THE BOXING RING Notes From Far and Near

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 226, 13 December 1927, Page 11

THE BOXING RING Notes From Far and Near

By

"LEFT COUNTER "

After an absence of about four 1 months in Australia, Eddie Parker has returned to New Zealand. Willie Richie, ex-light-weight champion of the world, now referees amateur boxing contests. * * * Congratulations on his success abroad have been forwarded to Tom Heeney by the executive of the Canterbury Rugby League. Fred Smitheram, the Oamaru amateur welter-weight boxer, who has had 22 bouts with only four losses, is anxious to join the professional ranks. * * * Another amateur has been issued with a professional licence. This is George Adams, the Wellington feather-weight, who out of 22 fights has won 16, eleven by the short route, drawn one and lost five. Although Friday night fights at the Sydney Stadium were reported to be very popular, the management has now made a further change, the bouts being held on Mondays instead of Fridays. Frank Moodie, who defeated Ted Moore for the light-heavy-weight championship of England, has been recently in touch with “Slam” Sullivan, a noted trainer of boxers, with a view to going to Australia. Since his defeat by Finnegan nothing has been heard of Billy Grime. The Sydney Stadium directors have cabled Grime offering an attractive purse if he will return to Australia for three fights. Although he has received two good offers from Australia, Johnny Leckie has declined both. The offer of Stadiums, Ltd., of three fights with the option of renewing the contract, is still open. The other offer was from Pat McHugh, of the Leichhardt Stadium. If you made a wager on Dempsey to defeat Tunney your money would still be good—that is, if the bet had been made in Buenos Aires. The people of Buenos Aires are so certain that Dempsey won that they will not pay off until they see the pictures of the fight. Pierre Charles, heavy-weight champion of Belgium, is due in America on December 20. He will be under the wing of Gus Wilson, a trainer of Dempsey’s, and will commence' training immediately after arrival. Sharkey, Risko or Delqney will be sought after for Charles’s debut.

Philadelphia Jack O’Brien, who was mentioned last week as conducting a health school in New York, called on President Coolidge and suggested that he should take boxing lessons in order to keep himself fit. He offered his services as instructor, but Mr. Coolidge did not commit himself. The New Zealand Boxing Council has adopted Mr. Earl Stewart's recommendations regarding Olympic Games candidates and has decided to endorse the names of Cleverley and Morgan. O’Sullivan’s name is to be sent on to the Olympic Council with the recommendation that he should also be sent if sufficient funds are available. Some one lias 'dared to call the heavy-weight champion of the world a “sissy.” When Tunney was. going to see his mother one very warm afternoon he rode in an open car with his hat off. When passing two young girls on bicycles one glanced at the young man with the somewhat curly locks and called out “Sissy!” The champion tells this story himself. Johnny Leckie carried too many guns for Mark Carroll at Napier last Wednesday. The towel was thrown in in the fifth round. Griffiths is the only man who has succeeded in going the distance with Leckie since he joined the professional ranks. Carroll put up a wonderfully plucky display. A right cross sent him to the canvas for nine in the fourth round, and in the fifth a short-arm jab put him down for nine once again. After gamely struggling to his feet he met a right cross that had him on the canvas. He was on his feet at nine but collapsed before another blow was landed and his seconds threw in the towel. * :J= * Gene Tunney is “so sick of seeing his silly expression” as he reclined on the canvas in the seventh round of his last light with Jack Dempsey, that the heavyweight champion has no further desire to see the motion pictures of the battle. “I’Ve seen the movies six. times already,” he said, “but I can’t go again. There’s another fight, coming, you know, and I’m afraid that woosey expression of mine will leave a disastrous impression on me. I want to forget it.”

According to the Sydney “Referee,” Fair hall was lucky to receive the decssion over Trowern. The paper “For fully 12 rounds of the 15 fought Fairhall was at the wrong end of the fistic argument. From the beginning of the first round to the

end of the twelfth, Trowern did all the fighting and certainly landed on the average more than three blows to FairhaU's one. It is therefore hard to understand how the referee could possibly have given it to Fairhall. Truly some decisions are hard to ! understand. Ten-year-old Jackson P. Pick, Jr., met Gene Tunney on a train southbound from Canada recently and told the champion he was also a boxer but had been forced to retire because a “big, old Irish wolf hound” ate up his gloves. Gene jotted down Jackson’s address and told him to look out for a new pair. The youngster later resumed “boxing’’ with a set of autographed gloves he had received from Tunney, and was swamped with wouldbe oponents who w'anted to “try on’’ the new mitts. * * » Tunney says that his hardest fight was his first with Harry Greb in 19:22. “Early in the fight I burst a blood vessel in my nose.’' states the champion. “The bone was protruding through the flesh and for the balance of the fight, about 40 minutes. I swallowed blood. After the fight the doctor looked worried. Five stitches were taken over one eye, six over another, my lower lip, through which my teeth had penetrated, had to be sewed up and basins of blood were carried out. The scene resembled an operation room in a hospital after a major operation. I was confident I could defeat Greb in another bout. I fought him four times after that bout winning them all. But of the five the first stands out in my mind.” Tommy Milligan. middle-weight champion of England and Europe, has been negotiating with Stadiums, Ltd., for a tour to Australia, “The Paily Mail” reports. Milligan wanted expenses paid for himself and his trainer, and £2,000 for each contest. These demands appear to be prohibitive, but Stadiums, Ltd., state that Milligan is going to Australia in a few weeks under contract to them to fight five matches. George Levine, American middleweight. is being brought to Australia to fight Milligan. A large guarantee has been made both boxers. Milligan was recently defeated by Mickey Walker for the world title. Levine has also been defeated by Walker.

Tiger Flowers, former middle-weight champion of the world, died in New York on November 16 following a minor operation. Flowers, after submitting to a minor operation for removal of a growth over his left eye, rallied from the ether in fairly satisfactory condition, but suffered a sinking spell some hours later and died shortly after 8 p.m. Flowers won the middle-weight title from Harry Greb, who died under almost similar circumstances in October, 1926, in a fifteen-round decision bout at Madison Square harden, February 26, 1926. He lost the championship in Mickey Walker on a decision in Chicago, December 3 of the same year. Flowers had been just previously

matched with Walker for a return fight for the title. « * » Frank Taylor, the Auckland bantam- | weight, made his debut in the professional ranks in a ten-round bout against Tommy Griffiths, at Napier last Wednesday. He did not receive the decision, but he made a great impression. At the end of the ninth round the fight appeared even, but a little better boxing in the final round earned Griffiths the decision. The Napier “Daily Telegraph” states that the pair provided the finest exhibition of ringcraft and boxing ever staged by the Napier Association, and after a description of the final round says: “A tense and expectant silence that followed the gong, gave way to a chorus of catcalls and boos as the referee

raised Griffiths’s arm. the gallery crowd in particular making their feelings apparent, later counting: out the referee. Both boys gave a splendid exhibition and very few blows were wasted in what was a magnificent display of scientific boxing.” Taylor should be able to hold his own with any feather-weight in New Zealand after giving Griffiths such a close run. Leckie perhaps would prove a stumbling block and Taylor would be well advised to have a few more fights before he tackles the champion. He is to be congratulated on making such a fine impression on his first outing in his new status. All the friends of this unasuming little boxer will wish him the best of luck in his future battles. A return match with Griffiths should be appreciated in this city.