IN THE RING.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2181, 20 June 1914, Page 14

IN THE RING.

[fir ifEHCOEt.I UMPLEASSNT ALLEQATIONS. June 27.—World's Championship, John-iSo-n v. Moran, Paris. July 4.—World's Light-weight CJia-m* pionship, Ritchie v. Weish, London. July 22 and 2.3.—New Zealand ChamWanganui. The Ugly Gfy of "Faßet" Some five years ago the igly cry of "Fake!"was raised concerning a con* test, conducted by the Wellington Boxing Association. An inquiry hy the oxeeiitive ended in otie of ths pa.rtieip* ants ift the njateh being disqualified for lifo as far as the Nfiiv'Zealand ring is oonoernedj and, S'ttee that time, local boxing history has been free from blots. Now, lioiVevor, it unhappily sp.pears that the aanre cry'is again 'being raised. It is stated that tho O'Grady-Ha.ge-rty boatof last feefc was >not a .genu-iiia.con-test, and this report has become so insistent that the association is again faeel with tho disagreeable- hut itnpera* tivo necessity of conducting sin .inquiry. _ It is gratifying to note that t-l» association is not .skirkiiig this unpleasant dnty. At ..present ail. ■possible inquiry •is heixvg. made, and it can be' safely asWimed that whatever can be done eitter to prove or repudiate- ft© rumows will M dofio as thoroughly &n jiossihle. peiidrog the inquiry, "Mer-eu-ry" considers- th.e aifair stib jiidice, and oomiijent i$ out of place- at the present Imiistare. For the ttmo- hejngi, then., this un* ssavoury report is laid aside, but, before ■lea;V'rng. ths subject therfc is one fhtng that shsttld be made verjr -clear. This is that "Jim" Hagerty is in no. way im.pl&ated. Tiiere has been no ahsdow of doubt cast ii.poft.his bona fides. What* ,; oyer assertions ha*e heeii made about tfie some of. them ,ha?o heeii sweeping eiiotigh.—ft has newer beoit -sug* gested tjliat flagerty was a- party .to anyunfair dealings , With these remarks fcb« WTi'ter leaves the matter for the present. Same. Cry at ChrlstehWcrii Ih is an unfortunate coincidence that, at th?. very' time that the Wetiingten Association was in session and dealing with affasr, the Sports Oiiib was .gifting similar allegations. A'ecorclhig to a Press AssoekfiQi} .message published on- AX'ediiesday,, an hi-quirj was held the previous into the q-ireii'mst-aucea conaected with the emifest betiveeit W. Ireliaid,' of Wa.ipawa s and N. VtnnaUj of Citolst*' ehuroii, on Jane 1. As a result -Ireland has been ■ disqualified) presumably for reasons Indicated in the final sentence of the triegra.nl, flfhich states, baldly :—- "Members said tjve : fight Was 'faked.'" Ali tho time of writing rio particulars aire to hand, so this matter is ate? hold over for future comment. An Australian "dasslp,"' '' Particulars of the "Jeff 8 * , Smith* Olabby clash in Sytiney came, to hand by the week's Sydney mai'L They shew- that the contest was .a great cm;—one paper calls it a "classie"—and tha.t the crowd that attended was as big. as the o.eeasion. Over l,o,00& feoplb assefflbled at the Stadium to . seo the'disturbance, which was hilled as 'being':.for the World's n)iddle*we!}g : ht charopionship— a, desoription which, if a. trifle imaginative as to fact, must liavo eonio very- near the mark in theory. As a fatter, .of strict esaetmjss, it was an elitain-atioji -eaUf test between the, twa best a<:predited .of. the five- scKOgh&scii aspirants ,'for the middle-weight title, the other, three being "Eddie" M'G.oatty, M-iirrajv.aii4. .'Gibbonsi :, ~ was 1 a .meeting between t*a bjoii .'as. well .matched physically as It would bo possible to fina. Clarty had a- .slight handieat). to giv* in jhs matter ;of weight, .