IS BOXING AN ART?

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 13, 14 January 1913, Page 8

IS BOXING AN ART?

DECISIONS THAT SUGGEST THE

CONTRARY

THE REFEREE QUESTION

(By “Side Stop.”)

Several decisions recently noted suggests that the time has arrived when cue question may reasonably be ask-

ed: Is boxing an art; or are contests advertised as boxing marches mere ;rials of strogth? 11

A case in point (says “Side Step ’ in the ‘Sydney Daily lelegiuph’): “When Mehegan beat Wells,” said one who saw that fight, ‘‘ho cut him up badly. When Wells and Welsh met they left the ring unscathed. And. therefore, I can’t understand hov, Welsh should get the decision ovei Mehegan.” The facts are, if the ca hies are to bo accepted as correctlj portraying the event, that Mehegan (the Australian), though the more rug god fighter of the pair, had not the graceful skill of the Welshman. Ir that case the referee regarded boxing as an art, and gave the verdict to the man who had reached the higher pitch of skill, notwithstanding that his husky opponent probably hit the harder 01 the two.

So much for that battle. The mar whose remarks are quoted showed clearly that his views on the subject needed radical revision. On the other side of the world, at about the same time, two men met There were two judge's and a referee The judges disagreed and the referee s decision” was for the hardest hitter, notwithstanding that his opponent is admitted as one of the cleverest men that ever entered the ring.

These two cases prompt the question which opened this article. It has been laid down somewhere that the comparative strength of two men at the end of a twenty-round con test should largely guide a referee in his decision. But is that so? Very rarely are two boxers physically constituted alike. One man usually possesses superiority in strength, and i: he isn’t punished into a state of dis tress during a contest, he should, ii being assumed that his condition is £ood, finish the stronger of the two. The weaker man physically will be the man most attacked. His will ho huge ly a defensive battle. His defence may have been such as to place him head and shoulders above his opponent as a boxing expert, and yet there are many occasions when that man is declared to ho beaten oh points. Of course, it if assumed also that he takes advantagf of what opportunities offer for skilful attack.

Boxing is spoken of as “the noble art of self-defence.” Yet the casewhere the man showing the most skill in defence is declared to be infcrioi to a flat-footed, clumsy.,. yet vigorous opponent, are almost innumerable. Either boxing ts an art or it is not. ft were well for the game that if should always be regarded as an art and skill maxle the,factor on which decisions hang. Otherwise, if it b( merely a matter of we;ght of punching, it would be simpler to settle these matters by some test of strength that wouldn’t take half a; long, and \Vould be just as satisfactory as to the verdict. The question of refereeing boxing contests is one that not infrequently causes trouble before a referee if agreed on, a'nd dissension after he !has given his decision. Latterly, in Sydney, the system of adding twe judges has been set up. If two head? ,are better than one, presumably three lare better' than two. But as the position now stands the decision ii the event of a divergence of opinion on the part of the judges rests with the referee. A better way would be to constitute the referee a third judge, that is to say he would, in addition tc seeing that the fight progressed ac cording to the rules of the game write his decision as the others dt before seeing the opinions of the others. The result would be a majority verdict, free from any suspicion of bias, which the crowd frequently ■nowadays, ascribes to the man whi fills the difficult position of referee.