In the Ring

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 16, 19 January 1924, Page 19

In the Ring

(By " Milo.")

'AVERAGE PERFORMER'

BROWN NOT A GREAT CHAMPION

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS,

Tho Japanese Consul haß approached the Wellington Boxing Association with a view to having an opportunity provided for the sailors of the visiting warships to see some of the local boxers in action, and it is quite on the cards that a tournament Will be arranged for the evening of ' 6th February. The earlier part of the bill will be provided by the inan-of-warsmen, who will be seen in wrestling and fencing bouts, and it is anticipated that a star professional boxing contest will serve as an additional attraction. ' Syd. Brickman and George Curran have been mentioned as possible opponents, and though. as yeb nothing definite has been arranged, it is a certainty that the meeting of this pair would draw a great house. As an amateur.Curran put up some great fights in the -Town Hall, but a Wellington audience has not as yet seen him in action as a professional, in spite of the fact that he has been in the money ranks for almost three years. There are many people who are wondering actually how good Brickman is, and how much he improved when in Australia,. so that there can be no question but that this is a highly desirable match. Then there is the additional entertainment to be given by the visitors, whose prowess as grapplers of the fast and clever variety is well known, and in some quarters where it has been of service, highly respected. Indications certainly point to this being indeed a night of nights. No matter how badly he is punished, a boxer- with a pun,ch is dangerous all the time he is on his feet. The Iruth of this pugilistic axiom was clearly proved at the Sydney Stadium a few nights ago, when Vie. King, unable to see out of his right eye, and generally ehowjng signs of having been severely handled, connected heavily with a left hook to Bobby Gray's jaw, with,the result that this worthy hit the canvas hurriedly A sorry spectacle, he scrambled to his feet at the count of nine, but he was obviously uninterested in the proceedings, and the referee immediately crowned King in token of victory. On the previous occasion that the pair met, Gray won without any difficulty, and it .was generally anticipated that this time he could do the trick in less time. Sharp jolts to the chin, however, upset the calculations of many an optimistic glove artist, and* although Gray damaged his opponent for sue rounds, with almost every known variety of punch, King stood to his guns, refused to go down, and finally secured a popular and .well-merited victory. The winner, it may be mentioned, is a cousin of that promising Wellington bantamweight, Teddy Priestly, who was greatly pleased to hear of his kinsman's success. ; Billy Crawford is leaving in the course of a few days for Taranaki, where he proposes joining forces with Tom,Heeney in a boxing school. Crawford is well known in the dairying district, and will no doubt hold classes hot only in the centres, but also in some of the smaller townships. Ths Canadian heavyweight, Fred Zimmerman, has lodged £100 in support of his challenge to box any heavyweight in Australia, and calls particularly on the Commonwealth champion, Blackie Miller. The last-mentioned has announced his intention to come to New Zealand, and if he does decide to visit Maoriland, it would At be anything unusual if the Canadian followed h»m across the Tasman. Both men^ would be sure to draw crowded houses if appearing in matches with our local king of the heavy brigade, Tom Heeney. ' It is now definitely announced that tho clever Australian bantamweight, Mike Flynn is to be given his big opportunity at the Sydney Stadium on Anniversary Day, 26th January, when he will appear in a twenty round contest with an opponent yet to be chosen. Flynn is' credited with having shown especially good form when acting as sparring partner to the hard hitting Eddie Butcher. It was suggested at the meeting of the Wellington Boxing Association on Tuesday evening that the Southern flyweight, Tommy Griffiths, should be brought to the Capital City to try conclusions with Mark Carroll at the next tournament. "We got McCormack for McEae," declared one member of the committee, "so why not Griffiths for Carroll, just to decide which is the bet-" ter boy." The matter of choosing the preliminaries for the next fixture was left in the hands of the match committee without any recommendations being made as to the bouts to be staged. It seems hardly .likely, however, that Griffiths will be asked to come to Wellington as mention also was made at the meeting of the fact that it cost the Association no less than £20 to bring McCormack to Wellington to, beat Mcßae. Commenting on the recent battle be^ tween George Mendies and Tommy Swift, the third meeting of this pair, "Solar Plexus," the well known Australian critic, expresses the opinion that . Mendies should no longer tarry in tho Comonwealth, where, to obtain fights he has to give away pounds in weight to good boxers. The flyweight champion, he maintains, would make his mark in the States and incidentally might obtain a bout with Pancho Villa, holder of the world's title, to whom Mendies once lost a decision in Manila 1 News comes from England of the failure in business of that once great pugilist, Johnny Summers, who Tost all his ring earnings in an unprofitable publichouse venture. This champion of former days was accorded a benefit at the National Sporting Club, however, and was helped along to the tune of £2000 which amount should considerably improve his financial outlook particularly if 'judiciously invested. J Being disposed of in short order seems to have become a habit with the hitherto elusive Harry Holmes, who two weeks after being knocked out in sixteen rounds by Paul Demsky was similarly treated by Eddie Lyna<rh the last mentioned however only taking just under one round to do the job The •'fans" did not appreciate the meaere showing of the beaten boxer and evidently taking advantage of this Manager Doughty announced from the ringside that Holmes would not receive payment for his services. Pancho Villa won a decision over Patsy Wallace, of Philadelphia, in a comparatively slow ten-round bout, which was staged recently in home town of the latter pugilist. The flyweight champion was giving away four pounds iv weight but managed to notice the majority of points. Three amateurs in Ashburton have made application for matches under the Wellington Association, but in view of the expense that would be incurred by bringing them up from the South, it is hardly likely that the opportunity they j desire will be given them, especially when there is moro than enough talent l.licrc ie VVelliijgton & 2upp]y_ a£ thfiff^

