IN THE RING

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1569, 12 October 1912, Page 12

IN THE RING

[Bi "Mercubt."]

TRUSCOTT & ANTAGONIST,

October 15.—Hegarty, y, Theo, Burns, Christchurch. October 28.—Murphy v. Truscott, Auckland.

Nol.Pretty for the Referee,

lhe recent welter-weight championship contest between "Denny" Mnrphy and Lyn Truscott was chiefly remarkable for tho diversity of opinion expressed afterwards as to the correctness, or otherwise, of the verdict. Tho referee, Mr. Sampson, expressed the opinion afterwards that it was the hardest bout to adjudicate upon that he has handled to date—and, indeed," if is hard to see how his task could have been harder.

Both men adopted the same tactics, and, in consequence, were on top of each other tho whole time—standing toe to toe and indulging in half-arm work that left a lot to be desired from a spectacular view-point. '

■ Moreover, except for those in the immediate vioinity'of the ring, it was, frohi theclosenjiss of the work, extremely hard to judge its effectiveness. Many a blowthat earned for its giver a round of applause landed on the recipient's glove or forearm, and, generally, it was difficult indeed to distinguish between the hits that sounded all right and those that really reached their mark.

This being so, it is not surprising that Mr. Sampson's verdict was responsible for a roar of disapprobation.: It would have been exactly the same had tho decision gone the other way. Moreover, it is safe to say that it would have been just as pronounced had Mr. Sampson announced a draw. '

What Was the Right Decision? A draw?

"Meroury'B" own view was that there was nothing between the men, and that the_ draw would have been an excellent decision. Murphy's worst rounds were the third and thirteenth. In the third he stopped a hot jolt with his chin, and went within ah ace of taking the count. Luckily his experience stood to him, and he took quick cover in a smother; and despite Truscott's very earnest endeavours to finish his work, he managed to stall off further trouble until his head cleared.

This, by "the way, was perhaps the most punishing blow landed during the bout. It had its effect.

The Tacticians in Murphy's Corner,

The plan of campaign in the Murphy corner was to hustle the opposition as much as possible over the first half of tho journey, in the hope that the excellence of the local man's condition would see him to tho good later on in tho frny. This scheme, well laid though it was, went ,f agley," as Burns (Bobbie of that ilk, not Tommy or Theo.) says, through that ono punch. It steadied Murphy considerably for a couple of rounds. However, he got to work . again, and had squarred up his account at half-way.

Where Truscott Got Applause for Nothing

In the thirteenth round Murphy went to the floor in consequence of a tap to the chin, and his stock dropped in public opinion accordingly, tut his downfall was not 60 much from the force of the punch as from tie,fact that he was caught, off his balance, and was practically pushed over.

Truscott seemed as 'much surprised at the incident as was Murphy, and so missed a golden opportunity. His consequent hesitation. was put down to sportsmanlike forbearance by an applauding house, but it was not so. Our visitor has. had too much ring experience to make any quixotic mistake of that nature during ■a close battle.

However, this round was a good one for Truscott, apart from this incident, and, with the slight advantage in the next, it evened up any advantage that Murphy had gained in the first section of the last half, of the battle. •■

The last -round broke even as far as the boxing went, although Truscott, perhaps, finished the stronger of the twain, and so, in all, "Mercury" judged that a draw would have suited tho case very well, but, in so close a matter, he is content to leave the matter in the hands of the official appointed ifor the purpose. Murphy himself says that he thought, at the time, that ho had won. by a slight margin, but that "he is quite satisfied to accept Mr. Sampson's decision,' in hopes of being able to reverse matters in the return at Auckland on October 28. Where Murphy Failed in Generalship. And in truth, unless rumour has flattered him, he should do better. There was a monotony and lack of initiative about his work here that was disappointing. It is true that he did some clever things—particularly the two pivot blows that fairly sot Truscott guessing—but they were too few and- far between.

The lack of initiative became apparent ■when he discovered that his original plan of attack was being baffled by Truscott. Then it was that Murphy should have changed his methods/ Had the change proved expensive he could easily have adopted the old measures again, but, seeing that hie methods just suited the old soldier, whom he was opposed to, he was ill-advised in sticking to them. Had he used his feet as he can use them, and got out again after getting in, he might possibly have drawn Truscott into a position where he could have got .at him. . Anyway, he would havo opened the fight up somewhat, and it was open and fast that he wanted it. There is still a lot of virtue in the oldtimo "hit-stop-and-get-away" attack. As it was, he carried the fight to Truscott just as that ingenius veteran wanted it, and our visitor was well content that it should be so. What Is Truscott's Metier? For this reason it is difficult to draw a line on Truscott. He did not have to make his fight. Murphy did this in a way that suited him nicely, and he let it go at that. Ho boxed leaning well back on his right foot, and absolutely declined to be bustled—knowing that he did not have to go after his man, and that he knew enough to cope with what was being brought to him. His blocking and head work proved very effective, except in the case of the two pivot blows already referred to, and these —samples, by the way, of the unconventional American punch learnt by Murphy from "Ray" Bronson in Sydney—certainly found him remiss.

On one other occasion, too, was ho to have been caught napping had "Denny" been opportunist enough. This wus when a vimful punch found his solar plexus. Truscott let go on "Ouch!" of decided .liscomfort, and dropped his hands to the , affected spot, leaving himself wide open, but Murphy, apparently thinking that he had unintentionally struck low, stood off in lost a beautiful chance. It was just such an opportunity as ho might have prayed for, and had lie taken it—well? But he did not, and now Tniscott wears the championship crown.

