AUSTRALIAN BEATEN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 35, 11 February 1939, Page 4

AUSTRALIAN BEATEN

GAME BUT OUTCLASSED AMERICAN NEGRO'S FIRST BOUT REFEREE’S ACTION JUSTIFIED. “Kingfish” Dixon, coloured American welterweight, fought impressively to defeat Ron McLaughlin on a technical knock-out at the end of the sixth round at Leichhardt Stadium last month. It was Dixon's first fight in Australia. He won decisively. The Australian boy fought gamely, but was outclassed. At the end of the sixth round, McLaughlin's manager (W. McConnell) called the referee (Mick Lacey) to his corner and asked him to inspect the boxer’s left eye, which was cut. The fight was stopped immediately, and Dixon crowned.

The referee's action was justified. McLaughlin was quickly becoming a punching block for his coloured opponent, who scored almost at will with short lefts and rights to the face in the sixth round.

White men have to contend with inherited physical forces in contests with coloured boxers. This has nov been more strikingly demonstrated than in this fight, comments W. F. Corbett, in the Sydney Sun.

Muscles rippled across Dixon's back and down his biceps writhing serpents. He is a welterweight, but he fought with the strength and punching power of a middleweight. Dixon, in the deciding sixth round, scored with frequency of hooks and crosses as though McLaughlin possessed no defences.

White men invariably have to develop the strength Dixon displayed with hard manual work. Les Darcy, for example, acquired it by, swinging a blacksmith’s hammer. The “Kingfish’’ was asked last night if he ever had any strenuous physical occupations.

“No, sub,” he replied. "The only hard work ah ever did in mah life was in an iron foundry. Ah lasted only one day. It nearly killed me."

He has a reach of 76 inches, and for the greater part of the contest kept McLaughlin at an effective range, by driving a long left at him that appeared as though it had telescopic extension powers.

A spectator in the terraces called him “Swordfish.” He was as cool as his ocean namesake, carefully selecting his blows and scanning the defence for openings—as unemotoinal as an army “brass hat" in a peaceful military manoeuvre.