BOXING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 13, 23 December 1911, Page 16

BOXING.

(Br "Meecort.") CLASH OF THE "TWO SAMS." )iin£ Day.—M'Vea v. -Langford, Stadium, Sydney.. ow Sydney Is Taking It. l-'rom Hie latest Australian tiles to mil, Sydney appears to bo Inking tho g engagement on Hosing Day very ilmly. Tliu bout is limed In start nt a.m.. so I lial Ihe re-nit should .1)0 lown here h.v the iinie must uf our lizens arc selling forth on "their lawil ocea.-dons" I'or the afternoon. Meanwhile, one is rather disposed to ondcr at Sydney's philosophical nt tilde, and also on llio fact' tlint- Hie 'prololers have not; boomed the affair more ; being a world's championship engngc.lent. ll.,does not seem like "The I'liitosh" lo miss a chance like this. Moreover, the claim would. be quite a ■gifimale one, and could have been suslineil oil two grounds—firstly, ".Jack" ohnson's forfeiture of the title through ranking his articles, and, secondly, belli so of his publicly-announced retirelent. Un llio first,'ground the title goes. j M'Yea auloniatically, and, in any use, (here can bo 110 doubt: I bat, after uhnsoii. the "two Sams" hsivo tho first laim to dispute, (lie allocation of tho pparently ownerless honour—ownerless ecause its relinquishment •by Johnson :ems lo bo accepted the world over. • Vhy Not More Excitement? No doubt the lack of excitement—alhough not of interest—is duo in a oer-niii-degree to tho lack of partisanship, 'lie fact. Hint both combatants are egrcies. and'that both nro more or• less icrsonally strangers, to the Australian iiiblic, accounts for a lot. There is no lig issue involved, apart from the doiibtul olio of llio championship. -The aflair ia.s 110 racial' nspcct,' nor even a local me, as it would have had had either miii been identified ivitli things Austraian, as was J.'nler Jackson, for example. All of which ■ makes, the fact hat it has not been enveloped in- the ust.ro that surrounds a world's chain* lionship fixturo the more noticeable. To larody the song-a little, "Thcro. is some' hing'about'a champion—well, you know vliat champions are," and'it is just tins iomething that gets the public "where it ives," as our American friends say. And t is also just this something that one vould have' thought would have beer lsed to its utmost to stir.np public in .erest. Not that public interest is ]abkng—thcro is no doubt that the Stadiun rill be 1 packed lo lnirsting : point~on Box ng Day—but what is it compared, to dii ierment and fever that were so .remark lble a feature of the Johnson-Burns am ;ha Johnson-Jeffries affairs? Which "Sam" Will Win? As for the prospects, about the onl; really .big factor - that helps much in thi ;umming-u'p appears to bo the differenci in size between the two gladiators. Oi performances in , tho few instances ■ oi which a lino can be taken, they cu about even. There is the twenty-roum •lrawin Paris, their various clashes witl Joe' Jeannetto, and not much else: ti make deductions from, so on the ground that in good big man is better than good little one, "Mercury nominate "M'Vea" as his fancy. • • ' ■ Our Countryman, Smith. Last week the Sinith-Clabb'y draw ii Sydney was commented lipon, and th f|iiestion as to whether til New Zealandcr's failure to repeat hi last year's performance of boating hi much smaller antagonist pointed to : falling-olf in his form, and owing to lacl of detailed' information judgment .upoi Smith was held over until to-duy. i It may now be a great relief to JJavo and his friends to know that, after carc ful consideration of the accounts to ham bv the Australian mail, lie is dismissei without a stain on his character Tho fact • that tho bout was i draw would appear to bo du to Clabby's advancement "the than to Smith's retrogression, aUliongj one paper, tho "Sydney Morning Herald stut/s that the Now Zealandor was not a his best and had apparently had son* little difficulty ih making the weight list lllb Still he weighed lu 21b. unde which hardly bears out this view. They Fought at Astonishing Pace. This journal and the "Referee ac claim the decision as a very fair one but when a contest is so close it is m evil-able that thero should be a different of opinion. And so it w&s in tins ease Tho