THE BOXING RING

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 988, 3 June 1930, Page 14

THE BOXING RING

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Fixtures Leckie v. Shack, Auckland, tonight. Grime v. Donovan, June 13. Smith v. Taylor, June 21. Leckie v. Donovan, New Plymouth, June. * * * The New Zealand Boxing Association’s new purse-limit rules will be dealt with in a special article on Friday evening.^ Tommy Uren, who fought some memorable fights in New Zealand a few years ago, is reported from Australia to be staging a come-back in the near future. The Taranaki Association is reported to be endeavouring to engage Jerry Sullivan, Australian featherweight, who recently staged a comeback, to cross the Tasman to fight Donovan. * * * Fritz Holland is drilling a large number of pupils in the rudiments of the fighting game. He has one or two good possibilities and it should not be long before he has his representatives in the local ring. * * * Fred Fraei did not last long against Jack Paul. It was really asking too much of Fraei to put him up against a seasoned warrior for his first professional contest. Fraei deserves another chance against some lesser light. After the affair with Chevalier, Carnera’s managers refused a return match with free tickets for those spectators who held coupons, although the negro agreed to the proposition. It was the Camera refusal which ultimately led to his suspension. If he had taken the return contest and fought a fair fight he may have escaped the penalty. c * * Mugs Wanted Napier is reported to be negotiating for a return contest between Sarron and Leckie; but it is rumoured that the American is sailing for home immediately. There’s no place in New Zealand for a boxer who wants £4OO after being beaten in his last three starts. Pete is a great little chap in his way, but he ought to know that the rest of the universe does not comprise, great, big mugs. •'Better than Ever” “Feeling and fighting better than ever before," is Johnny Leckie’s opinion of himself, an opinion fully endorsed by his trainer, Mr. J. W. Walters. If those opinions count for anything, Sammy Shack has a hard task before him tonight. Not that the little American is any sluggard himself. In the gymnasium he has proved himself a clever boxer on the defence with a nasty wallop for an unwary opponent. He says that he is “going to lick Leckie as he has never been licked before," but believe me, he’s got some job. * * * Murray a Champion Sammy Shack is a great admirer of Les Murray, ex-light-weight champion of New Zealand. Sammy was present when the New Zealand champion breezed into the New York office of Billy Gibson, manager of Benney Leonard, retired light-weight champion of the world, and Gene Tunney, retired heavy-weight champion. To Sammy, Gibson said “Meet Les Murray, of Noo Zealand, next light champeen of the world.” “And he should have been the next champion," Sammy says. “He beat Bobby Garcia, won the preliminaries in an elimination tournament, and met Solly Seaman in a star bout at Madison Square Garden. They were betting five to one on Seaman. Murray was knocked down, but got up and knocked Seaman down. Murray won on points. The crowd liked to see him fight, and the papers picked him as the next champion. But he broke his hand and had a lot of trouble. Seaman later beat Sammy Mandell, the champion, on a newspaper decision. so it looks like Murray was pretty good. He is still keeping fit and can lick three-quarters of the fighters today." If Murray staged a come-back he would not want for fights if he could produce anything like his old-time form, and Shack says he can.

With two wins and a loss to his record Wally Hancock has returned to Australia. Tommy Griffiths is anxious to show that he is not yet a has-been and is open for fights. All American files to hand state that the Sharky-Schmeling wrangle will take place on June 12, the bout having been put forward from the original date of June 26. Sharkey Not Wanted “All Sports Weekly” on the announcement that Sharkey and Scott may meet at Wembley Stadium:—“lf Jeff Dickson brings Sharkey to London he will make the biggest mistake of his boxing career. I will tell him that we do not want to see him. Further, that w© will not tolerate him. But there is no fear of Sharkey coming. He would never fight under an English referee who would insist on th© ordinary rules of boxing being observed.” * * # Boosting “Tuffy” Jack Gagnon sprang a big surprise recently by stopping “Tuffy" Griffiths in th© sixth round of a scheduled 10round bout. In an article published just before Griffiths was "put away" Robert Edgren wrote of the tough one as follows: A curious thing, the only fighter round this part of the world who hasn’t dodged a match, or been licked without half trying to put up a fight, or who hasn’t circulated round the country trying to build up a purely synthetic knockout record by slapping over all the ancient cripples and doddering hasbeens of a former era is "Tuffy" Griffiths. They say “Tuffy" isn’t big enough to be considered by the behemoths. He’s a little bit of a fellow, only a few pounds heavier than Dempsey was when he knocked Willard out at Toledo, weighing only 183 pounds, and only 30 pounds or so heavier than Bob Fitzsimmons was when he won the world's title in the finish fight with Corbett at Carson, weighing not more than 1565. Maybe Tuffy couldn’t go through the pack, but lie stands out for one thing. He is the only one of the lot who doesn’t pick opponents and who asks to be matched with the best. He challenged Sharkey to fight him at Miami, and the Garden named him as Sharkey’s opponent. Sharkey flatly refused. probably because Griffiths had recently whipped Paolino and knocked out Risko —two feats unaccomplished by Sharkey. (Last week Gagnon was knocked out by Von Porat, so Tuffy seems to be well out of it now.) WRESTLING GOSSIP A private cablegram from Tom Alley states that he left Vancouver last Wednesday, and that Tom Ray, under contract to Wellington, is on board. * * * Len Wilson, the well-known Auckland wrestling referee and physical culture expert, will have his first professional contest at Rotorua tonight, when he will meet Arthur Edwards, ex-light, welter, and middle-weight champion of Australia. 'Wilson had a number of contests as an amateur some years ago, and has decided to try his skill against some of the lesser professional lights. $ S> <f Howard Cantonwine, who passed through Auckland a fortnight ago, under contract to Stadiqms, Ltd., told a tale of an undefeated record against American wrestlers, and incidentally claimed the heavy-weight championship of the United States. Mr. Cantonwine may be a university student, but they evidently don’t teach memory cultivation of the American schools of learning, for the wrestling high-brow forgot all about being defeated by Strangler Lewis and Gus Sonnenberg. In future Mr. Cantonwine should remember that deceit like defeat seldom pays, and that when “putting a line across" it is better to be truthful with embellishments than untruthful without. But perhaps Mr. Cantonwine is being misjudged. Perhaps he took a university course in imagination instead of memory-training.