-hut a compensating advantage hrfeacb; Tho fbliawing 'hst'of'.iiseasuro.* ijieitts affords .material for comjiarrtsptl .of the 'physical equipment of the tivo gl'adJa'ters , '"'' i Jjilf S.mjtfc Jiiijmy Obbhy. ■! 'Sit, Bin Height SH. Sjiijc. ■ llstf. Sib, .„• Weight list." .'■ 23 yea.rs , Age 23 years Chest-* ■SlMm .',...,.„,.. Normal. fflm. 36.111.. >, Deflated .... 3vin. 45itt Expanded ... 4Sn. ' 31%, Waist ..„„.. 30in. Wita. ..w»ii....;}JJce.p".- : 13fiii. 13|ia. .»..„„„, Forearm ~.■.. iSi'n. &m Thigh 22fin, 14iin.; 5 ... dajf ~, 14.in, 7l«i- , Beach ' ?.2i«.. , The "Classic"-1-rt Progress, As to the battle—ii seems to have; goii-e- t©- twenty splendid' rounds- Jit lac*, for sotiw' tastes, it appear? to have partaken too liiiieli of tho Kght and spat-kiingi and not enoagii of the solid qualities of tfc game. ■ 'We read that, oil Several oceasions, a section of the crowd "counted out' ', the 'men for net getting in and "mixing it" to the of the back ■bimo'iica. The ducking and side-stepping of bath boxers must have beeii dazzling at tiKies. Fsaeh is a quick'and scientific hitter, yet, many a time, each "was made to miss by the other., by feet, %'hs "Bulletin" s«ys: "'l%s battle was abettet- one to wateh than to write sthtmt," and adds that it w*as "absortrifigiy c]evei%" It was. in; the eloso work that Stnith shone brightest, while dabby was the ■more 'aggressive and' scored best in long-range, boxing, but, apparently* whatever advantage th« latter gist in 'his respect Smith wiped off when he got in eidse. Vitt-ii two men well matched in bfi-xing ability and so equal in'other respects nwot, tlicre niusfe he a<great siiuih.ritr between the vaa'iwis rouhds, and parl-JBttlarly. is this. no wlrea neither -adopts any distinctive Method of -at" tack or (Wence, In ,the ;.p:res'f?nt. in* sta-iie.o neither appfaijs to have had aits' fet plan of wiinivaign to neutralise the olljcrVe attack. _ Eacl'^ phase of the bat - -- Mo v.*ii.S dealt with as it canie a1.61.tg and, as each maw dealt with the different phftsoa in j.nitsh the siiitte way a de- | tailed desoriptioil of the affair would, be | a, fflauotonows j' : e : petitioii of sbilfnl assaults and baffling ftiafes first by tho one and then by the, other. Who Won—Swl-th oip Clahbi:? So we wine.to the finish—-the decrstaii. As is hnown Referee Harald Baker gave the verdict in Smith's favoite, In tills lie has the andarseinei.rt of the majority of the newspaper ex* ports,' although sowej and som© of tlijj mono accredited of the critics, disagree with Win, Wf. Corbetf gays Olabby, Among these is Mr. W. F. Corbett. who writes;— My view of thft eontest was that' Clab'hy won, clearly' securing flse advantage ill 1.2, a'rid cvyniiig up matters in three rounds, which left ■Smith winning five ranndsj two at three of wltrelj went to his ?i'ei!it by nwch nwre than a shade—»a remark, which applies equally, correctly to tf 'Clabjiy's tchukls, and they woto perhaps even in that respect.' It sliflittil »ot he overlook* • wl that hftt for CWihy's agsressivßiiess tiiero inighfc not have been any heavy work at all in SMiue founds, and as the boxers tuidertook to provide a light, and pat- . ions of the gvirne looked for it, the ijoscr who fmc-wl mntt-ers whiie thft other «;is iilc'lhwd to stand off and box, was descrying of most' i-on-sifientiou at tfie. 'hands of the critic . m. Lawless Votes smith, 1 'Pet contra, the ''Referee's" report,