Sydney "Daily Telegraph says: Both men were in''excellent physical condition, anil they fought throughout at an astonishing. pace. In this direction the. visitor outstayed, his opponent, who, in the . last four rounds, tired., palpably, and finding the travelling too warm, repeatedly. hung oil to get a breather. If tho contest had been, to a finish, Clabby would probably have won easily, for Smith was a very pleased man when the final bell rang. _ Still, although he never had Clabby m serious trouble, Smith piled up, some points in the early stages ot the clash, and no doubt they were. regarded as equalling tho undoubted pasting he received in the .last four rounds. - The writer lxdioves that Clabby s showing at the finish _ than counter-balanced Smith s earlier efforts. but he does not propose to fight Mr. Baker. It is a-mnttcr of opinion, and Mr. Baker was referee anyhow. Tho Sydiiev "Sun," on the other'ham is very ''emphatic the other \vay,, as ui "Tweiity rounds of hiird, clear fight.ir saw last'night's contest at the St'adiui between 'Dave'' Smith and 'Jimmy Glal by declared a draw; and although (1 decision seemed, to meet .with the. a] proval of a largo' section ,of uvo b crowd there cannot-be two opinions aboi it. Smith should -have been declared-tl winner. The margin may not have bee great, but it was there ail tho 1 same, ai: IMei : ee 'Silowv' Baker should liavc see io it that"tho' local man got the big er of the gale.. But lie'did'not, and 11 damage done cannot be repaired." "Smith Won a Good Fight." Thus the .introductory remarks, ar again in conclusion tho "Sun" writ say-: - It can lx> said safely - that Smith held an'advantage'in''the liiajority of the rounds. In some cases the margin may have been narrow, but it was an advantage nevertheless, and had it not been that ho tired in tho last four rounds-not a single dissentient voice woiijd have followed a declaration in his favour. He showed the first signs of weakness in the seventeenth scf-sion, and although he did a lot-of work ho was gradually getting more tired, and in tlw two concluding rounds hung on a good deal. This certainly operated against him, and may have caused tho referee to come to the conclusion that there was nothing wx>rth considering between llio men, but it did not affect Smith's ]>osifioii to such tin extent as to justify tho. calling of tho bout a draw. .' Smith won a good tight, mid it is a pity that it should have been spoiled .by an incorrect finding. Of the battle itself one account rent "Smith started off well, anil scored fre< with both hands. He made more use his right than is usual with him. Clnbl however, was too clever, and, although couplo of rights found the mark, tin was little weight behind them, as Clnb was on the move all tho time. Smit! defence, too, was wonderful. lie seeni to know instinctively-what'his oppoiu purposed doing, anil always anlieipai it. ■ Certainly, he did not make as inn use of his footwork as usual, but guarding, stopping, and slipping wi superb. Never a moment was wasted. '1 pace wa-s terrific, and sustained throiij out. For : thirteen rounds Smith v fighting a winning fight. Then tho asp of tho contest changed. Smith starl to tire, and "Clabby, who had been p giiig along bravely, commenced to c.ro him. lie • punished Smith, and cam him to clinch on every opportunity. 1 last: round - was terrific. Both list rained every nerve,in their endeavi to -ecure the' verdict, and, although i early pari of the .round w,as,ef|na fought, the later paijl: was umloubtei won by Clabby. Smith was very tir

mid was clinching desperately, whilo wc Clubby looked as fresh as, when lie first sli entered the ring." os] - sei The Latest Smith Gossip. ur Tims the latest Smith gossip- -from the .. "iiefereo": . There is a possibility of Jack j/cster uc and Dave Smith being.matched in tho m near future. The mntter was discussed ' Monday afternoon last, and Dave ex- ' proved" willingness to lake tho Besseuier boy on if lie would agree to scale q. I2st. Sib. at :) p.m. on tho day of tho battle. . ■ Tommy ISurnscxpressed the opinion w ' that lister would need to lu.