liminaries that are required, and mora* Terris (bantam-weight), Argyle (light weight), and M'Phail (middle-weight) ') are the boxers spoken of, and although they might be good exponents'as far as their own particular town is. concerned, there is no reason why local boys-abould be neglected to the advantage of amateure from other towns. This evidently is the attitude takenup'by the Wellington Association. , Norman M'Arthur has resumed training under his old mentor, Harry Barlow,: and is working hard in anticipation of a return match with the clever Tracy boy, Percy Black. Enthusiasts will remember the previous meeting of this pair, when the decision went to Black by the nari [ rowest of margins. Unusually successful i n his activities m the hempen square, the brilliant Frenoh pugilist, Georges Caroentier, is not always prospering under the light of a: lucky v jstar. One of his fishing boats, the Jacqueline, ran aground on the rocks off the Treport ChannelT'cbasfc . just before Christmas; and the genial Georges is understood to have suffered a fairly heavy financial loss. The boat m question, which head the famous fleet organised by this boxer, was named alter the Frenchman's baby daughter.' . Harry Barlow's school has resumed activities with increased vigour, ancT'thi»' combination now includes about fifty-' six members. Hamilton is waiting for Jimmie Hassett or any other-fesSher-' weight, and Ken Miller; at 9st' 61b,''bars' no boy in his class. Three novice light-' weights, Kent, Bayes;. - and- Welch/,arV tne latest adidtiong to, the school; '■''"' Stewart Smith is looking for a mateh C under the Wellington Association, and' •any welter-weight in the country would smt him. He would be delighted, ha states, to have another chance of taking the decision from the tough little Eu° gene Volaire. Carl Calloway writes from Blenheim' to say that his school in that town keeps him busy every evening. He held a very successful "open night" on Tuesday, and the patronage he received' proved beyond doubt that he is the most popular instructor in the town.~~ Callaway incidentally sends a reminder to all boxing associations that he is ready for any welterweight in the country.""""Tpmmy Burns, one time world heavyweight champi6n, has become fight promoter. Burns, who now lives in England, has cabled offers to four American champions, and hops* within the next six months' to have all of them in action m one or another of the arenas in London or in Paris, v/hera he has "established connections. Burns is anxious to send Harry Greb against Roland Todd;" the English middleweight champion. His'" plan is to bring Greb to England ~in~ Aovember, send him against Todd, then" another. English middleweight, if (Ireb. is sucpessful. If Greb defeats both ' Burns wants to match the American' - with Georges Carpentier. Negotiation* now are under Way between Burns and -*rank Churchill, manager of Pancho.., Vil a, flyweight champion, to bring Villa to England for three fighte. Others Burns wants to send 'into action in,. England this.winter are Joe Lynch, bantam champion, and Mickey Walker weli ter king. " .. :^,;.,^ Many a time and oft, "Milo" hss emvphasised the futility of attempting -to •• draw a line through the performances of. two or more boxers with a view to' decid- ' ing which man holds the beating of all'the others. Evidently, however, Jimmie ■ Johnson, manager of the world's feather-'----weight champion, Johnny Dundeej has' other ideas, for he reasons out one particular problem something like this:-^-.. Johnny Dundee beat Joe' Shugrue; Joe Shugrue stopped Benny Leonard; Benny Leonard beat Ted Lewis; Ted Lewis beat Soldier Barfrfield; Soldier,Bartfield beat Harry Greb; Harry Grebi, .beat Tom Gibbons-; Tom Gibbons beat' Billy Miske; Billy Miske beat Fred :Ful-'. ton; Fred Fulton beat Sam-Langfprd;^-Sam Langford beat Jim Flynn, and; Jim ; Flynn knocked out Jack Dempsey inside.