after detailing the battle- to tils end of the twelfth round, says:— ■Whatever claim on points dabby bad up to this, stage, tho remaining rounds undoubtedly made Smith the winner of the contest, for lio proved liiutsclf the cleverer boxer in every ■ moment of these rounds. . dabby was surpassed in scieiico during this period of the- ©nwuilter, and the decision k Smith's favour was almost ifflanimousiy endorsed. Tho details of all that happened dwihg the. cios* ing stages of this memorable, battle are hardly Heeqssary, It k sufficient, to say that the bettor man won, and .ho might prove superior ■mi every other meetings- tat the margin in Iris favour was not such as to prevent them again ■csniiag together, with prospect of a good battle. Tim "Bulletin" sidesteps. On turning to tho "Bulletin" for a tasting votSj We- fit-i-d that jguriiSl owupyihg a very uncharacteristic pose—more Or less balanced on a rail, in fact, first with a ieai-nii-g one -way, then with a leaning the other, atr.d. in the end a- sidostei) ot the point at issue. The -i ''Bulletin" tenvponses i-T I^--As usi].aJ. 5 the-.experts were divid* ed, 'ilia points m (favour of Smith werp those he gained for his clever fllusiveness. iSvi.min.eil up, it amount* e4 to this. Clwby attacked, and ; after the third round his attach was ill the main repulsed. Smith, haying repulsed, made counterattacks .' at close quarters, where much flf his ! best work was qwite in-visible except to those, fairly ctoss rottjid the ring. O'lshhy/s free and more open stylo ■ is -distinctly mere- attracti-vo and im* press-ive than Smith's. In the inaiji., ■iSmith fought n defsn-siv©. buttfe-. It was the battle with Eddie M'Qoo-rty over again, and, as: in thai fawous nieetiag., there was mighty little betweeh them, This writerg first im* pressioii was that CJabby should have received the verdict; 'but,, alter ft. b)ri«f examination .of the- .notes of each round, inclined to the belief that, if there was any-m&rglhi it ' was Smith's. It was a- splendid match to w v ateh, but, all the sam<r?, ' this must. be. stressed- it was far from being a decisive;.■battle. There, is at present fto indisputable mid- . dleweight champion-., ahd the erow'n seems to sit very insecurely on thestaiUesqjre head of Mr, Jeffries Staiii. Hot their: First Meeting, Before- leaving this contest, "Mercury" has to point p.;Ut that this Was not, as has been so often statcdof late, tho- first meeting betw'een Smith and. Gialihy. As has been ed : , in tM-S column, Miey met hi IS'ew stork in Juno, 1911, in 5 teiiffound, flo■decision bout, and emerged with honours easy, each claiming a win, VWw Cut Out Holland? . One- outcome of .the 'Smith-Qlabhy contest is i'hat the wfcne.r has beeii challenged tsy Fritz Holland, the middle* weight, who was recently brsught out ' by -''Tommy'' Barns. Poland haf heeii- ' neglected fey Hie Stadium £eaple : ill the most inexplicable manltef.' lowing, the. thr-eji moitths. ho has been ih Australia ho' 'has been given only -byo, rnatehes, ■ against Rttoa and M'&iniick; .(each of ■whom ho defeated .fia.sityj, 'Siid ftis despite tho fact that he ha.s ft .good «* edrd against good man, So has heateri "BIMv" Murray, Frank MaiWl ■ (who boat '"B%" I'iipke}* too. Ho.uchv m&t & Paris, 1&. tsse'd a tev:eiftS''ro"(ind draw with "Jeff" Sniith. ' ; • Sinjh is Fritz Holland, and .ttfoj-p). said frife has confeltin?-? &>M\ ability is cvideteoed by ths fflflt that ■lelige to Smith feonteuis a l winnSr-tiiKe-afl'' clause.- Ijolland wail-is nothtofo |ut.. hk'opjrojtu-ttiityj aiidit-caiifto:!; be deniod that hs has- -earned the right to ask for ■it, I