IN THE RING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1503, 27 July 1912, Page 12

IN THE RING.

[Br "Meecuby."] BOXER'S BLOW AT THE RULES. The Letter. ".Mercury" has received a long and interesting letter from Gnat Williams—onetime light-weight amateur champion of New Zealand, anent the disqualifications at tho New Zealand championships. While printing tho lettor, "Mercury" does not identify himself with tho opinions expressed by his correspondent. IS'ext week soDio of tlw contentions advanced will come up for comment. Tho lettor pppears further down the column. Mr. Sampson and "Tfto Count." , Tho correspondent of the CantorLury Times" criticises air. Sampson s conkol of the various events at tho vwent New Zealand Championships as fcillo'A':— Though four competitor woro sont to their cornel's for breaches of tho rules, it seomod that referee Sampson occasionally either overlooked or missed seeing more tserious offences, such as using tho open glovo, palming, holding, and hitting: and roughing forties. Whether it was tho prrsi'iirq fyi' u lu first timo of two jml?w that caused him to feel himself shorn of mil lionf.v, ho certainly nppeared more lax than he lias been seen reiercoing pruli-asiim-al or provincial tournaments. One other thing must bo mentioned, and that is tho count ns called at this I meeting. By tho watch .Mr. Sampson averaged under seven seconds for a count out. It probably did not over matter much, but easily enough threo seconds illicit bo of tho utmost importance to a man taking tho count. "M&roury," for one, fails to remember tno objectionable tactics referred to in this criticism, and the statement that Air. Sampson averaged seven seconds for a count out eeems to bo stretching the matter too far, or ra ttar compressing it too much. After reading it, "Mercury" , (tor experiment's sake) timed several local enthusiasts, and, to a man, they averaged li/ 2-ssec, so it seems altogether beyond reasons that au expert, as Mr. Sampson' undoubtedly is, should average threo seconds uiider the proper time. One thing only can be alleged against Mr. Sampson, and that is that, on several occasions, when a competitor slipped to the boards, he started the "count." A boxer slipping down must, by rule, "rise immediately." If he does not ho is liable to disqualification, wherefore no (count is necessary in the casn of a slip. The intention of the rule is that a man should not bo "counted" over unless scut to the boards by a blow from his opponent, or else when ne has fallen down from sheer exhaustion, in which case the contest should undoubtedly bo stopped for other reasons. What the Pictures Prove. The melee that occurred in tho ring at the conclusion of the world's light-weight championship contest on July 4, has given vise _to much acrimonious newspaper discussion. The rbason why both men wero on the floor when tho referee gave his decision—the peculiar feature of the contest that_ so complicated tho issue, is now explained by the following cable message, published by tho Sydney "Sun"-.— i Los Angelos, Tuesday. According to the moving pictures of the Wolgast-Rivers fight on Independence Day, the Mexican light-weight was properly knocked out. Tho officials of the picture company say that the films show that Rivers was not fouled, but was down for fully twelve seconds, although it is not plain *hat > Referee 'Welsh counted the allotted 10 seconds off. The films are unusu- . ally clear that Rivers went down from a left and a right to his wind-sec'ti jn, and that those blows wero followed by two similar punches. Not one of them was a foul. It is also shown that Wolgast tripped over the Mexican's foot and fell, his body striking Rivers's vpraised knoo. "Will You Walk Into My Parlcur?" The following cablegram is submitted without remark: — Chicago, Tuesday. Jack Johnson and Al. Palzer had a chat to-day regarding a match on Labour Day. Tho champion said he would fight for a purse of cEGOOO, or for . a slue-bet of that amount. Palzcr expressed a desire for a 10 rounds bout on September 1, stating that he wanted a short battle with the champion, before signing on for a long contest.

CORRESPONDENCE. WHY NOT "M OF Q" ENTIRELY? The following letter is that referred to abovo, and s-umcientiy explains itself. It runs as follows:— Dear "Mercury,"—The numerous disqualifications which occurred at the recent championship ■ meeting in Wellington plainly showed tho need of more stringent measures being adopted, not only by; the referee, but first by the associations, and likewise by the referees as you stato; and, last, but not least, l>y tho instructors and competitors themselves. The. council—which is apparently composed- of-old women—have a set of rules specially drawn up for schoolboys aiid youiig ladies who might feel liko indulging in the "gentle art." For instance, if A is holding B, and B hits A while still in holds, B is disqualified, while the 11. of Q. rules say that a man is allowed to hit as long as his two hands are free.

