BOXING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1058, 23 August 1930, Page 16

BOXING CHAMPIONSHIPS

AUCKLANDERS DO WELL PURDIE AND BRUNO WIN Special to THE SUN PALMERSTON N., Today. Auckland and South Auckland boxers again acquitted themselves creditably at the New Zealand amateur boxing championships at Palmerston North yesterday. The semi-finals and finals will be decided tonight. J. Wilson (To Aroha) and R. Hutchinson (Hawke’s Bay) were evenly matched in the first round of a lightweight contest. Some heavy body blow's were exchanged in the following round, the advantage resting with Hutchinson, who carried a good left and a strong right. Hutchinson pressed home his advantage in the la.st round and scored to the face and body and won the bout. A. Craig (Hamilton) and G. Thomas (Marlborough) set to in earnest from the initial gong, the latter’s speed enabling him to take a small lead on points. Lively exchanges in mid-ring marked the second round. Thomas sent a heavy straight left to Craig’s body, and after evading a mistimed left ho went into close quarters and pierced Craig’s defence early in the final round. Craig got home to Thomas’s jaw with a. straight left, but when he had his opponent cornered lie neglected to follow his advantage. Thomas came away in the closing stages to win by ;l decisive margin. T. Mullins (Taumarunui) pursued J. K. Cossill (Whangarei) all round the ring with straight lefts in the first round of a light-heavy-weight bout. Cossill went better in the second round. His blows were not sent from all the points of the compass, as were Mullins’s. A smart right cross went down to Mullins’s account in this round. In the final round Cossill’s left drew blood and made his opponent a very tired man. Cossill did not take advantage of this sufficiently, and lost the bout.

Bigger in build and longer in arms than E. Adams (South Auckland), J->. Roebuck (Taranaki) found his opponent to be a very elusive target in the first round. Early in the second round Adams came in to close quarters and came off second best. He learnt his lesson quickly and thereafter tried to avoid the clinches. Adams, who found his opponent too strong, lost the bout. Two fly-weights, F. Bruno (Auckland) and L. C. Higgs (Wellington) went hammer and tongs right from the start. Bruno had Higgs against the ropes, and though he took some punishment from straight lofts, he sent his man twice to the floor with right crosses. Bruno discarded scienco in the second round, Higgs connecting with left leads which lacked weight. Neither bothered much about defence, their main object being to score by aggressiveness, Bruno enjoying an advantage in this respect. Bruno forced Higgs back on to the ropes early in the third round, and the boxers went wildly at each other out in the middle of the ring again. Higgs used his left to advantage but Bruno drove him back and pasted him on the ropes, winning an excellent bout by a good margin. H. Jones (Auckland) met F>. Mutton (Hamilton) in the feather-weight class. Johns allowed Mutton to set the pace in the first round, making judicious use of his greater reach and speed of foot. cause Mutton to miss badly on occasions. Mutton fared better in the second round and gave every bit as good as he took, connecting to the body and face with both hands Mutton’s hard work in the previous round told on him and in the final round he was very t.ired. Johns pursued and won the bout. R. Purdio (Auckland) had his second fight against T. T. Holden, of Pahiatua, in the feather-weight class. Purdie did not try very hard in the initial round. Holden carried the fight to him in the second round, but found Purdie’s left troublesome. He fought at long range and relied upon his footwork to escape punishment. Purdie was too experienced for his opponent, who fought a losing fight gamely. In R. Furze (Taranaki), D. Cleverley (Auckland) encountered a tough customer who was able to use either hand With equal effect. Behind on points in the first round, Cleverley fared better in the second round, in which he sen a strong right to the face. Cleverley received the decision, though the house made a demonstration. H. Neale (Auckland) met J. Connors (Wellington) in the middle-weight bout and frequently had his opponent on the ropes. Neale was well ahead on points when the pair came up for the final round. Connors strove hard for a win by the k.o. route, but’ was nearly knocked out himself. P. McCarthny (Auckland) was a better boxer than A. Thurston (Taihape) in a heavy -weight contest. McCarthny sent his opponent to the floor with a left hook just before the gong sounded in the second round, and early in the final round a right cross sent Thurston down for nine, the fight being stopped soon after. Despite his opponent’s advantage in reach and build, Bruno won a good fight against D. Robuck. Bruno turned points by leading and avoiding punishment, his elusiveness standing him in good stead. He also scored with lefts to the face. . , A good feather-weight bout was that between 11. Johns and W. G. Leckie (Dunedin). Leckie drew Johns’s guard with left feints in the first round and also brought his right into use. Johns went better in the second round and concentrated upon Leckie’s face. After an even final round the decision went to Johns. P. McCarthny (Auckland) chased C. Gardner (Christchurch) round the ring early in the first round. Gardner took his time and with hefty right hooks punished McCarthny severely. The bout was stopped in the first round in Gardner’s favour.

D. Cleverly (Auckland) was subjected to a lot of punishment by A. Lowe (Otago) in the second semi-final of the welter-weight division and the gong saved him in the first round. Cleverley retired at the end of the round. BOXER COLLAPSES TAKEN TO HOSPITAL Press A ssoviation PALMERSTON N., Today. During the progress of the boxing championships last evening, P. Rush (Blenheim), competing in the heavyweight class, collapsed during the interval in a bout with R. Nicol (Southland), and was carried from the ring unconscious. He was admitted to hospital, undergoing an operation early this morning. His condition is stated to be serious The bout was not strenuous and Rush did not appear to receive a blow to cause any serious injury to his head, which would account for the collapse.