IN THE RING.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2211, 25 July 1914, Page 16

IN THE RING.

CBi Mbecdet.]

> VIVE LA FRANCEI By his defeat of Gunboat Smith, unsatisfactory though it was in one respect,' Georges Oarpentier comes further, into the limelight—this time as the greatest of the "white hopes." ' A win by -means'-of a foul is at anytime an - unsatisfactory sort of business, and in this . particular case the dissatisfaction is heightened by the accounts cabled, subsequent to the encounter. "Gunboat's" rough house tactics early in the bout brought him into disfavour with thi crowd, but there seems to be no doubt that the blow which caused his disqualification was anything but intentional, and there even seems to bo ail opinion that under the circumstances it .was a practical impossibility on his part to prevent its landing. Carpentier leading, missed Smith, and fell to his knees, in which position he received the blow. When Carpentier missed, Smith evidently started to lead in return. TJhe statement that the pictures show him to have started the blow, aud then attempted to prevent its landing, point to the fact that once Carpentier fell, Smith, realising that his blow would bo a foul, attempted to. stop, but couldn't. Ring Tactics. When Carpontier fought Wells, he forced the pace from the jump, knowing well how to upset his opponent's thinking apparatus. Against a heavy puncher and a cool witted one like Smith, ihis- would probably prove his undoing, and ho changed his plans accordingly. Standing oif, he waited the onslaught, but once- it came he was not backward in meeting it, hitting at long range or at close quarters as the occasion demanded. The cabled report records some telling work on both sides, , and it is very difficult to say who would have come out victorious'had the battle gone the full course."Twenty Torrid Rounds.", In,these words the ''Referee" heads its account of the Saylor-Shugrue contest, and a perusal of the accounts makes'one agree thoroughly ,with the summing up. Fresh spell Saylor was in the pink of condition, and Shugrue too seemed tuned up to concert pitch. A clever boxer and a hard hitter too, Shugrue is also possessed of an infinite capacity for taking punishment. From start to finish though he made full use of his clever footwork, doicking and blookingi.. When Saylor led ho led back; when Saylor rushed after him hot-footed, swinging those fearfully long, arms of his, Snrugrue came 'into meet him, taking all that his opponent could give. and returning it with interest. When they got in o close, ,it was he as much as Saylor who landed the telling blows. ■What each man received in the first six rounds wa3 more than most other light-weights would care to take in the full twenty rounds. But still they kept; on, the "house" rocking with excitement the while. Saylor boxed better, perhaps, than he, did in any of his previous Australian battles, but ho had met his master—a man every bit as mighty a hitter as himself, and a far better boxer to boot. Not a single dissenting voice was heard when Harold Baker indicated Shruyrue as tho winner. ' . - The' Tables Turned. Flushed with his recent great victories Kid Lewis fought his return' battle with Herb M'Coy on July 11. M'Coy, after a careful preparation and a week's maesago treatment, boxed in his best form, but Lewis, albeit, he foiight'the better of the two during tho last three rounds, appeared to bo somewhat stale. The Englishman, as. usual, did his best work at long range, but M'Coy, clever boxer as> he undoubtedly is, relied on his work at close quarters, and the result justified his. tactics. His next opponent , will be Hughie Me- , . began, whom 'he will meet at the Stadium on August 8 for the light-weight championship of Australia. After that ho will.possibly.be re-matched with Saylor and Shrugrue. Wins in these three matches will put M'Coy well in lino for a matdh with Welch for the world's'championship. .Ellis Again. v ' ; At the Olympia Stadium'the .other night Frank'Ellis.'gained what is probably his most, important win,to.. date, ■namely, a victory over the clever' American feather-weight,. Johnny: Shiff, ■ whom he-.outfought"so ■decisively that the '.'towel -was -skied" iu.'th'e eleventh round. This victory, lends additional interest .to the possibility'that Ellis and ■ Hagerty may. bo. matched in Wellington before the close' of the present season, ; Over. - here, in days gone, by, Hagerty was always too good for the Wellingtenian, but Ellis has improved won- • derfully during his sojourn in Australia. The. Wellington Association would put its finances on a very sound foot- .. ing if it could arrange this match. The Stadium' Fracas. ~ ■ Serious.newsis it that the latest outbreak of rowdyism. at the Sydney Sta- , dium' should be such as to cause the Colonial' Secretary of New South Wales to utter threats of taking decisive steps if anything similar occurs in the future. Once start that latent hooliganism and it is hard to say where it will stop. The spark was set to the train on the occasion of the "Sapper" O'Neijl"Joe" Welling contest, and bad as that exhibition of utter lawlessness was, it must surely have been.something far worse last Saturday night when the crowd let loose its disapproval of tho decision in favour of Fritz Holland in his battle with Les Darcy. 1 According to last week's Australian files, extraordinary interest was being evinced in the match. Holland is well known to readers of this column. Darcy is a young Maitlander who has come to the front with.-a rush and who is considered to bo one of the best middleweights produced in _ Australia of recent years. As showing how much interest was being,taken in this match ■it. was stated that no fewer'than three special trains would bo put on.io bring to Sydney the crowd of Newcastle miners who were desirous of seeing it. It 1 .is.inot probable that, the miners.were responsible for- the disturbance, for the average miner is too much of a real enthusiast for any branch of sport to descend to ruffianism. Rather it would eeom that the outbreak came from that class of parasite which attaches to any sport that , becomes popular—the largemouthed, empty-headed individual whose only argument is an invitation tn bet.'' ■:..". The same class has been making itself obnoxious of late in connection with the only other sport that rivals boxing in the estimation of Sydneyites —League football. With it .the game is asuiothing, the money everything.. It ' is not , the class that supports its fancy with the'modest, wager, class that' owes its disgraceful existence to and fattens, on the enthusiasm: of others. Sydney has no monopoly of it —witness tlie .riots common-, enough in Melbourne football a year or two bnck —but the-rather more than- 'healthy -.Sydney-enthusiasm for boxing and League football lias .caused it temporarily, at anyrnte, to be moro notice- , 'aljlo tliiin in any other, part of the Commonwealth.' The only remedy is the infliction of the 'severest penalties ; possible 1 on all caught in; the act of making wagers in the Stadium.