WITHIN THE RING

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12611, 23 November 1926, Page 9

WITHIN THE RING

ON BOXERS AND BOXING GEORGE COOK IN WELLINGTON AGAIN SEEKS HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE a 14,I 4, f\, si> ;„ :veal ' s since George Cook defeated Albert Lloyd in the Town Hall at Wellington to win the heavyweight championship of Australia, and yesterday Cook got another peep of the city when he arrived on the Tahiti after over five years abroad. I am going back to Australia,” ho said to a “Times” reporter. “I’m not ® ee “ n S any. scalps in particular. I don t know just who is over there. But I want to try and get back that championship which I vacated if I can. I v© fought 50 or 60 times while I Wa ! away, good fights most of them, and I m satisfied. As you may know L w ® s 111 England and around the Continent for quit© a while, and then tlle States. One of my best tights there was, against Jack Sharkey, who won from Wills in New York last month on a foul in th© thirteenth round, bharkey is. now: considered to

be the logical contender for the title held by Gene Tunney. I met him a year ago in Boston, and he got the decision at the end of 10 rounds. But L know that I won seven in the ten, and I have never seen such a demonstration as there was at the end or ught when Sharkey was crowned the winner. I was kept in the ring for half an hour while* the crowded snouted ‘Who won?' “JUST ABOUT DUE” “Sharkey was meeting Jim Maloney, a Boston man, the following month, and they wanted him to get the decision. In the States they have two judges , and a referee, and their decisions are pretty fair as a rule, but there are some hot verdicts at times. The trouble is that there is such a lot of betting on matches. “Wills’s loss to Sharkey was just about due. He is not a clean fighter by a long way. He has a habit of holding with his left while he hits with his right, and he was cautioned because of this about 15 times before being disqualified. But Sharkey, would have won. in any case; he is a hard man. Wills was offered quite a lot of money to fight Tunney before the Tun-ney-Dempsey meeting .was arranged, but he wouldn’t sign up. Probably he thought that he would get' the contest with Dempsey, and -was not going to endanger his chances. But to me he looks finished. X think that we con soy that Wills is right out of the running now. WHY DEMPSEY DODGED “I think that 1 Dempsey’s idea in holding out so long without a fight was to let his contract with Jack Kearns run out and get a greater share of tho takings. But Kearns signed him up with Tunney before that happened. There isn’t much question that Dempsey used Wills as an advertising medium, but that was as far as it got. “My first fight in the United States was against “Fighting Boh” Lawson, no had knocked out Kid Norfolk in one and a half minutes just before, and quite a few heavyweights refused to meet him. He is the coloured heavyweight champion of the United States, and has a great knock-out punch. I was fortunate enough to get the decision at the end of 10 rounds. OTHER FIGHTS “That was in April of last year. T also met Martin Burke, who had fought a draw with Tunney, and stopped him in eight rounds, and got a draw with. John Lester Johnson, the New York negro heavyweight, whom I fought in ’Frisco. He beat Dempsey seven or eight years ago, and also got a decision over Harry Wills. Last December, at the opening of the new Madison Square Gardens I met King Solomon from Panama. He is a‘ big man, and was then in the boom, but he took on too many fights and has slipped now. In London one of my best fights was against Paolino. He is a tremendous fellow, and one of his fists would make both mine, but he was wild. I beat him up rather badly, but he was not satisfied, and so he got a return match in Palis a fortnight later, and I beat, him in 15 rounds.” WHEN HE FOUGHT GEORGES Cook is sore at the manner of his defeat by Georges Cnrpentier, and he possesses photographs which show' the Frenchman hitting him when he is in a kneeling posture, though it is not dear whether or not one knee is not off the ground. “I had never tasted the resin until 1922, when I met Carpentier in t)«> Albert Hall,” ho said of this. M I» the fourth round he floqrod me, and the blow dazed me. As I was rising I knelt and wondered whether to get up or to hang on for a moment as he might go at me again. Then he hit me, and they took him to the dressing room, came bade and announced the decision. “I think that had my second jumped into the ling and claimed a foul I would have got it, but lie didn’t, ho let the opportunity pass, and it was too late. The referee was Carpontier’s own'man. Jack Smith, for Carpentier had promoted tire contest. I got a pretty rough deal in thnt fight. THE PLACE FOR BOXERS Geriiiuny now is a good place fez

boxers, says Cook. Crowds of 10,000 and 12,000 attend contests, and are very enthusiastic. The German fighters are rugged, strong fellows, not very scientific, but very keen. They keep very fit, and will be hard opposition after a year or two. Contests are run on the American system of 10 or 12 rounds by which, Cook thinks, better fights are obtained. At tho moment there is a good German heavyweight in the United States. His name is Deiner, and lie is getting good matches. With Cook comes young Bert Law, the flyweight champion of Ireland, whom the Australian boxer has brought out from London. “He lives for fighting,” says Cook of the boy. Law, wjio also fights bantamweight, had five fights in American, won three and drew one.