The Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, NOV. 30, 1907. A GLORIOUS PASTIME.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 3778, 30 November 1907, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, NOV. 30, 1907. A GLORIOUS PASTIME.

The average Britisher is a tunny cuss. He still possesses a savage delight in watching two of his fel-low-creatures punching each other insensible. He will pay an enormous price to witness a punching exhibition and yell his appreciation as he sees one man ‘ ‘ plant his right on his opponent’s jugular,” sending him reeling and unconscious to the ropes. Yet we lift up our eyes in holy horror at the Spanish national pastime. Truly our evolution, despite churches, schools of learning, etc., is slow. It will be centuries before our finer senses predominate. We venture to say that it we notified a fight to a finish at Foxton some Sunday afternoon between Angel Jones and Bull-dog Smith, also a lecture by some eminent scholar at the same hour on the same day, the lower instincts would outnumber the higher by 59, nay 100, to i. Well, its a good thing to teach our youngsters the noble art of self-defence, but to legalise the punching game, even under the cloak of the Amateur Association, is wrong and should be frowned down by our legislators, who lend the blackguardly game their patronage. Here are a few samples of what happened at the Bill Squires— Twin Sullivan manslaughter match. This is how one paper gloats over the exhibition : —“Both men were punched severely. Squires seemed to have Sullivan bothered in a few of the early rounds, and in the clinches it was noticeable that Squires’ enormous strength permitted him to bend his lighter opponent as a reed to the wind. Sullivan’s face was scraped from Squires’ blows, and it really looked as though Bill' would wear his man down inside ten rounds. In the sixth round particularly, Squires, who seemed to have settled down to his stride, fought cleverly and effectively. He had blood streaming from Sullivan’s nose, and was driving in heart punches with his right in fierce manner. Sullivan, who has a trick of swaying when he is cuffed, and allowing his head to roll, came out of tight places with a slight smile on his lips, and from the sixth round the aspect of the fight changed again and again, each man taking the lead in turn. When the men stepped into the centre of the ring for the nineteenth round Sullivan feinted his weary opponent into leaving an opening, and planted a straight left flush on the jaw. Down went Bill in a heap. His head was clear, and he realised that he still had a chance. While the timekeeper reeled off eight seconds Squires stayed down, then he came up slowly, only to fall again under a storm of rights and lefts. This time Bill seemed all in, but still his head was clear and the gameness which had marked his work throughout the. bloody battle did not forsake him at the eleventh hour. Steadying himself while nine was called, 1 Bill arose once more to face the rhusic. With alacrity Sullivan again attacked his fagged enemy, and at the ropes down went Bill again, and this time the time-

keeper was saved the trouble of counting him out, for the towel w.is thrown into the centre of the ring by the Australian’s seconds, and the fight was over. The large crowd thought that it had received a run for its money, and cheer after cheer went up as .Sullivan stood in the centre of the ring surrounded by his seconds.” Nice, isn’t it ?