NEW PLYMOUTH BOXING ASSOCIATION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8129, 8 June 1906, Page 3

NEW PLYMOUTH BOXING ASSOCIATION.

A SUCCESSFUL TOURNAMENT. There was a good attendance, despite the wet weather, at the Theatre Royal, on Thursday evening, to witness the inaugural tournament of Ihe New Plymouth Amateur Boxing Association. The Mayor (Mr E. Doekrill) attended, and opened the function. A complete i)nd well furnished ring hud been e o:ted oil the stage. The secretary (Wr Alex Hill), assisted by the committee, had made very perfect arrangements, and there wis consequently no wilting between the spars, nor any lutcli in tlie proceedings. Professor J. Stagpoole acted as referee and ringmaster, and that his deci-ions gave satisfaction was pro . ed by the applause that greeted each verdict. A feature of tbo tourna iient was the absolute good feeling which ex-sted between the contestants. The timekeepers were Messrs J. Cody, J. F. Stohr and O'Brien. Some wellronderedjmusieal items were given by Mr Garry's orchestra The proceedings opened with the

I LIGHT-WEIGHT COMPETITION, Under lOst I 71b. There were six competitors, J. O'Brien (New Plymouth). J; Lyttelton C. Balsom (Mangorei), J. Skipper (Mangorei), and A.| Waters (New Plymouth), Waters and Balsom Wi're the first in the ring. The former at once demonstrated his superiority and won the bout.

McDonald and Lyttelton came next. A couple of rounds were fought, MeDonald having all the best of it and eventually floored his man under the ropes.

The next was a triple-round bout between O'Brien and. J. Skipper, tk later being somewhat heavier than his opponent. Skipper won the first round and looked a winner. O'Brien came up fresh, however, for the next round and making most of the fighting made the tally even. In the final the want of condition seemed to toll on Skipper and O'Brien won on "leading-up" points. SEMI-FINAL. The sparring between O'Brien and McDonald was for a round fairly oven, but McDonald's weight gave him the advantage. O'Brien stood a deal of punishment before he cried enough. As the ru'.es of the iN.Z. Boxing Association demand that no competitor can have a bye without a performance Marks entered 'the ring and had a couple of rounds with Waters. FINAL.

The final for tie light-weight competition between Waters and McDonald was expected to bring out some good sparring, nor was the audience disappointed. Waters, however, sparred with splendid judgment and McDonald •' closed up " before the first round was through, Waters being proclaimed the j winner. lOst. 7m. and oveh.

Bothery (Okato) and Howell (New Plymouth) opened this competition and sparred for two rounds, some hard knocks being given, llotliery, however, planted some straight welldirected left-handers and won, being much fresher at the end than his opponent.

Cross (Okato) and Marshall (Mangorci) next entered the list. In the first bout Cross inadvertedly fouled las opponent, the decision been Riven in favor of Marshall, FINAT,. This contest, between Eothery and Marshall proved to be a good display. For a time they were evenly pitted, llolhcry's straight left handers, planted every time on Marshall's nose, eventually won him the contest, though Marshall gamely stood a large amount of punishment. EXHIBITION srAllß. Exhibition spars between Pro. Twohey and B. Marks (amateur runnor-up of the N.Z. championship), Constable Cullen and Mr Beadle, and Prof. Stagpoole anil McArthur (amateur champion of Victoria) were productive of some excellent and interesting boxing.