MR M'INTOSH'S STORY OF THE BATTLE.

Grey River Argus, 20 April 1911, Page 8

MR M'INTOSH'S STORY OF THE BATTLE.

As to details .of. the. combat which by the way, was witnessed (by a crowd of 5000 at prices ranging- from 10s 6d to ten guineas per head (some slight comfort for Mr M'lntosh in his hour of failure to find the saviour of the whiite race) .the jpromtoter soys J in his letter: — ' "Lang was : .n oxrdlent ~cndition v and weighed about List. 41b. He was very confident right up to the moment of entering the ring. He received a tremendous' ovation on entering the arena, and this was renewed when he entered the ropes. The great publicity that the newspapers had given to the contest, . together with Lang's own remarkable personal popularity, secured for him one of the greatest public receptions ever accorded to a fighter. This appeared to have unnerved him, for he appeared ner-. vous in the ring, and this influenc-'. Ed his movements during the early part of the contest. On the other hand, Langford, cool, smiling, and confident, came at him right away from the instruct-ons of his experienced advisers'; Lang, also acting under orders, kept away. Langford speedily demonstrated that these were the tactics that best suited him. .He chipped and punched Lang as he pleased. For this reason Lang was unable to get properly set, and his opponent was not slow to take advantage of it, and kept on top s of h'm all the time. ' 'In the third round, it became apparent to Lang that he had no chance of 'boxing his opponent, so he was sent right in, and, in 'mixing' it with Langford, he had the ibetter of the exchange. This was a wonderful round, and 'corners' closed one of the most exciting incidents of the whole contest, as the pictures clearly show. , Langford is. undoubtedly one of the foest six-round fighters living and, when weighing the decision against Lang, it should be borne in mind that when he lost, he was on his feet and Langford was on the floor. Most of the papers attribute Langford's fall to a slip;, but the kinematograph.;film, as. well .as the photographs, vividly demonstrate that it was the result of a clean knock-out blow. 'During the last round, Langford was constantly appealing for fouls, and, at the time of the disqualification,, Lang, though weak, was certainiy in better condition than he had ■been in the earlier periods. It is the opinion to-day of some of the 'best judges that Lang- fiad a good: winnr ing chance if he had not impulsively fouled his opponent. WHAT LANGFORD AIMED TO DO. "Langford tried from' the outset to put Lang- out ; his blows were as powerful as he was able to adminis-j ter, and, in the first few rounds, he certainly had the opportunity of hitting. Lang as often as he pleased; but although knocked down, Lang always got r iip,. and fought .. with, courage. Anyone who has studied , Langford's fighting knows this:. That if he, fights 'all out' for six rounds, he rapidly, gets tired, and his. blows lose, their sting.- Lang was just about realising that Langford had done his best, and — as he said afterwards— his blows were getting lighter, and he felt that Langford was tiring, whilst Lang was settling down to fight in -his old style.