THE BIG FIGHT

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 3742, 17 January 1928, Page 3

THE BIG FIGHT

ENDS IN A DRAW. SHARKEY OUTBOXES HEENEY. SLOW, UNINTERESTING BOUT. (By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) NEW YORK, Jan. 13. One of the largest crowds to witness an indoor match filled Madison Squaro Garden when Jack Sharkey and Tom Heeney (New Zealand) entered the ring for their twelve-round bout. Sharkey weighed 13st. 121 b., and Heeney 13st. 111 b. The decision at the end of the twelfth round was a draw. In the first round the men exchanged short blows with great force, clinching several times. Sharkey then outboxed his opponent, and succeeded in driving him to the ropes, but the round was even. _ ' ~ Heeney quickly began to force tne fighting, playing for the body with botn hands, and causing Sharkey to clinch, but the American, by speeding up his blows and repeatedly hooking to the face and head, succeeded in taking the round by a shade. Both men now assumed different tactics aiming blows high, landing short chops to the face. There were no thoughts of defence by either of them. Sharkey was now fighting as he did against Dempsey, leaving his stomacn unprotected, and Heeney, landing two hard rights to the body, took the round. ~ , In the fourth round Heeney opened ,a cut beneath Sharkey’s left eye, and had the better of some furious exchanges, which filled the last two minutes of the round. This was Heeney s round. ~ Heeney returned to-the attack witli both hands, but Sharkey was stronger, troubling liis opponent with .a left hand blow to the face. The men clinched continuously. Heeney aiming for the body, and. the American becoming more ''cautious. Sharkey cut Heeney’s mouth with two lefts to, the face, but Heeney sent Sharkey reeling to the ropes with a straight > right to the jaw. Sharkey bounced back, and hung on. The New Zealander followed with a right to the heart. Sharkey began holding Heeney s left hand, and the crowd booed him. Heeney’s round. _ Sharkey pounded Heeney s. body at close quarters, the New_ Zealander taking uppercuts and left jabs to the face. Heeney drove a hard left to Sharkey s heart, and the latter swung hard lefts and rights to his opponent’s body. Heeney was missing badly, but only for a moment, slowing up the American with two lefts and two hard rights .to the face. Sharkey’s round. In round seven Sharkey outboxed Heeney, but the American was having trouble in seeing out of bis right eye. Something administered _ between the rounds was troubling him. Heeney slashed and hammered away at Sharkey, but his blows seemed to lack force. Heeney’s round. y In the eighth round Sharkey assumed clubbing tactics, while clinching, and again the, crowd booed him., Heeney punished him with short lefts and rights to-the body. Sharkey, who had a bad lump under bis own left eyU, cut Heeney’s eye with a light right, but the latter avalanched blows upon his opponent, taking the round. In round nine Sharkey used his left hand effectively, uppercutting Heeney, and making him miss badly, compelling him to take considerable punishment. Sharkey’s round by a wide margin. During not too spirited exchanges at long distances in the tenth round, Sharkey drove a hard right to Heeney’s jaw, and then fell to his knees as he ' missed another swing. Sharkey rose immediately ,and tore into the New Zealander with hard body blows. Heeney fought back, but the American was punishing him. The fight was slow now, and there was too much clinching. Sharkey’s round. The boxers fell into a clinch in the middle of the ring, and wrestled about without blows being struck, but in an exchange of blows that followed Sharkey nearly dropped Heeney with a left to the solar plexus. Both men put their heads down, and then traded body blows. The eleventh round was Sharkey’s. Although both speeded up, .and more action was injected, with heavy punching freely traded, and Heeney leading in the twelfth round, it was obvious that the so-called heavy-weight elimination contest had ended with a double elimination, both probably being considered Unfitted as the Tunney challenger. It was a slow and uninterefetng fight to the 17,000 spectators. There, was some feeling that Heeney was , the better of the two, having carried the fight right throughout to the former sailor, and should have got a decision on points, particularly in view of Sharkey’s indifferent performance. The latter outboxed the. New Zealander, but was unable to outfight-him. The decision was a dra^v. —A. and N.Z. cable. ✓

AUSTRALIAN BOUTS. ' SYDNEY, Jan. 15. At the Stadium Johnny Sullivan defeated Bruno Erattini on points in a 15-roundfi contest. Sullivan outboxed and outfought the Italian, who was severely punished.—Press Association. MELBOURNE, Jan. 14. At the Stadium Lucia Albe defeated Norm Gillespie on points in fifteen rounds, after a fast, clover contest. —• Press Association.

DETERMINING TUNNEY’S OPPONENT. New York, January 14. Heeney and four others will fight an elimination series to determine Tunney’s opponent. / Hetney will fight on March 20. As Harold Snell, of Tutukaka. Heeney will fight on March 20. “DID NOT DO MY BEST.” London, January 15. The newspapers hail Tom Heeney’s great moral victory in the bout with Jack Sharkey and declare that Heeney’s grit gives British boxing a chance of supplying a fit competitor for Tunney. In a special cable to the Evening News Tom Heeney states: “I feel that I did not do my best. I did not get going until the last few rounds. I am sorry I did not win, because if I had won I intended to spend a holiday in New Zealand and visit my mother, whom I have not seen for four years.”

A comparison between the two contestants is as follows:— HEENEY. SHARKEY. 29 ... Age ... •. 24 5.104 . Height 6ft. 14.0 ■ . Weight 13.12 70in . Reach 72in. 16iin 41in 17in ... Calf . 17iin.