ATHLETIC SPORTS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1416, 17 April 1912, Page 4

ATHLETIC SPORTS.

IN THE RING. THE CONQUEROR OF H'VF.AA CHANGED LANGFORD. On the night of Monday, April 8, Langford van(|iiislicil M'Vca nt tho Sydney Stadium in what is descried .as "a great battle all the way." Critics who saw the event describe Hits winner as "a new Langford altogether." The question of his wonderful ability, as a.boxer was settled definitely. When he first appeared there were people wlu> •marvelled at the critics of America nnd England having gone crnr.y over him. They did not see anything in him calculated to set anything on fire. On that occasion they were, not guilty of an error of judgment. Their conclusion was all ■right. Hut they were misled. Tho "Sam" Longford they saw then was not the "Sam" Langford the experts on the , other side marvelled at and described as a world-beater. That personage wns kept in seclusion, and was not seen till the night of llonday, April 8. Going into the ring the under man in the belting—M.'Vca was a li to ■( on favourite—ho know it was incumbent on him "to "make good." With his feet well spread and both amis ready for action, lie looked n. real fighting picture as ho ad-' vaiiced determinedly towards liis much bigger opponent. Size did not deter him, and he had no fear for the lace-like left which M'Vca played with such deadly accuracy on Boxing Day. Ho waded straight in,.nnd almost before anyone realised it,, ! ho had M'Vea breaking ground, not in the way that was noticeable in tho previous encounter, but in a manner that betukened real anxiety to get out of danger. And Langford hnd liis adversary acting in that way in prar.tic.ally evety round. His Opponent Very Nervous. On the other hand, there was nothing wrong with M'Vea's condition, and he •had all his fighting skill. But. his movements were practically devoid of confidence. Finding Limgford much tougher than heretofore unnerved him considerably, and at times ho fought liko a scared schoolboy. Whenever the Boston boxer belted iu his ritrht or drove either band to the body while, in what the police describe, as a clinch, ho squirmed, and repatedly protested that Langford was hitting in clinches. On one occasion early in tho battlo tho big boxer complained (o the , referee: "He's hitting me in clinches." But, in reality, all the time M'Yca was holding on to liis man dcsperctely, while. Langford's Ixith hands wcro free, and Scott very properly replied, "Well, don't hang on! Let- go!" But 31'Voa refused to let go. He did not relish the Hide, man's visitation, and after throwing out his left always hurried to grub bis opponent's arms tightly. U'Vca's nervousness, which, was apparent nt the, start, became more pronounced as. the battlo wore on, and became intense dttrine the "rogrcss of and after the wri'iitli round. The Round That Settled It. That session was really the beginning and end. Until then AT'Voa, even if he had not done any good, had certainly not been greatly harmed. But he was hurt in the seventh round. Hanging on desperately at the, start, as if aware of impending trouble, he experienced a very torrid time. Langford, grimly determined, h:id sickened of the pace at which tho battlo had been waged, and set out to change the order. Ho wrestled fiercely to frco himself from IPVcu's holds, and it was only a matter of seconds when the big coloured man was looking very worried. Tn tearing himself lonso on one occasion he brought his right up and clearing himself, instantly hooked in a .terrific left. There wns a slight sngeing of M'Vca's knees/and hiS'eycs rolled"in a' troubled way. "He's got' him," (lie crowd ." yelled madly. . , •• .-. ■ Winner Eases Up. ' After the seventh round M'Voa was really never the. same. Any little confidoiice he had diptinpeared, and be, fought most of the time like a man who had not the slightest relish for his task. He w:is always on the break, and although be won some of tho succeeding rounds, lie did not coma through them in truly confident slvlc. Time after time, Langford worried his man. He refused to Wkept off. notwithstanding that: M'Vea's left raised a large-sized "mouse" over his right eye. All the same, lie'kept going in until tho end of tho eighteenth round. Then, knowing that he was in a perfectly safo position, he eased up and allowed M'Vca to annex the two rounds. BOWLS. KELBUBNE CLUB. The Kelburne Club will hold a progressive pairs tourney on Saturday nest, starting at 2 p.m., and continuing right on to ll.ao p.m. hi the ovening the green will be lit by four 750 candle-power Lux lamps, kindly lent hy the Lux Light Company for the occasion, and given good weather (ho new departure U likely to provo a big success. Entries close on Thursday. FOOTBALL. • NEW ZEALAND) AND ENGLISH 15UGBVT. Bj Telegrapli-Prees Aseociation-Copyrtehi (Rcc. April ■Iβ, 9,10 p.m.) London, April IG. The English Rugby. Union has definitely decided not to invite Now Zealand to send a team to England owing to the South African visit. ■ PETONE CLUB AFFAIRS. , Owing to a. disagreement, tho Selection Commitlco of the Petone senior football team lias resigned, and tho following twenty, players have been chosen by tho nowly-xippointed selector, Mr. E. Price, to meet nt the gymnasium on Thursday next at 7 o'clock for f.he purpose of electing a captain nnd .vice-captain:—G. Parker, Boyd, ,T«s. Ryan, Daley, M'Kenzie, Power, Eamsden,'. E. Ryaii, J. Corson, Shnrdlow, A. Parker, Vim. Ryan, Ready, M'Farlane, T. Price, Parraiit, Arrowsmith, Ashton, Taplin, Lindsay.