IN THE RING.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1872, 4 October 1913, Page 12

IN THE RING.

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BKETOHEB OF MORAN & WBLLB. , i J - j Owon Moran'a career. v By far the most interesting battle c in Australia 6ince tho meeting of Burnß 8 and Johnson fivo years ago was tho t Wolls-Moran contest at Sydney Sta- i dium last Saturday night. Two of c tho three foremost English light-weights of tho day, each has a splendid record. Moran, the older of ,the two, has some splendid professional performances -tb his credit in America, his greatest being his knock-out of Battling Nelson. Born to the English style of boxing, his stay in America led him to adopt Yankee methods to some extent, though not at the expenso fo his natural cloverness and pace. For so light a man, ho is a stinging, powerful hitter—he picked up that part of his ring-work m America. Tho English Produot Wolls. ; Wells, on the other hand, is a purely English product, albeit ho is one of ' the Chosen Race. Starting his pro- ' fessional career, in 1909 he soon stopped into tho full glare of public notice by 1 easily defeating Freddie Welsh for tho Championship of England. His marked superiority on this occasion raised not a few fond hopes that tho old hand ' had at last produced ono capable of winning world s championship honours. But, falling a victim to an attack of erapsipalis (from which ho nearly received the final count) ho was out of the ring for months.- His displays over since—up to the time of his present trip to Australia at least—havo been far beloTj bis best. Ho was beaten pointless by Packy M'Farland in a tonround bout. Against Mehegan, at the National Sporting Club, ho lost on a foul. Then followed a defeat by Welsh, and an extremely doubtful win over Mehegan in their return battle. His two", battles in Australia seem to indicate,' however, that tho effects of his illness have at last, worn off. Foreoast That Camo Truo. Though the cabled acoount of Saturday's contest was brief, it was sufficient to indicate that his cleverness, at any rate, is at its old level. To be nearly knocked out in the first round, and then to win on points,.-is a splendid achievement against such an opponent as Moran. The following forecast of tho affair by "Solar Plexus," of tho "Reforee," was wonderfully correct: — As I have not seen Owen Moran with the colours up, it is, of course, difficult for me to forecast how he will shapo. But, on his showing on Thursday afternoon, I am satisfied that Owen is even faster than Matt, and that he still possesses the mighty thump with his right hand that has made him famous. Still, I fancy Wells will prove just a shade the better man, and win . the verdict, under tho belief that he is a better defensive boxer than Moran. In any case, I am sure it will bo a wonderful contest. The Man Who Did Not Train. , Sid Burns, of England, probably wishes to-day that he had devoted a littlo less timo to pleasuro and a great deal more to training than he has been doing of late. Against Arthur Evernden at tho Stadium a fortnight ago his skill as a boxer was pitted against his own lack of condition, and the latter 1 was an easy winner. This, together with tho hard hitting of his opponent, brought matters to a close in tho tenth round, at which stage Refereo Arthur "Scott stepped in just ahead of the towel. The loser's ordoal was prolonged by pointed remarks in the newspapers, and tho "Referee" counsels promoters in those terms: —"Saturday night's contest shows how very necessary it is for Mr. Baker, or someone from tho Stadium, to regularly visit tho different training camps, in order to make sure that tho men are doing justice to themselves in thoir work. It might be well for the promoter to include in a clause in the articles of agreement between tho men, and also in. tho contract, to the effect' that any neglect in tho preparation will incur somo specified penalty." How to Tell the Untrained. Tho writer of the above, in his remarks on the contest, mentions an occurrence which led him to change his views as to the probable result of the fray, and his observations (so clearly borno out in tho battle itself, are not only a tributo to the keenness of his vision, -but also a revelation of what ono might call some of the anatomical mysteries of the game. Says he:— Burns, against his much inferior opponents on Thursday last, showed out as well as ever. He was fact and cloverer, though lenient to - a degreo. Yet it was a very small thiug that made mo change my mind as to the ultimate result of his meeting with Evernden. Usually when a boxer is in perfect condition and receives a blow on the face, on tho part struck a bright red patch will show, only to disappear immediately, thus proving that his blood is circulating freely. But if the recipient of the blow is not thoroughly well, tho red patch will remain somo timo. It was so in tho case of Burns, who left tho ' ring after his bouts with Jack Dunleavy and Young Warner with a very red-looking face —a euro indication that his circulation was not all that perfect condition demands. Smith ani- tho Surgeon. Tho operation on Dave Smith'B throat —removal of tho tonsils —was successfully performed, and he is now well on tho road to ruddy health. Meantime tho postponement has but whetted the public appetite for tho battle with Pat Bradley, and the Sydney papers devote a good deal of space to forecasts of the result. Generally speaking the public wero not altogether impressed witib the IriSh-American's showing against Joromo, but a fair number rely on his ruggedness and his wonderful punch. Tho man who runs against it knows he has beon hit. Or porhaps it would be more correct to Bay that he doesn't know—there are two ways of looking at it. Ellis Dollshts the Crown. Frank Ellis, of ours, goes on making friends in Australia. In his latest battle—that with Togo Lyonß, he delighted tho spectators by tho speed, ' vigor, and variety of his work, some thinking that ho should have secured : the verdiot. Lyons boxed with . the . bis defence being creditablo, and the j manner in which ho used liis left in tho i opening rounds, and again in tho last . fow rounds, helped him to secure a > draw." i Another Soalp for Murphy. [ At Wanganui last Friday night Donny Murphy and Bob Byrnes, of . South Australia, tried conclusions for s a purso of £70 and tho Welter-weight I Championship of New Zealand, before 1 a fair houso. Tho Wakofielder attackf cd from the jump, displaying great • cioverncss, but not great enough to : break down tho Wellington boy's guard. 1 Up to tho eighth session Murphy boxed ' very carefully, oontonting himself with p keeping tho other man out. His own confined to a fow straight lefts, which more often than not wero wasted on Byrno's elbows or tho back of his head. In tho eighth, however, r Murphy opened out. and soon had his man iu trouble. Ilia ninth irao the

last, Byrnes going down for eight to a loft and right. Up again ho was sent to the boards onoo inoro, this time for tho full ton seconds. " Alfred the Croat." The battle between tie two Alfs— Bromwich and Gault—-took place at Auckland on Monday night last, and for this time at any rate, Bromwich was " Alfred the Great." _ It was a contest between a boxer with a gotid straight left and one whoso stocK-in-trade was a hefty right, and as usual when tho right does not connect sufficiently hard, the left won.