THE BOXING RING

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 936, 1 April 1930, Page 13

THE BOXING RING

worts :rs?Ofvfi r/Uia neap. ~V\

BY “LEFT COUKTEP.*

Hay Becomes a Yank I? private advice received this week is to be believed Artie Hay does not intend to risk losing any of his triple honours. He was offered a fight at Hastings with Jim Broadfoot, a return bout for the light-heavv-weight crown he recently took from the Aucklander, but refused the offer. He was then offered a fight with Ted Morgan for the middle title, but again he refused. Who has been putting these Yankee ideas into Hay’s head? Trowern To Fight Hancock Dunedin has secured the services of Wally Hancock, ex-welter-weight champion of Australia and the first man to hang the k.o. sign on Charlie Purdy. It was the two defeats of Purdy that really put Hancock in the limelight. Hancock is coming over under contract for two or three fights and Reg Trowern has been offered the first. The Aucklander has accepted and the bout, which will be for a £2OO purse, will probably take place on April 18. Trowern will train at his home gymnasium. Auckland’s Next Fight The bout between Ted Morgan and Jack Paul, which will be staged at the Town Hall next Monday, should be quite a good fight. Since he turned professional, Morgan has been very successful and is looked upon as one of the best men produced in New Zealand for many years. Many Aucklanders have been desiring to see him in action and the opportunity lias been provided. Paul is a New Zealander, but he has done most of his fighting in Australia, where he has quite a reputation. He

came over to the Dominion last year and on April 1 defeated Reg Trowern on points at Christchurch.. Since then he has been fighting with success in Australia, ■where he beat A 1 Bourke. exchampion of Australia, J. Meadies, welter champion of New South Wales, and Dealer Wells, as well as other lesser lights. He lost to Richards after a great battle and some idea of the visitor’s ability can be formed from the fact that Richards lias two k.o. decisions over Wally Hancock. Meadies, whom he defeated, has points decisions over both Hancock and Richards. Paul reports himself to be in good condition and expects to enter the ring at about lOst 41b. He is training each evening at Henry Donovan’s gymnasium in Parnell. Morgan has not yet arrived. * * * Look, You Referees! Mr. Eugene Corri, the famous English referee, in one of his syndicated articles, has a lesson for the Northern Boxing Association’s referees and judges. Pie says:—“l was referee for the National Sporting Club of a bout between Georges Gourday, the Prench feather-weight, and Bert Taylor, of Birmingham. My verdict was that the Frenchman won on points. It was a decision that was not altogether approved by those who had places at

the ringside. I would point out that , Gourday, in my opinion, was entitled ; to the verdict because he landed nearly j all the clean blows that were delivered, j Taylor employed the open glove per- j sistently, and only those who followed I the contest closely appreciated the I faults which cost him the match. Why is it that so many of our boys use the open glove? There are many, I sometimes decide, who have but the foggiest notion of how to punch correctly. If young men, when they take up boxing, would get down to bedrock, we should not have so many whose education is but half-completed. No youth should • go into the ring until he has mastered, j or at least knows something about, the j art of punching.” Reward of Publicity Not only New Plymouth but also Wellington have gained the reward of enterprise in publicity and in staging a match out of doors. Perhaps the local officials who when approached on the subject of staging a bout out of doors, say “it might rain” will reconsider their opinions. It evidently pays to take the risk. Perhaps, next summer Auckland will see bouts staged in the open air. Donovan’s Improvement The return fight between Donovan and Sarron proved to be a thriller as well as a surprise. Inquiries made toward the end of last week showed that there was plenty of money offering for Sarron, with scarcely a Donovan backer to be found. But the Waitara man came through with flying colours and took a popular decision. We have not seen Donovan in action as a professional, his last, and only, I believe, appearance in this city being at tho 1928 New Zealand championships immediately before he turned professional. I can only say that to beat a man of the calibre of Sarron (provided, of course, that the American was at tho top of liis form) Donovan must have improved about 500 per cent. Donovan appears to be a worthy successor to Johnny Leckie, if his latest performance is any criterion, the only pity being that he is not a few years younger. Deliberate Rule Breaking There’s some very funny work going on in New Zealand boxing circles at the present time. For the fight at New Plymouth both Sarron and Donovan were guaranteed £220 each, win, lose or draw. The same conditions applied to the Wellington match —this. in spite of the New Zealand rules which provide that a boxer in his first contest can fight for only a £2OO purse, all subsequent contests to be limited to £l5O. But Donovan and Sarron have received £440 each for two contests within a fortnight. The New Zealand association is permitting its rules to be broken, and for this there is no excuse. ”The rule in question is, admittedly, ridiculous, and the lights were worth more than £ls0 —£90 for the winner and £6O for the loser —but, however stupid, once made it should be abided by. The smaller associations were responsible for the rule in the first place, the only one of the larger associations to lend its support being Wellington. New Rules Wanted The Northern association has endeavoured to arrange matches, but has been handicapped by the limitation, which it has abided by, but Wellington, partly responsible for the rule, does not scruple to break it. This is a sorry state of affairs. Rules are made to control the sport and if they are wrong the only thing to do is to revoke them. Breaking them is not fair play. The limelight that has been flooded on the two fights in question has shown how the rules have been broken and the other associations are now awake to what is going on. Consequently there should be something doing at the next annual meeting of the New Ze'aland Boxing Association, for some associations will want to know why the rules were deliberately broken. Let us hope that at the next meeting rules which will benefit the sport and which Will not need to be broken to good matches will be framed and made part of the constitution.