Took Them Long Time To Awaken

NZ Truth, Issue 1238, 22 August 1929, Page 18

Took Them Long Time To Awaken

SAM SHADES 808

:^^^^:.Noi\ Give Crowd Heart Palpitation

LECKIE MEETS WINNER

(From "IsT.Z. Truth's" Special Dunedin Eepresentative). At ,nb stage during the full fifteen-rounder between Sammy * Shads and Bobby Delaney did either man give the impression that • hewas a: likely opponent for Johnnie Leckie THE winner— Shack— meets the renowned ' Dunedinite on Friday night.. Johnnie should have no trouble m closing the argument early

It was a good twenty minutes (seven rounds) before the pair realised' that Dunedin .fans like . fight for their farthings. Taking the bout right through, I neither -appeared to be equipped Ayith, ! the right sort of punch' for a k.o. Sammy is the coolest customer evetseen m a Dunedin ring. And it Avas not assumed, either. With superb footwork and a good stock of ringcraft at his command, he seemed to be master of the situation from first to last rounds. He was satisfied, for the most part, to let the Aussie do the leading, the latter complying with a very limited variety of attack. Chiefly it Avas a left to the body, which so often went loav enough to bring Ref. Patterson into the picture, but he held .his silence. For the most part, the fight Avent to Shack for his clever defence. On his feet he was like a cat, and, with an uncanny sense of anticipation, stonewalled most of the Aussie's aggressiveness. To put.it briefly, Delaney didn't knoAV the pugilistic- combination for opening the Yank's Yale-like defence. From the eighth round onwards, the croAVd Avas given intermittent flashes of hard stoush, but it was plain that both fighters Avere missing chances Avhich Avere as open as 'a book. Shack' let a dozen such openings go begging. ' ' A slight sensation occurred m the eleventh round, when Delaney sank to his knees, but on Avalking up and counting "one," the referee tapped the lad on the shoulder and told him to get up, Avhich he did, immediately. If Delaney received any sort of a blow, it Avas not discernible from the press table, nor, apparentlA r , did Ref. Patterson see . anything that should have Avorried the .Australian. To "Truth," it looked very much

as though Bobby over-balanced after missing his mark. Shack is certainly a clever boxer, but when it comes to punching he has not got the goods. A straight left, which should be a useful weapon from his upright stance, finishes up more like a playful "flip." He appears to drawback just ,when his hand is connecting, m other Avords, "pull" his punch. The decision Avas popular, and both men looked to be fairly fresh at the end. For the first time since his retireLment, Les. Murray Avas seen m a corI ner. He took Shack's toAyel. -