IN THE RING.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1710, 29 March 1913, Page 12

IN THE RING.

(By "Mercury.") SMITH-O'DONNELL BATTLE. April 9.—Amateur Tournevs, Dannevirke 'and Palmerstqn North, o . April 30.—Ellis v. T. 'l'liciupson. Tha Non-tactics of Thompson, Wellington Boxing Association's en■deavour to assist tho Citucus' Carnival Executive 'in its good' work met with a very fair measure of. success on Tuesday night. For the popular prices charged the'sport submitted to the MOO patrons present was good value, even' if the big event on the card fell a. trifle short of expectations. That it did so was no fault of the association's, and certainly n-> i'.iiilc o f .Frank Ellis's. "Wherefore it is plain that the fault lay with tho other principal, "Tommy'' Thompson. hit extenuation of tho ofiender's shortcoming, however, it can le urged that, in a boxing match, each p.-rticipant can bo just as gopd as his opponent will let liiiu, provided always tint each is a "tryer:" Thompson was undoubtedly a "tryer," but endeavour, however earnest, cannot always.command and thus, it was in t}iis case. . There are boxers whq can lose, and, in losing, put up a gretty display, tihat makes even a one-sided cpiitest interesting insomuch that it brings out .the wiles and that constitute the defensive tactics of such'a ibqxeV- Thompson is not one of these. Ui.s chief dtfpustve tactics, if they can be called tactics, consist of a not always effective sm.ther and \a stern resolve 'to get into, a clinch whenever his defective footwork fails "to get him out of a difficulty, which on Tuesday night was/Tory often. It will thus' be tljat for Thompson to sliow to advantage lie must always be, the aggressi.r. Tp do b ltu justice he tries hard to 'achieve this end,'but here again on Tuesday his lack of variety in attack : brought'"his''good intentions to naught. Of durability and pluck he bas enough aiid tq' spare, but of knowledge of 'the .finer"points ' :>f drawing his man and making openings for the successful application of his' favourite right swing,, the less said the better. lu. short, until he learns these finpr points and realises that a punch, however solid, is only effective when it lan(ls," lie iyi.ll find that Ellis, and any, other boxer with' similar footwork and equal knowledge of what is generally ,ki\qwn as "ring tactics," will always be his master.

Thompson's Conqueror. Of-'Ellis' there is not much to he said that has not been written of his tormcr displays locally! '. He got his opionent's measure very early. 'Realising that it was only matter of keeping clear of Thomp- ■ son's miich-vaunted "dirty right" to make victory a certainty, he wis not call-, •ed upon to. show 'us of hid best.- Mostly he was absent when the punch arrived. Either he was, out 'of distance, in wlucu case he got intp' t'hp ppening left and sent' in a series of jolts' and. nooks until tnp inevitable clinch called for a halt, or elsa lie nullified the, swing by. stepping inside it and unloading the jolts i-.nd nooks, etc., ns before. In either case tlie end was'a clinch. 'In fact the contest was mostly clinch. ; ■ , , Certainly Ellis can do bet.cr than he showed on Tuesday.' Whether, or :.uot Thompson', can he will have an opportunity of proving on Ap.ril 3P, when the -iiir co.su?" together agair^qt .