-] a round. „-.-. , , '■„'■ \' "Really, I have almost grown-tired and weary of the,men we have to accept • as the champions of our ring," is one., of the many candid admissions of_,Mr.,, B. Bennison, the well-known and genei> ally recognised boxing authority in Eng- r . land, who comments^ as follows on. the,., recent championship . battle between, Johnny Brown and Bugler Harry Lake:/ ' "The bantam' champion of Europe is. Johnny Brown, of St: George's, . which, is East of London. He is a. worthjr product of a school all hard and.terrible; in its intensity. He .was proclaimed the best of his class, and the successor7 of that mighty; little man, Charles' Lei doux, at the National Sporting ClubV; at; the end of a*» contest with Bugler Harry Lake, a perky, bright little man, who since he came out of the Arm^' : has made his home at Plymouth. : --- "Brown, remembering the" poundage ■ at which he fought, looked'big.'■ He' would have passed for.a feather-weight ;>'• even a light-weight. He was by-com-'— parison a full-grown man against a boy, but though he won I will'not have it - that he, is a "bantam" of high degreesHe has gone through the. fire, of the., American ring. He has tacked on to,' his boxing many of the worst features"- ' of it. And the pity was that Lake (by.-, instinct, 'by inclination) accepted an in-- - vitation to rough it. ,-In the first round' Brown rushed in, and it seemed likely .". that he would there and then .end the contest. He kind'of took Lake by storm, but thereafter it was' ai'case" of ' the dour and the uncompromising ihaix, against a youngster who tried to play • the game as all youngsters would. ■;'. •"■' "And in this respect he niade what proved to be a great mistake, a mistake which lost him the'championship which' he had so deservedly won from Ledouxv if Lake is. anything at all he 'is a boxer first, last, and always. -He may' not have a devastating punch,, but he ' can hit hard on occasions. -.Somehow' he never really jumped into his stride on this occasion. He got himself all - mixed up, and instead of standing off and employing his left hand, as we ■ all know he can do, he rushed and he tore so as to get close, with the result that Brown, the kind of boy who neverblinks an eye-lash, was his master in > what I can only describe as a rough-and-tumble business. . " Vi H jair heen referee I would hay« pulled Brown to one side and told him that m this country we will have none th \ P^eh. X Wow delivered' at the back of the neck) a blow which not only doe 3 not count—if there is such a thing as the' scoring of points— but one which is ugly, harmful;' and.' in my opinion foul. The tactics! of' i!?T or% «than his skm brought, about the defeat of Lake Mr t W. H. T. Douglas, who WO6 the referee, I am sure, like^ny/seif, saw little that was good in the contest. ' But it was a contest which might have been very different, had Lake realised that by murdering his natural self—and his ' natural self against Charles Ledoux personified the complete boxer—he was playing into the hands of a tough - as~ distinct from a complete, boxer ;'" "I came away from Covent Garden.' very disappointed with what I had ■seen '• In Lake I thought I saw a "bantam" champion in every respect 'worfh'y.' of" the name. He has surrendered his title1' to one who, if one may recall the days of Pedlar Palmer and Joe Bowker, for' instance, is no more' than an average,"' performer." /