WRESTLING.

Shannon News, 3 December 1929, Page 4

WRESTLING.

Eklund v. Johansson, The following comment appeared in the Christchurch “Ssta-r” in connection with the recent Joliansson-Eklund bout: — “The contest was clean and scientific from beginning to end, and belied reports l: i..i other countries which would lend one to believe that wrestling was a doubtful sport. Right through the bout the contest was one of strength and skill, and the decision undoubtedly went to the more skilful of the pair. Eklund arrived heralded with a reputation of skill that was little short of uncanny, and last night, against the champion of Finland, he certainly showed it. Time and again the Finn had what seemed a certain hold on him, but Eklund managed to wriggle out am! reverse the position. It was far from a one-sided contest. Each secured one fall, and so the bout had to be decided on points. Tom Alley, the “Mormon Matman,” was the referee, and at the end of the bout he said: ‘According to my way of thinking, Eklund , won five rounds and Johansson won three,’ and his decision was agreed with by those of the onlookers who had any knowledge of the sport. In the sixth .round, after a lot of sparring, Eklund brought his oppon-ent-to the canvas with a clever annlock, and with a hammer-lock secured a submission fail after the round had been in progress ttvo and a half minutes. The last round, the eighth, saw Johansson go hard to make up lost ground, and he nearly got an advant-

age with an arm-lock, which Eklund cleverly broke with a crutch hold. Johansson was there again with a short arm scissors, and after the other had exhausted all his tricks in a desperate endeavour to break the deadly hold, Joliami-ion succeeded in pinning his shoulders to the mat. - That ended the bout, but Johansson was too far behind on points.

The Mercurial Vance. “Oh, Farmer Vance! Oh, Farmer Vance! Why do you do that song and dance when you are out to get a clutch at Eklund's hair (there isn’t much)!? Why do you do that fancy spin? Why do you- waddle round and grin? Why not conserve your strength and win? — you ’re just- the build, sir. It seems to nie that you make light of being mauled about each night, and that you simply take delight in being killed, sir! ” —Scribe'in the Christchurch “Star.” Finnish Patriotism. Paavo Nurmi, the Finnish longdistance crack, holds a position as draughtsman in a government office, says his friend Wal Johansson, the light-hdavyweight wrestling champion of Finland. The Government of Finland gave Nurmi a house, as sume token of appreciation of his decision to keep his amateur status, so that ho could represent his country at Olympic meetings, instead of accepting the munificent offers to turn professional which were made him in America. Man of His Hands. When Wills, the coloured champion boxer, was after Dempsey’s scalp for the heavyweight boxing title, and

JDc'iiupS'Oy stated that he drew the colour line, Mr Liehonslcin, a close friend of Dempsey, offered to back Pe.sek for twenty-five thousand dollars to meet Wills in an all-in match, rough and tumble, any place, any time, anywhere, but Wills refused the offer. A week before Pesek left America for Australia, two boxing managers in Cleveland, Ohio, asked him to box' a match on the quiet, against Joe Mallev. who won the Cleveland boxing tournament. It was to settle an argument between the two managers, and the wager was a suit of clothes. Pesek knocked Malloy out in the first round. Mock Savagery. Billy Edwards opened the Iwom period of wrestling in Melbourne during Mie early part of 1927, when lie ■ exploited roughness as a drawing card on the shrewd -assumption that the more unpopular he became the more people would flock to see him beaten'Phis proved tp be the ease for a while. Had he not boon rough, he would have- been more popular, but not have drawn the crowds, pi five matches he made £3,000. lie was a master showman of the ring, and especially eult.i vat-ed the art of mock savagery, thereby pandering to the popular taste at the time being.