WEIGHT V. SPEED

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 290, 28 February 1928, Page 1

WEIGHT V. SPEED

HEAVY-WEIGHT BOXING ELIMINATION TEST HEENEY AND DELANEY British heavy-weights have for so long been compelled to take a back seat on the world’s championsihp stage that it is refreshing to find the Do - minions coming to the rescue. The elimination contest which will be fought in New York on Thursday is between a. New Zealander, Tom Heeney, and a Canadian, Jack Delaney. Heeney’s record is well known to followers of boxing in New Zealand. His

opponent, Delaney, is the former light-heavy-weight champion of the world, who recently found that he could no longer make the 175 limit of that division without serious injury to himself. and who accordingly relinquished the title to fight in the free-for-all class. A DECISIVE VICTORY The status of Delaney, whose real name is Ovila Chapdelaine, was in doubt in the minds of fight followers in America until the Kanuck convincingly demonstrated his claims to rank as a championship contender by his decisive victory over Paul Berlenbach at Chicago in December. He finished Berlenbaeh off in six rounds after knocking him down four times before putting over the final one-two punch that settled the fight. Delaney is fast, tricky and aggressive and has a wicked right hand punch, but whether he is heavy enough to stand up to a cave-man fighter of the Heeney type is another matter. Delaney was only IJlb. over the heavyweight minimum when he fought Berlenbach, whereas in the following month Heeney fought Sharkey to a draw at 14.2. This means that unless Delaney can build up a bit more weight, he would be giving away about 15 st. to the New Zealander. The fight should be a good one, because both men like the pace to be hot. It will be a test of a fast, clever fighter against a rugged, heavier man, who has so far stood up to the hardest hitters in the American ring, with, of course, the exception of Dempsey and Tunney.