BOXING.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 June 1922, Page 3

BOXING.

SATURDAY NIGHT’S MATCHES. WHITTAKER DEFEATS HEENEY. A GREAT CONTEST. A large crowd assembled at the Coronation Hall at New Plymouth on Saturday night, expecting to see something exciting in the way of a boxing contest between Cyril Whittaker, of Wellington, and Jack Heeney, of Gisborne, and they were not disappointed. The struggle was one worthy of the reputation of the two men, being clean, fast and Interesting throughout, and it went the full distance, being voted easily the best exhibition yet seen In New Plymouth. Jack Heeney was easily the favorite in Taranaki, the public remembering the dogged battle he put up against Laurie Cadman, whom he defeated here a few months ago, and confidently expected him to win. Whittaker, a tall, slim youth, was making his first appearance here. When the two men entered the ring Whittaker had the advantage of height, weight and reach over his much more ruggedlooking opponent, and he boxed with great judgment, standing up straight and using his left hand to advantage right through the bout. Never could he be tempted to lay himself open, and it was to this that he owes his victory by a substantial margin. Both men were accorded a great reception. The preliminaries were all fitting to open such a great contest, being keenly contested and putting the public in good humor; indeed, in two cases the referee could not separate the contestants. Some disappointment was felt at the non-appearance of A. Collins (Stratford), who could not pass the doctor, and of C. Anderson, the clever young bantam, and C. A. Whiting (Eltham), middleweight, who had Injured their hands on Thursday night.

The arrangements for the tourney were particularly good. The house committee, comprising Messrs. W. N. Stephenson, N. B. Howell, R. Paul and C. Grainger, had carried out their arduous duties very well, the seating arrangements being excellent. The ring equipment had been left to that expert, Mr. R. Inch, and he was the recipient of congratulations from the visiting boxers. Mr. Reid attended to the electric light equipment. The officials for the two nights carried out their part well, the principal ones being: Official announcer, Mr. G. E. .Tago: timekeepers, Messrs. J. Bennett. C. Dalgleish, F, Whittle; call steward, Messrs. C. Grainger, J. Abbott; weight stewards, Messrs. W. Yardley, W. N. Stephenson; competitors’ steward, Mr. W. Graham: glove steward, Mr. W. Richards; official seconds, Messrs. W. Whitaker, A. Baker, W. Richards, F. J. Eggleton. Mr. Of H. Wynyard, the secretary, came through the ordeal of his first tournament splendidly, Messrs. W. N. Stephenson (house manager) and N. B. Howell (treasurer) rendering invaluable assistance. Messrs. R. Barlow, W. Graham and M. G. Stagpoole were the entertainment committee. The refereeing was in the capable hands of Mr. F. Burns, of Auckland, and his decisions gave general satisfaction. Details of the boxing are:— > THE PRELIMINARIES. The preliminaries were decided as follow: Owing to A. Collins (Stratford) being unable to pass the doctor, R. Dudding (Stratford), 7.12, boxed a three rounds’ no-declsion bout with D. Childs ((Stratford), 7.1. This proved a fair exhibition of clean boxing, Childs mainly relying on his left, though occasionalls’ he showed that he could use his right. W. G. Coombe (Opunake), 9.0, v. Coates (Omata), 9.0. This went the full four twominutes. Coombe was as popular as ever. Ins unorthodox methods putting the crowd in great humor, and somewhat disconcerting his opponent, who was the more clever boxer and gained the verdict. G. McMillan ((Awakino), 9.13, v. V. Brosnan (New Plymouth), 10.9. This proved a vers’ willing, fast and exciting contest, both men standing up and mixing it well. Brosnan, using his weight, made the pace very warm at the start, and appeared to have the advantage in the second and thirds rounds. The fourth round proved very exciting and fast, both men being very tired. The referee could not separate them, and awarded a draw —a popular verdict.

