SPIRITED BOXING

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 12, 9 October 1943, Page 6

SPIRITED BOXING

Central Military Command Championships

The fitness of men of the Central Military Command was demonstrated in the spirited work seen at the coniniand s boxing championships at the Winter Show buildings last night. The tournament, arranged by the Army Education and Welfare Service, was well staged by the Wellington Boxing Association. A crowd of 400 fe thoroughly enjoyed the bouts w>ii c li, if there was not much science, had plenty °^The S refereeing was shared by Captain PG. Thomson and Mr. P. .Stone. The Judges were Captain Davidson and Mr. W. 1. Sommerville. Captain C. L. Mullany was ail The n fina'ls will be decided tonight, and the winners will represent the Central Military Command at the Services boxin 0 championships at Auckland this month, at which Navy, Army and Air Force representatives will compete.

Middleweight: J. Arnold. 11.3 proved too fast and clever for W. Newton, 11— Arnold piled a good straight left and showed neat footwork. He put Newton down for nil ? with a well-placed right to the face in the first round, and dealt out such heavy punishment in the second round that the referee, called a halt. B. Griffin. 10.7. outpointed M. Tracey, 11.3. in a whirlwind contest. Grillin threw leather from all angles, and had Tracey down for eight in the first round, and seven in the third witlr heavy switi„s. Tracey made a game fight. W Parker. 11.5, outpointed T. McKoy, 10.13, in a willing contest. Parker used both hands to good effect, and had the better of willing exchanges, which greatly pleased the crowd. Welterweight: Jim Griffin, 10.1, the wellknown professional 'boxer, proved pinch too clever for Tos. King, 10.9, a Maori lad. Griffin did as he liked with his opponent, and was so superior that the referee, Mr. Phin Stone, called a halt about haltway through the first round. Lightweight: A. Beere, 9.1 f, outpointed I. McClure, 9.9, in a dull bout by virtue of doing most of the leading. Light-heavy weight: A. J. Birchfield, 11.13, with the advantage in height and reach, proved himself a good two-handed boxer in beating W. Kuiti, 12.2 who recently returned from the Middle East. Kuiti far spent in the third' round when the referee called a halt. A C. Gregory, 11.3. beat R. Vance,, l-.u, in a bout which did not last one minute. Gregory got to work with a heavily-loaded right to the head, and, repeating the blow, put his man down for the full count. R. Winstnnley, 11.10, knocked out 'I. Mason, 11.12, in ;a. sensational contest. Mason, with the advantage in height and reach, had the better of the first two rounds, and had his man down for short counts in both rounds with well-timed rights to the head. Winstanley, however, staged a great come-back in the last«round. and, using his right hand well, dropped his man for the full count two seconds before the final gong. In the semifinal there was prolonged cheering when the 4-G-year-old veteran, G. Lovatt, 12.2, outpointed A. J. Birchfield, 11. Lovatt, whom the announcer said was * fighting his 500th amateur contest, crowded his taller adversary throughout, and scored freely with both hands to the head. , . c ,. - , Exhibition bouts: Tluglne Sheridan (Naw), who represented New' Zealand at the British Empire Games at Sydney, boxed an exhibition bout with Bert Buckley. who was South Island Services’ champion last year. Both showed speed, and greatly pleased with their clever work. Sheridan made pretty play with a. rapierlike left hand. The brothers. Jim and Brian Griffin, also staged an exhibition bout of bright boxing.