-e a leg wl to fill the bill, and 1: hold very nearly un the Mimo view, l/csler -was not eonsuited; lie hail retired .for the day, is tired out after that long, tedious "00 . ja miles trip from Brisbane to Sydney. Bi Tommy Burns thinks Lesler was light- ar ing 100 i'ar out of his-weight-class-in . al meeting' a man'like ■ M'Vea. .Well, , what is Lester going to do'if lie. cannot 8* get insi-Je list. 81b.? s"' This looks like rashness,on Smith's part, and.as'for Lester—*hat a descent from' j,. the position as aspirant, to championship , honours ho held a few months back, j,. Does Tommy Burns know his protege's level, or is it just a. bid'for- a little easy money ? a: ' . rr England's Attitude to Boxing. t,, During the week .the cables informed w us that. "Bombardier'' Wells had defeated Fred Siorbeck in. 11 rounds. The li chief point. of interest for iis in this r< item lies in (lie fact that, it shows that a boxing matches may still be. conducted in t: England, although the position still seems ]' peculiar. Some little .while nf-to, since the 0 sensational abandonment of tho Johnson- s Wells fixture, the projected Wclls-S|oir affair was slopped, then later eamo news o that the Chief Constable of Birmingham P had laid a ban oil the Johnny Driscoll- r Ou-en'Moran bout in that city, whilo now wo learn that the present atlair. cairio otl n ' apparently without bar or hindrance. f The fact that the. National Sporting t Club was handling, this battle may ac- a count for the non-interference of , the au- s thoritics, and, if so, it_ forecasts a pros- 0 per.-)us time for , the. National- Sporting - Club, if this body is to be given, a. "corlier" in boxing mtilchcs.in England. _ Iho J present bout was for a purse, of .£1250. I Storbeck is a South African ex-amateur. j At ;tho Inst Olympic ganies in-London he won tho "heavy" -. competition. as• an ama- : teur,' and shortly : after liis return; .to J South Africa "went over." .His l<est win - in London as n professional .'was over. Bill Chase,-at one time "a white hope," whom - lie beat in-five rounds. He is-decidedly a boxer with pretensions-to "class,' and ( his summary defeat by ells-is-a decided - feather, in tho lattor's cap. ; i Ono would bo glad to £ec the Boinbnr- i - dier get-over to America., to. try-his luck i - there. He lias apparently exhaustedi all : England's supply of heavies, except,-per- : haps, the veteran "Gunner" Moir, whom 1 1 there would be no honour in beating i ■ now, and ho could be well "tried out.' > ' in tho,States and ascertain exactly where he-stands. Apparently lie is easily the < best>of the whito'division. ■ Denis Murphy and Leckie. 1 On Wednesday last Denny Murphy de- . 1 fcated Archie Leckie on points in a cori : ; 1 test advertised as being for the'w.elter--1 weight. championship .of the Dominion. . j Leckie holds tho middle-weight title, so ' now occupies a rather anomalous posi- : 1 tion, although it is not quite clear how J the welter title could have been involved 5 in-thei match under ■ review. J. As has' been stated in' this ° column', be- ' fore, contests can only ..be stamped , as championship fixtures with tho permission of the-New Zealand Boxing Association, and the head body should insist that all l such contests. should receive tho ■ official j hall-mark before being billed as' cham- ) piouships. -"Mercury" doubts' whether s this present bout • has received -official 3 sanction as a championship fixture, but i would ba glad to learn . that'ho is-mis-c taken. ■' : ' i- ' '' Glove to Glove. " "Cyclono" Thompson and "Bandsman" ■' Rice' were to have met at the Stadium j last Saturday. , "tins" Dovitt_wants-another'match tfith "Ted"' Whiting. He has ■ backing for j .6100. , p "Jack" Lester and "Porky" Flynn have 1 been matched te rneet at the Stadium on ' December 23. . • t "Alf" Poolev, the "champion heavy--3 weight of Auckland (amateur), has ar- . rived in . Sydney. He contemplates turnr ing professional. The bout oh Wednesday week between "Dan" Flynn, of . America, 'one of Lang- . ford's sparring retinue, and "Bill" Tur- . lier, of Tasmania, resulted in a ■ win for , the Irish-American on a foul in the fifth, - round. Turner was outod for butting after' b an encounter described in tho "Sydney , Morning Herald" as a wild, unscientific scramble, which had degenerated into an absolute farco when the end came.