Owing to A. F. Graham nbt passing the doctor, Walshe (New Plymoutn), 10.6, boxed three rounds with S. Smith (New Plymouth), 10. G. This bout, was responsible for some close work, which, however, was very clean. Walshe did most of the forcing. Smith smothering and occasionally sending in a left. Smith got the verdict. L. McGuire (Riverlea), v. P. Webber (New Plymouth), 13.0.—This proved another great "go,” being very fast. Early, Webber forced the pace, but many of his swings were wild. McGuire, on the other hand, was steady, and scored at close work, cleverly evading. In the closing rounds Webber did better, and there were some great exchanges, rousing the excitement of the crowd. The referee's verdict of a draw was a verj’ popular one. SENIOR CADETS’ FINAL. Owing to C. A. Whiting (Eltham), middleweight, and C. Anderson (New Plymouth), bantam-weight, having injured theiy hands, they were unable to compete in the finals nf • their respective classes. The only final decided, therefore, was that of the featherweight, in which E. Gibson (New Plymouth), i 9.0, defeated E. C. Dudding (Stratford), 8.13, j after a very close contest .which went, tho I full distance. It was a clean contest. Gibson possesses a good punch, which he used effectively, but Dudding was the better at . In-fighting, and had his opponent tiring at the finish. THE PROFESSIONAL CONTEST. Excitement was at a high pitch as the time for the professional contest drew near, and ns results proved. It was kept at a fever heat throughout the whole hour. Each man was given a great reception as he entered the ring, and this was renewed as the official ani’nouncer formally introduced them and Intimated that L. Cadman issued a challenge to •the winner and, in the event of it being Heeney, for the championship. The weights were announced as follow: C. Whittaker 12.0. Heeney 11.0. C. Whittaker, who had the services of the- well-known trainer, W. Crawford, E. Ashton, and T. Thompson, had the advantage of both weight, height and reach, being tall and slim. The local professional , (G. Richardson), C. Corbett and H. Murdoch were in Heeney’s corner, and the latter’s supporters were quite pleased with the appearance of their man, who looked rugged. j Right from the gong Heeney rushed in and ! led for the face, starting to mix things; but 1 Whittaker, using a straight left, which he rej peatedly jabbed to the face, kept him away, b whilst he also back-stepped nicely. Heeney ; appeared to have the better of an exchange in which • both men slipped to the boards. I Whittaker had the better of the concluding i stages, the round ending slightly In his favor. In the second round Heeney got In close, I and there was a lively spell of in-fighting, in i which Whittaker demonstrated his ability to I take punishment, and also showed that he coud hold his own at In-fighting. Heeney sent across some dangerous lights that would have spelt disaster, but Whittaker cleverly evaded, and also poked his left to the face and body, i It was an even round. The third round opened quietly. Thon Heeney scored to the body, but Whittaker, . standing up well and using his left to the face again and again, brought blood from Heeney’s ! nose. The latter retaliated with solid blows .to the body, Whittaker cleverly evading swings to the face. Heeney was punching harder but Whittaker was the more clever, and the round ended in his favor. In the fourth round, Heeney swung some hefty rights to the body, but Whittaker, by good footwork, evaded and jabbed a straight left to the body and jaw. Heeney tried hard to finish matters, but Whittaker would not ! leave himself open, and, boxing with good I judgment, again finished with a margin in his I favor. The fifth round was not quite so fast, though I Heeney tried to force the pace and scored at in-fighting. Whittaker, however, showed great goolaess in evading god al»s made ua*. x •

comfortable with that tap to the face. This round was also in favor of Whittaker, as were also the sixth and seventh. In the eighth round Whittaker scored to the face with the left, Heeney scoring to the head and getting in right and left jabs to the face. Whittaker, however, boxed very coolly, making his opponent miss and coming back with straight lefts to the face, varied by left hooks to the body and, occasionally, straight rights, and had Heeney thinking. This round was fairly even, as were the next three. Heeney was trying hard to finish the contest, but Whittaker still cleverly evaded, and his straight left, though not very forceful, kept Heeney off. The twelfth round was easily Whittaker’s, both in close work and in the open.. Whittaker also gained the verdict in the thirteenth, using both hands freely in a lively exchange. Whittaker was now boxing very confidently, but Heeney poked a left to his face and tried to swing the right; but' WTiittaker made him miss and poked in his left again. After a bout of In-fighting, Whittaker swung the right but missed, and the round ended slightly Jn Heeney’s favor. The final round proved exciting, Heeney tried for a knock-out, but missed, and W’rittaker went in. A spell of close work followed. Again Heeney tried a swing to the face, but Whittaker evaded and retaliated with a left and a right to the face, winning the round. The verdict, "Whittaker wins,” was a popular one. Seen after the contest, Whittaker said: "Heeney is a tough fellow and punches very hard, but I was confident I could out-box him, and was not afraid of his in-fighting. I would have liked to have mixed the fight-ins more, as I can in-fight a little myself; but my trainer (Billy Crawford) advised me every round to just box and beat him with the left hand. I have every faith In his judgment, and followed his directions. I am quite satisfied with the result. This is my second pro. fight. I would like to meet McCleary for the championship, and would be willing to box him as soon as he likes.” Billy Crawford, the well-known trainer, in conversation with our reporter, said: “This lad will make good, and is the futurs champion of New Zealand. He has a lot to learn, but is an apt pupil with no vices. The way he boxed an experienced man like J. Heeney shows that he has the head to make a auccessful boxer.”