BOXING

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 220, 11 June 1920, Page 8

BOXING

UREN &ND VOLAIRE DRAW

A STUBBORN BATTLE

DIVERSITY OP TACTICS

A very good night's entertainment was given to the spectators who came through rain and mud to the Town Hall last night to the series of boxing matches thero under the management of the Wellington Association. The big event of tho evening was a fifteen-round gontest between Eugene Volairo, a French pugilist, who has had some success in Australia and in New Zealand, and Havilah Uren, brother to the champion, Tommy Uren, tho winner of the last big match contested in Wellington. Referee Tim Traeey declared the result a draw. The docision was received with quite enthusiastic disapproval of the big crowd but it could quite easily be justified. The battle went the full distance without either mnn showing any of the marks of conflict, and neither man was at all distressed at the end of the final round; Each man had fought his own contest after his own tactics, and as tho tactics were widely dissimilar the deduction must be that neither of them had any marked superiority. The Two Men. Tho two men stripped in superb condition. The specified weight was 9st. 91b., and both made it easily. Then scaled 9st. CVlb., and Volaire, 9st. ,71b. But Uren is a 6lim lad. wearing liis muscle symmetrically distributed,, whereas Volairo iB short, with a thick neck and bunched muscles on 'back and shoulders. The Frenchman excels in in-fighting, and it was his plnn always to get breast to breast with his opponent, there to wrestle and drive with 6hort arm blows for the body or less often for thto head.. Uren had to keep his man out to have a chance, and so soon as he made up his mind to Mep out, which was after somo Half a dozen rounds, hfci did just as well as his more powerful opponent, , Tho tendency of the onlooker mostly is to award the palm to the forceful combatant, the man who makes tho pace. Most of the audience appeared to acclaim Volaire -the winner on this ground last _ night. As a matter of fact he did bore in continuously, but if he had not done so there would have been no contest at all. The Frenchman was no match for his younger opponent at long range. So it was that TJren gave ground always. If' would have been the height of folly and very bad tactics for him to have waited until the clever little.Frenchman ducked or smothered in under his guard, and then proceeded to wrestlo and hit closa in. Uren would have, wasted his strength in such an affair, and would h'ave been beaten without a doubt. He was able to keep the Frenchman out for a good part of the second half of the affray, so that Volaire failed to show any mastery. In clean hits recorded the Australian boy had a distinct advantage, and, furthermore, whilo the Frenchman compelled him to give ground, it was Uren who did most of the leading with the gloves, and a sur- 1 prising number of his leads landed. Of course, it must be admitted .that the only man that looked like having a chance of winning by a knock-out at any. stage of the contest was Volaire. He was the .more forceful boxer, and he had the greatest reserve of strength. Wherefore many in tho crowd did not agree with the referee's verdict of a draw. It was a quite fair verdict. Decision in such a contest is , a matter, for an expert only • to give* wfEF confidence, and even then it must Tie a matter of individual taste. Not once in tho whole contest did Tracev have to say ono word to either "mnn. Both men were scrupulously fair, and each in turn showed no anxiety tn profit by such accidents as a slip by his opponent. Amateurs often do not show such good sporting spirit. How They Fought. Uren boxed with the right foot advanced, and with the right hand leading. Volaire stands for the most part squarely to his opponent, swinging head or shoulders in feints, and ready to hit with either hand as opening offers. Last night Uren often put the right on Volaire's faco, but more often missed, His most damaging blow was a quick follow with tho left after his right lead, and this blow, coming from tho hip upwards, was always aimed at the jaw, and it very oftan landed there. Volaire had his glove covering tlifc vulnerable spot on most occasions, but this shot came in at least fifty times in the contest, and Uren landed a great many times in the hour's engagement. Volaire was always the stronger, and always dangerous, so that Uren had to be ceaselessly watchful. He showed tl« greatest agility in getting out of reach, and his stops to Volaire's blows were remarkably clever. He was beaten most often by. a right overarm blow to the side of the head. But the ■ little Frenchman was amazingly clever and resourceful in getting past that outstretched righit, and even in stopping or ducking the following left. Onco in close quarters he was the younger man's master. The supremacy was not complete, because Uren got out of most of the clinches as he liked, and quite often he had tho best of tho exchanges even at closo quarters. Wonderfully the, Australian stood up to tho hard work in the wrestling clinches, when tho strained muscles of both contestants showed hnw keen was the struggle for a position from which a damaging blow could be driven to lir-ad or body. Volaire's most dangerous hand is his right. He can hit from any position with either hhnd, as any good boxer must, but all the blows delivered with real sting were rights. Two or three of them were upper cuts, and the rest wero hooks or swings. Not one of tho hard ones landed, but some quite smart swings or hooks hit jaw and head, and he did somo heavy pummelling on Uren's diaphragm. The younger man's breathing muscles were ni perfect trim, however, and none of this »ody hitting seemed to distress him at all. Tracey was Right. Any description of tho contest would be tedious. Thore was not one startling incident in the whole affair. Volaire aimed to manoeuvre his man into a position which made a rush in a safe venture, and often when he did this he scored a slight advantage. Two or three times ho scored a very marked advantage, but not one of these occasions was in tho latter half of the contest. Uren gayo ground always, except when he eamo in to lead, and. he led at least, twice as much as Volaire. In criticism of Tracey's decision it may be well for critics to remember ono of tho : rules for the guidance of referees"lf points (iro otherwise equal, consideration is giiven to tihe man who docs most lending." Volaire forced the pace, but boring-in is not lending, and whilo he showed a lot of cunning and not a little resource in feinting with head sometimes, causing Uren to hit a foot wide of the mark, his cleverness in (lliis branch of defence did not wholly nullify IT.ren's hading. Also the Australian showed no little skill in stopping the Frenchman when ho threw out a lend, and 'lie excelled in setting out of reach. It must be renioim bored also that boxing is not a trial of strength of endurance principally, but a trial of skill. There never could havo been any doubt ns to which of the two contestants looked file more dangerous, but tho referee is not entitled to take into his reckoning' possibilities of what miffht bave happened in a glov# fight to a finish. There was never a wide margin at any timo between Oho two men Volaire had a distinct ndvantayo at thd conclusion of tho seventh round, for up to t.his time he had won t.wn rounds decisively, and had h»d a alight advantage in one other, Uren had hud slight advantages in two, and there was nothing for either contestant in (te other two. At this stage Uren soemed to come to his decision to fijrlv l : tor room at any cost, and H succeeded in keetiinsr cut. After* that he won Ute majority of the rounds, or ralher lis won more thnn his opponent, for there wero roucdrf not won bv either of Wieni. i The Pollmlnnries, I The preliminaries wero lively and Interesting, if not always skilful. Tho referee for the amateurs was Mr. R, Stewart. j Llght-wtights. E. Nixon, Sat. - 41b., drew with B. •