It would be interesting to have Truscott in a fast forcing ficrht just to see him fully extended. He certainly was nursing himself to s->me extent in the rarly rounds of last week's battle, but then, is explained, it was not his play to nuicken matters up at nil. He gives the impression, however, that if he is to ho beatan in New Zealand, it will havo to be in a speedy, open contest. He knows too much for our local men about thn finer points of the close work—his 'Australian and Eastern campaignim* has "put him wise" to the moves and tricks of this department. ' > ' ' A characteristic and somewhat amusing feature of his showing here wus the expression with which he noted any not quite expected move of Murphy's, and which ho assumed on the occasion when a blow got pn't his guard—a r ort of exposhilntory, "Well-Denny-T-didn't-lsnow-you-would-do-a-thing-like-that" ckinco. Also, ho seldom missptl an opportunity of drawing tho referee's attention to nny little breach of his opponent's, but, withnl, ho fought a good, clean, snorting buttle, nnd soon got on terms with the "house."

Tn one resnect tho Australian both surnrisad and pleaded liN supporter*. It was feared that his condition would not see him through tho journey, but. the event proved that it wus nerfectly falisfacforv, and, as indicated above, nt llio end he was poing well. Tf nnvtliiim, ho wns loss troubled than Murphy wns in this respect.

A New Title. ' Owin? to the absence of Hush Mehefjan a new title has been hung up for competi-

fcion in Sydney. This is the Australian residential light-weight championship, and it was competed for on Wednesday week by "Hea-bert" M'Coy and "Hock" lfeys. The contest—a keen one over twenty rounds—resulted in a draw, a decision that met with a hostile reception from a largo "house" in the Stadium, but which, judging from press reports, »p----penrs to havo been a correct one. Forward the Feathers! Some excellent sport is promised for tho end of this month when the local association proposes to hold a featherweight elimination tournament to decido upon on opponent to meet J. Hegarty for the championship of the Dominion in this class. The likely contestants, most of whom havo signified their intention of competing, are:—Ellis, Kcrr, Thompson, Welch (Wellington); Goodman (Otago); Robinson (Gisborno); Harris (Auckland); Pongelly (Christchurch); Burns (Australia). The conditions of tho tourney are:' First night: i preliminary bouts of sis rounds; 2 semi-finals of eight rounds (purse of ten pounds each bout). Second evening: Final of fifteen rounds between winners of semi-finals (purse of ,£35); three 6-round bouts between defeated competitors (purse of, £8 each bout). The association has decided to allow £5 expenses to outside competitors. WAS IT SO BAD? MR. ATACK'S RECENT CHARGES. Since the recent Australasian Amateur Championships "Mercury" has found occasion to comment upon the judgment of Mr. W, G. Atack, the manager of the Now ■ Zealand team, in passing certain strictures upon the refereeing of the contests in Sydney. This being so, it is only just that Mr. Atack's side of the argument should appear also, so "Mercury" appends some extracts from a lengthy article appearing in this week's "Canterbury Times" under, his signature, reviewing the meeting. The Case as Mr. Atack Puts It. Mr. Atack's case_ consists of two counts —one of gross mismanagement, and the other of, let us 6ay, incompetent judging and refereeing. Mr. Atack writes in his introductory remarks:— It was quite a common thing on the first night for a competitor to hold his opponent and hit him, or to hit, or attempt to hit, on the break. Roughing was unpleasantly conspicuous, but not, so far as I know, was a single competitor cautioned for any of these breaches of the rules. To be perfectly frank, I saw more dirty work at this competition than I have known in connection with all of the many, competitions I have attended, Then he sums up in this way:— Summed up, all this can be set out in tabloid form as follows:—(1) That while specified rules were laid down for the control of the ' competitions these were ignored in vital essentials; (2) that the rounds were not in accord- ■ once with the agreement, which provides for four three-minute rounds, whereas three of two minutes and one of three were permitted; (3) that hitting on tho break, holding, and hitting, and roughing, all breaches of the rules, were frequent and a conspicuous feature of the tournament; (4) that no supervision was exercised over the gloves or the use of hand bandages; (5) that the referee and the

timekeeper were on different sides of tho ring instead of being together; (6) that the three officials were, or had been, identified with professional sjwrt, and were not conversant with the rules governing the competitions.

It will be seen that Mr. Atack mixes up his two counts in his summarised protest, which is rather a pity. It is obyious that, with the conduct of the tournament, he has overy right for complaint, and it is to be regretted that he did not confine his criticism to this perfectly safo ground. This is a matter of fact and Mr. Atack would have been lacking in his duty had he not drawn attention to the decided laxness with which the meeting was managed. It is only through euch protests that a hif»h standard of management can be attained and maintained, and in voicing the disapproval of his association of anything tending to lower this standard, -Mr. Atack is deserving of the' thanks>of th'e N.Z.B.A. and kindred bodies. The Weak Point of It All. But the judging and referring comes under quite another head. This is not a question of fact, but one of opinion— the opinion, of Mr. Atack against those of the two judges and referee. Thore is only one rule that can apply here, viz., "The decision of the referee is final." It is possible that some of the decisions oy which members of the New Zealand team wero debarred from winning championships were incorrect, but in stigmatising these decisions ns "disgraceful" through the public press, Mr. Atack did not act-in the best interests of tho sport or of his association.