BOXING.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 December 1920, Page 3

BOXING.

COOK BEATS LLOYD. Heavyweight bo-ting- contests are a rarity, and when they are staged they, as a rule, are slow and uninteresting. This cannot be said, however, of the contest at the Town Hr ; ll at Wellington on Friday evening last, arranged by the Wellington Boxing Association between Alberr Lloyd (Australasian heavyweight champion) and George Cook (challenger for the title). It is a long time indeed since a more vigorous bout between TJig men. was seen here, and the large audience present had its full share of sensation. Lloyd's weight was announced as 12.10, and Cook as IS.ti. Lloyd had an advantage in height and reach, but made i!.ttle use of this. For the greater part, of the contest he was content to act on the defensive, in which role he at times allowed cleverness. Conk, on the other hand, frnm gong to gong, was on the attack. He Is one of the ~:ost aggressive fighters seen, and it is remarkable, in view of tlie pace he set throughout, howhe sustained his vigor right up to the finish. As is customary nowadays in professional contests, there was a great deal of clinching tine in-fighting, in which Cook was the more successful, but his most deadly blow—a! vicious uppercut—was on most occasions successfully evi-ded by Lloyd. In several rounds the audience wete worl.-d up to a higl state of excitement, notably in the tenth round, when Lloyd went to the boards.,from a nasty back-hand swing, which caught him partly on* It's balance. (In this occasion he look the count to six. and twice In later rounds he was in distress, but weathered tie storm gamely. Though Cook had by far the greatest number of points to his credit fur blows that got home, be was made to miss fiequ.-utiy and in the end there was not so much between the two mi-i, !n the matter of points as the nature of Hie foulest might suggest. Cook is a flgltet ami Lloyd a boxer, and the boxer was net quite clever enough to outpoint the lighter. That about sums up I lie petition, Cooj; fraimcntly offended in the clinches by using bis head under his opponent's chin. Lloyd helped to balance accounts by hitting while holding his opponent's glove locked tinder lis arm. Lloyd had the best ot tho ,'i, 7, fl, and 14th rounds, while matters were about even In the 2, (!, H and I.lth, Cook more than holding his own in the 1, 4, f>, 10, 11, 12 and 15th. At tile close of the 15th round, Lloyd was undergoing a torrid time, and the gong must have brought a welcome relief.