BOXING.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 31 July 1913, Page 4

BOXING.

" PROFESSIONAL MIDDLE- - WEIGHT CONTEST. "BAKNEY" IRELAND r. "IXENNY" MURPHY. The Masterton Town Hall waif crowded almost to suifocfitiffli last evening, to witness the professional contest betweexl "Barney" Ireland, of Waipawa, an<| "Denny" Mufphy\ of Wellington, for the middlo-weightr championship of New Zealand iii'd parse of £SO. Visitors were frcrn all parts of the Wairarapa Forty-Mile Bush, and a number'of ent&usifcsts had travelled from as lot* as Hawke's Bay, Manawatu, antif Wellington to witness the contest.Mr T". Sampson, <rf Wellington, acted! as referee, and Mr W. D. Watson as time-keeper. PRELIMINARY EVENTS. Prior to the big 'event, several preliminary boute wero got off, by way of curtain-raisers. The first event was a light-weight con-* test between A. L. Tireesider, (Mas-., terton), 10st. y and W, Ireland, (Waipawa), 9st. 51b>.. The-first round was not responsible for much damage on either side. The- second round saw amore willing "g<s," Ireland! getting in several face and body blows. The third round was, if anything, in favour of Tressider, who got in one or two good face and body hits.. Generally .speaking,. however,, Trfcawder wasted too much energy in; the air. The referee awarded the 1 w Bout: to Ireland. -The next set-to was of four Bounds, . betweeh 0.. Cadwallader (Carterton), . 9stL. 101b., and J. Smith' Sfet121b. The first round' waa-veiy both men getting to work in earnest. Cadwallader had rather th» .best of it. In the second! wruatlltliia® was a deal of clinching, but. som» heavy blows were got in,: Smith) had slightly the better of the- roundl Cadwallawer did most of the- fighting; in vfche third round, getting in soma* faoe blows. He had to take-some-punishment about the body,. In the last round Smith forced the- : position, and got in some heavy face- ! and body blows. Cadwallader, however, f6ugb% pluckily. The referee" i declared the bout to be a draw,, and tie decision was received with loud applause, A four-round welter-weight oon~ test between 0. (Merton (Tenui) lOst 61b and F. Knapp (Pahiatua)lOst 81t>± . proved most interesting. The first round saw no hones broken, the contestants doing a good deal of sparring. In the second round Collerton got in a number of face' and body blowß, but expended a gooddealof energy on the wind. The third 1 neuiid was very- even, neither- melt' giving or suffering much punshment. In the fourth round Collerton opened briskly and did good work. He had •the best of the round, and was award- , ed the verdict by the referee,, a decision which gave every satisfaction THE BIG EVENT. The audience was on the tip-tbe of expectation for the' championhip event between "Barneys Ireland and "Denny" Murpihy. Both men appeared to be in the pink of condition." Ireland's fighting weight waa list lib, and Murphy's lOsfc 4}. The appearanoe of the man in the ring was the signal for a round of applause. In the opening round, Ireland did the most aggressive work. He got in several good body blows with his right, and towards the. end of the round administered som© severe punishment* ' - The second round opened with Ireland again on the aggressive. He .was cautioned once bytihe referee for hitting with glovo. Nether men suffered much punishment. Ireland got one or two good ones on to * Murphy's jaW. - ' > ■ - The third round saw a good deal of in-fighting. Ireland drew blood from Murphy's eye, and gave a good' deal of punishment. Murphy got in one or two.severe body blows., In' the fourth rqund both men didgood body and face work, Ireland" appearing to have somewhat the bestrof it. Murphy, however, again got in several body blows. Murphy found Ireland's jaw and ribs several times, in the fifth round, but had to take some punishment; himself in the same quarters.. Murphy had . slightly the best of the round. In the sixth round Murphy got- one or two straight lefts on to Ireland's head and drew blood 1 . Ireland acted somewhat on the defensive. v This was a good round, and was decidedly in Murphy's favour; . Round seven saw some fairly heavy / work by both men., Murphy got in a few face blows with- right and left, and Ireland did effective body work. In round eight, Murphy frequently found Ireland's face, and Ireland got a beautiful'right on. to Murphy's jaw. The round was fairly evenly fought! The ninth round saw some hard fighting. Ireland found Murphy's jaw with several heavy onea from the right. Murphy retaliated with some well directed body blows and uppercute. Round ten was not particularly interesting. Murphy acted on the aggressive, and got in some heavy face blows. Ireland showed signs of tiring. In round eleven, Ireland administered a heavy right on to Murphy's jaw, but was compelled to take a good deal of punishment on the face. Murphy had the best <jf the round. Round twelve saw a very vigorous go, Murphy punishing Ireland with numerous lefts on the face. Ireland, however, frequently found Murphy'a ribs and jaw. . In the thirteenth round, Murphy - found Ireland's jaw with his right and left, and Ireland seemed some* what distressed. There waa a good deal of clinching. The fourteenth round was a" vigorous one. Murphy got home some heavy ones on to Ireland's jaw. Ireland retaliated with some severe body blows. Murphy once went to his knees, but was quickly on his feet again. The last round was a ding-dong go. Both men fought doggedly, but Murphy appeared to be the fresher of the two, and administered a good deal of punishment, frequently finding Ireland's jaw. The referee awarded the fight to Murphy on points, and the decision was received with loud cheering. Cheers for the referee and for the contestants terminated the ing.