S Daley, 9st. 41b. They were a vigorous pair, and each of -them, especially Nixon, .'tore great holes in the air with swings which never touched the solid anywhere, e Daley had a straight left which hn pueh- >- cd rather than struck on Nixon's face 3 very often. In the last round he scored i a clean knock "down. Nixon rested for ' six. Neither man did much to deserve a 1 win ' Feather-weights. B V. Kerr, Bst. 101b., drew with J. •H. , Carr, 9st. 31b. This, was <m excellent i bout. Cnrr had the Advantage of , and strength, nnd Kerf in height . and j reach. The tall man's gamewas to box • nt long range, and at this work ho was : tho master. Carr bored in clevcrly, and j hit hard on the bod} with either hand. > Carr had a lead up to the fourth round, but Kerr won in the fifth very clearly, i Q. Cnrran, Bst, DJlb., beat' E. Mor- • gan, Bst. 121b. This was a lively inix-up. i but not a very interesting one. They ; were not a hard-hitting or very venturo- , eome pair. • ■ , i Harry Holmes, an Australian light- . weight, was introduced to the crowd, I nnd the announcement made, that it was i hoped to match him in Wellington. It ■ was also announced that the winnor of tho Volaire-Uren match (this was before the match) would bo matched with Digger Evans or Macario, the Filipino.