Tho 1 ljiy Stage Fright. Ixmts—the tfetr q£ Keeping tfie v "house" amused until" the Big' event was -started. .In . th? '-Jfltfln, they were s certain.. ' "Hamlet"— hiijny,' lyitfyput lftejng vulgar. In three of the'contests thebpxprs engage 4 appeared well beaten by a,n'opponent not mentioned on the programme—viz., stage fright. Jii each'of' IhpsA. cases the one least punby.t}iis dread ad secured the victory, but it is hard to believe that the display was a true index pf tho, capabilities of ( tlie 'varsity men. . In all probability anV ono.'o.f the university. pairs''engaged "'-'ooinld- put' .up n very . lively . and' speotaculaf ■ contest in the gymnasium, but the glaxe of tho footlights and the presence, "of that'critical two ■ thousand .was too petrifying in its effect. For this reason further criticism -is withheld. , Tho two, more ■ hardened of the yictoria College representatives—Stewart and D.udspn—showed ' t<) better advantage.. Tlje former Vveat his niau .taidily, [but showed only glimpses o.fhis' provincial and New Zealand championship, form| while Dadson, although'beatpni put up a dogged and. plucky battle ejgqinst hi? s pleverer and equally dogged iffld nlupky. opponent. Smith and O'Ponpell .a,'' Great '"House." For reasons b.fst knoiyn to, himself, the cable jn«n kept i\s' in iguorsiijc'e of 'the result of . the battle for; the. light '.heavy-weight championship of Australia'at the Stadium on March 16.5 Tho result was awaited here witbsohte impatience, while, in Sydney,. the interest taken in tho affair w'us.' tremendou-v-no less. ' '• ■ As pre,of whereof is the fact that o,n the coijvineing_ night $ crowd of 15,OdO—a ''gate"- which,'with' the single exception of the pro,wd—beats all Stadium re.corcls to date—gathered to see the avg'u.nient scitletf. "Froiiv all' accounts it w;as werth it. Graphic Summary of the Battle. . .The. paper reports are in describing the contest as' one of the most 4 8S « ri pU9fl. The displays of sc'je(iee ant( lia.vd,' accurate hitting from both men were very -fine, and the fortunes of fw fluctuated from, to, sp, rapidly thqt excitement was up 'to 'the tppraost pitch all 'throueh the thirteen rounds of thp, %ttle. B.ut let [ the "Biille.tin' ' tell the story in its characteristic vein thus.:— ' " ' .-

Tts fight between "Dave" Smith . '"JLes"- U'DpnneU was clVarapteiised by ' pltipk apd endurance. tlmt wade it Wis of the. Sydwr Stadium's njojsi'stirring battbs. That an unusual meet-, ing y[as. e-vpected was lUflde plain by tho crj,,y4 which'attendedthe great cnclosura was (absolutely' packed. had the benefit of difference of abo'nt 51b'. iri the weights. The .fight started with a . bound and went wita a rush. men,-were evidently in perfect' form., The slogging ;vi;«Vs Ueayy, too, but''.up till the 10th round it would havo been hard to say fig'htejf had tliei advantage. It . was a Dottle calculated to a' sympathetic soul woep for the referee. Bnt'in 'ha 10th a Sadden.change o'?r the- 'scaped' Smith got Sojne 1 a, fow, .that knocked a lot of ~ the stamina out' of O'Donnell; and then sent in a couple-that hailed . him against the ropes, ilo reUnnded, to fall and stay, down for nine seconds';' staggered up, to meet one on chin that caused him to sink to his knees * for another nine; then he got up and fought like a tiger at bay. •'. But Smith never gave him . a moment's respite and crowded right ,in, hurling blo.vs'all the while. One' of cau o O.'Donnell on the cliin, aiid sprit bim staggering across the ' ring. Smith came down like a blizztv'rd; but, O'DoiuieU wont to r meet -Kim. Another right lum; ,a sho.vgr of blows literally b«it hini to tho floor. But he, got ap again, aiid oaipe' back-' ' still unwnquered. Another sliower. of blows hikl a vicious uppercut roclced hirii, and a he-ivy righr floored , him for the fourth time in the sarno round; but the gong saved him. "To slay that tho' cron-d went mad convoys nothing. It howled. Tho way O'DpjuKll pullpd himself together during tho minuto's respite was 6im- : ply marvellous. He. came out and at- . •tacked Smith-with dodged grit. But he was dono; so when ho slipped in the 13th, apparently from sheer weakness, Inspe-t<rr Matthews called a holt; and Smith, of cijm-se, was de-, elared tho. winner. It was an amazing fight, and if O'Donnell can bring his skill to tho same high standard as his grit and stamino—well, he's a worldbeater, easily. Is it Apollo Belvidere? Apropos of the "Bulletin"—this journal does not often run to extremes in its estimates.'of'fighting men—even (he Australian variety —but it certainly does thrcv bouquets at cne. in its last issue to hand, as witness— "An Australian boxer of whom the world ia likely to hear much more in the near