Roughing on the Rope. Another absurd rule is the one they term _ "roughing on the rope." A man who is able to work another on to the ropes has used generalship, and that should count.in his favour. Yet I heard a man cautioned and mado to let the other man atfay from the ropes. There was no roughing; it was plain punching, but the man who was on tho ropes resided in Christchurch, and so did the re,feree and association. But tho supposed offender did not live in ChristchurcJi.aiid, incidentally, did not get the decision. Roughing, I admit, should bo cut out, whother on the ropes or at mid-ring, but be no bar to fair clean hitting. Now, if the association can bo made to accept tho straight Marquis of Quesnsbury rules throughout tho Dominio'n, the referee will not have to learn half-a-dozen sets of rules, as he ha.s to do at present (unless he only referees' in one centre). This applies much, more strongly to men competing in a championship meeting,Where they come from all over the Dominion. Being both an active competitor and instructor, too, you will admit that I havo had somo experience,

Where Should the Referee Stand? Again, some centres want the referee in the ring; others want him outside. The man whom. it mostly concerns—namely, the lioxor—is not taken into consideration. But I'm tryincr to got a word in now, and so I should like to state that I am n very strong advocate for the referee being in the rinpr. especially under tho existing rules, where you' have to break clean. If the referee is in the ring, .he part? you when he thinks that you are ill a clinch, whereas, when he is iiiitsirlo, your ideas of a clinch and his may l>o very wide apart, find, consequently, you may l>6 disqualified for an action which you thought you were perfectly justified in doin , .'. Another point which strengthens my nnmment for the adoption of the strict Marquis of Oneensbury rules is this: Befcress in New Zealand are being educated to thn fact that they ■must disqualify men for holdimr (in some centres), hitting while being held, and also for what the council terms "roughing on the ropes." Now whnt disadvantage are these men being put to (the competitor?, I menu) when they compete in Australia or nny other cmintvy for (lint mr.ltev, where strict Marquis of Qiiceiislmry rules aVo adhered to? Send Uniform Rules to All Instructors. Another idea which I think the association could adopt with advantage would bo for them to forward a.copy of rules to govern boxing throughout New /cnhind to every instructor, who should be <i«l;ed to put it up in sonio. prominent place in the gymnasium. Them nro very few hojerr. who thoroughly know thr> roll's that goTorn boxins, and aDDarently tho

instructors, if they do know better, are too lax with their pupils, and consequently, bad habits become 6econd nature. This last cause is responsible for the majority of breaches, I foel certain. I havo never been disqualiliad myself, mid I can pay tho same about tnv pupils. On tho contrary, both my pupils and myself havo suffered in consequence of trying to adhere too strictly to rules laid down by the New Zealand Boxing Council.

Has the Council Any Weight? This council, or body, or person, or whatever or whoever it is, apparently does not boast of a great deal of organising power, nor does it appear to command a great deal, of respect, for, although it exists p.iid even prints little, pamphlets instructing tho various centres as to how they shall govern their tournaments, still (as stated before) tho majority i-f these centres havo different ways and rules from those laid down ]>y tho N;Z.BiC. I think (if thoro is going to be any other rules than the Marquis of tjlleeusbury's to govern the. game in New Zealandj that open discussion'should bo invited from boxers and others interested in the sport all over tho Dominion, and not havo theso rules framed by a few folks, all belonging to one township, and who are known to no one- except their immediate neighbours.

Use of Oahdagcs. • I There is another matter which I should like to comment on, and that is tho prohibition of tho udhesivo plaster. What possible reason has the council (or whatever it is) to object to Immlngcs, even if Hiß men put ten yards round each hand. Has this oquncil got its cap set at some "pU"" with broken hands? Surely if tho boxers don't object no one else should. If they had made a rulo that all boxefs shall be compelled to wear bandages on their hands, ono may havo .thought that they were trying to foster the sport. A man may knock Up both hands training, and (to got to facts) , 1 will quote my own ox|>eriettco in Christchurch when Tracy, Murphy, Parker, and myself fought for tho professional light-weight championship. I mot Parker tho first night, and knocked out the two first knuckles on each hand. Had bandages been disallowed, or even 6oft surgical banda'gos allowed as now, I must havo forfeited. As it was I bound, my hands well, and, although I lost (to the redoubtable "Tim"), I beiieve I am justified in saying that 1 put up a good fight and lasted the fifteen rounds (this was tho following night). The points that I nm trying to emphasise nre these: A man that has strong hands and is a sport would havo no objection to a man with weak hands wearing bandages. A man with badly-jarred hands, not being allowed to wear substantial bandars, would not bo ablo to face tho music. The centre which would insist on the use of only F'oft surgical bandages for that man is neitlipr 'fair to that man or tho public. I should like you to give this as much prominence as possible, as I believe and hope it will do thn sport some good, and givn some of us fellows in the game, who should know what is wanted, a chaneo to voice our opinions.—l am, etc., GN-VT ■ WILLIAMS.