Personalities In Sport

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 263, 27 January 1928, Page 10

Personalities In Sport

The Greatest Boxer Auckland Ever Produced

Out in Dominion Road, a passer-by may chance to have his attention drawn to a little shop, over which is the intriguing inscription: world’s champion boxer; now worlds champion clothes cleaner.” If curiosity should impel you to step inside, you will find elderly little man behind the counter bushy engaged in dealing with parcels of clothing which have been sent in for the rejuvenating process. Before you is Bill Murphy, sartorial Voronoff of the neighbourhood, and in his time the hardest-hitting boxer at his weight the game has known. These days he is happy and contented in his little business; and to him Auckland has always been “Home.” STILL BOXING ON He carries his 66 years lightly. His eye is as clear and his hand-clasp as firm as it was in the distant ’eighties and ’nineties, halcyon days of pugilism in the Antipodes, when Australia and New Zealand furnished many an illustrious name on the scroll of boxing history. Bob Fitzsimmons, the hammer-fisted Timaru blacksmith; Peter Jackson, dusky wizard of the ring: Griffo, the master glove artist: Frank Slavin, grim, indomitable fighter of the old school; Harry Lang, who might have been a world-beater; and many another. Among this illustrious band there was none greater at his weight than Murphy. Only Fitzsimmons could equal his record. They had many points in common. Both were world’s champions; both of the lean, angular type, with a punch like a sledge-hammer. A WONDERFUL RECORD Bill* is an Aucklander born and bred. He first sa%v the light at Arch Hill in the early ’sixties. Like Bob

b itzsimmons. l le started his career by polishing off allcoo * ‘"’“a* young colony, then making lh s J t ‘ Australia, and finaUy to & great tome of pugilism wh.reT*’ **» the world s featherweight cha™™*® ship at San Francisco in Ht? Wor Outstanding events i n h L . career were dealt with in an early £2* of The Sun last year. Suffice i, nT*" tha i t u n , an era when small purees real fighting were the rule way to world fame in an series ot successes, every one h** s knock-out route, culminating knocking out of Weir a? ,h ‘ stated, in the United States loth round—an unlucky one for PAST AND PRESENT ‘ How do you Uiink the men of y„, time compare with those of t„ 2 5 Bill was asked by a Sun man ■ W-ell. ’ said Bill. 'I think that onside Dempsey, none of the present a heavies has got a knockout punch IS X am sure that Dempsey has lost ol his old speed against a clever J like Tunney. THE MASTER CRAFTSMAN ■‘l think F*eter Jackson, as I kn. him before he left Sydney, would h»V j'abbed the head off anv of the presto, ' day champions. He was clever put a lot of well-directed power in, his punches. The most skilful boi.r, of my day were Jim Corbett and J.y Mace. I never saw better. Grif was a great boxer, but no fighter” "What is your idea of a champiorBill was asked. “A good natural fighter with a pmitr in both hands, and a good head and good footwork to take him in to hit man, will toon make a top-noteher-Bill replied. "But he must have * knock-out punch. That’s mv idea na real champion!”