Whit-' rag's mouth. Time and again thereafter tho men stood up at short Tango, and their' work 'brought excited cheers from the crowd. In the 'fifth round particularly, Whiting's superb defence-won loud applauso, while;at,times his attack was excellent. Smith -slowly. piled up points, however,. until Whiting began to show evident signs, of wear. In the 12th round. Smith delivered a .straight right, ■ which almost closed Whiting up, .and. at the finish of. the round, the towel was thrown in from his- corner. Cheers were given for both'winner and. loser." , , ' , . To th'e disappointment ,of tho Sydney boxing-world, it wasfound impossible to bring Smith and : Papke': together ■on tho date scheduled—last Wednesday ' night. Smith, after the victory described above, was fit and willing, but two or three days before .tho great day Papke was taken ill with what has since been diagnosed as yellow jaundice.' Consequently tho 'meeting lias teen postponed sine die. News comes from New York that in that' city! on Sentcmbcr r 2B 'Tacky" M'Parland decisively defeated "Fighting" Dick Hyland in ten rounds. Points of Much Interest. -

According to ; "Boxing," tho English weight limits arc-.—Bantam,-.' ,Bst. ,61b..; feather, 9st.; light, ,9st. 91b. i- welter, lOst. 71b.j'middle, list: Clb.; light-heavy, 12at. 71b.; and heavy,: any'weighty The Aus-, tr&lian and New Zealand weights are, respectively :"Bsl.-21b., 9st., lOst., lOst. £lb., list, lib.,' and heavy-weight.' The American standards differ again. Thus, their light-weight limit is 9st.'7lb., and.welter lOst. 21b. Thiswould seemito,bo a matter' inijy/hich.-someouhiformity-.would bo ad'.yantageousi.; It,; isr; puzzling, -.to say tho least of it, to read of -boSers of Ost. 121b. or 'eq having to pay weight forfeits in England in'light-weight matches, while list. 61b. men aro included in tho middlo division without demur. This reminds "Mercury" that during the weak he was taken to task by a local authority for referring to "Bully" Papko' as tho world's middle-weight champion. Tho objector very truly pointed out that Stanley ICetchell held the'title at the date of his death, and that since then there has been no battlo for tho honour. 'Hβ argued from this that there was, no living champion of this class, and that "Tom" Thomas, tho "Welshman, champion of. England, had'equal claims to tho title with the- American. This is not .according to precedent. , Tho only workable practice is. that if a champion relinquishes a title, in'any other way. than by defeat, and the previous holder remains undefeated s'avo for tho.loss to tho retiring.cham-. pion, tho title , reverts-to him.. '. Thus, Papke, by his defeat of Ketchell in. their soeond meeting, became- ' champion. Ketchell regained tho title from Papke in-their third-clash, so at his death it went back to its former holder., Thomas undoubtedly has claims to a. match for tho title, and is to get it when.Papke's Australian engagements are finished,, but until ho has won it* from ' Papke, '< or Papke's conqueror (should ono arise), he cannot claim, the championship. The Rudd-Mitchell Fog. ' .. The New Zealand Boxing Association has, as was suggested in this column some weeks ago, taken un the, matter of tho dispute between'Kudd, of Wellington, and Mitchell, of Millerton, over the possession of the heavy-weight'.championship title. Tho'council ata:meoting last week wisely decided that as tho championship issue was not involved in articles signed by the contestants before the battle at Hastings, w.hcn Budd defeated. Mitchell, the •latter still retains tho title. It was also settled that the return match at Millerton on December 3 should bp a championship fixture, provided it'was' so stated in the articles. : This establishes tho precedent that no match can bo a championship fixture unless it is expressly stated'so in the.bond—a judgment in accordance with equity and common sense. It would bo a further improvement if the council were to insist that.no match should bo billed as a championship unless it were approved, as such by tho council lieforehand. '.-'.■,..'.■■■. ' ,