future is Gordon C'oyiJ!, the artilleryman, fresh from the amateurs, he lias had only three fights, and won them all in short order. On Wednesday night last week he smashed up Dwars in less than halt a round, and did it eo thoroughly with Ihree blovs that it was several minutes before fc'wars realised what find happened. The iiew-cauier is of the llace style, shoulders' square' and head thiown well back. Ho hits like lightning, and tho force of Lis blow is as the kick of, a mule. But ho will have a bod time Sf ever he attains cha npionship honours: ho will bo hunted to death by wild women. Ilis physique is easily the most handsome ever steal in Sydney' Stadium, while his action is the acme of eatsy grac-;. Asa specimen of Australian maiihood somebody ought to take hini to, Xelso.i lllingworth, and have him cast in brquze before his ring glories dower him with u broker nose and a bad oar or two." '

How the Poor Bombardier Went Down. Last week "Mercury" had regretfully to deal with, the inglorious first appearand on his se:pnd American trip of Bombardier Wells. Then we had the bare fact tl at l?e been knocked out in the second round to go on, bit tlio Australian mail brings fuller particulars of the disaster. The' Independent Cable , Association report •litis: With a stiff right on the noint Gunbpat Smith outed "Bombardier Wells in the second round. Wells had considerably, the best of the fight during the first round, jabbing his left repeatedly into Smith's face, and, blocking his opponent's attempts to couater. Coming from his corner for the. second term, Wells was confident and smiling, but Smith was distinctly in a quandary'. He rushed iu wildly, aqq hooked a left tp the head, and then, landed a right swing. Wells took five of the count, and was dazed when he got on his feet again. Smith tppk advantage of Wells's weakness, and hooked left, right, and left in quick order to the head. Then he reached his opponent witli another stinging light, and Wells went down for nine. He struggled to his feet, but was unable to raise his hands. Smith stepped in ouickly, anil sent his man out, as stated. It was fully ten minutes 'jeforo Wells recovered. I The result was a surprise, as "Wel|s completely outpointed and outboxed Sniith the opening session. No one ' thpught tliiit Smith' could' possiblv win, biit his rushing tactic? and swift work with both hqpds nonplussed tho Britisher. '

Australian's Death in Wisconsin. Says an.American cablegram, dated last Sunday \yeek:—. N.Qy( York, March 18. "Jim" Hal!, formerly middle-weigut champion boxer of Australia, died yesterday at Steven's foint, Wisconsin, Ho liad been , suffering from tuberculosis. ■ "Jim" Hall was born in Australia in July, ISGS/and was one of tfyo most brilliant fighters that country ever turned out. But he developed consumption, aud )i&s been dying for some time. jfears ago, the doctor' said he was suffering from the disease, and Kb dropped out of the game, but" appeared, to get strong ana well, again. • Brit, h? lived a very carets?, life after this, and about two .'nd a half ago was arrested in Omaha charged with vagrancy, and was siveu the alternative of clearing out nf .the state or going to gaol. From that tiwo until now. very little has been heard <jf Vim. His career as a pugilist was a noteWorthy) one. In August, 1892, lie knocked put Ted Pritcliard for the middle-weight championship of England and .£200.0, the light four rounds.. Bob ■ '!?i'tzsimmoils beat him a year later in four rounds (or, an alleged >580® purse; and in the same year he knoeked out Fi'ank slav'.ii jn seven .'rounds, and met Peter .Mailer, who once. held .tls heavy-weight championship of the world. Hall ulso lost to Joe: Cho'ynski in 13 rounds, and later oq }n three session's. Ho fought several important battles in Australia before gomir to America; and on one occasion got a verdict there over Bob I'itzsimmons, u'tlioiigh there was some question about' tlie genuinemss of the Hall was -.ft. osin.' in height. ' '

The World's -.."Feddersi" , , A world's championship contest is arranged-, for April " 35 at' Los Angeles, when "Johnny" Dundee qnd "Johnnv" Kilbane, the holdet', will ineet for the feather-weight titlp. Knocked Out!' . . j "Billy"- Shields, the Palmerston North ex-amateur, was kriflclfed o.ut in Svduev recently, in , the seventh round, '!iy "TheoV Burns, whose inglorious contests with Ji Hegarty in Wellington and Christchvtrclj- last season \yill be renumbered locally. is a bad start ■in .the mo-' Sessional ranks for Shields. '