GLADIATORS OF THE GLOVE

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 59, Issue 101, 31 May 1930, Page 12

GLADIATORS OF THE GLOVE

LECKIE'S BRILLIANT VICTORY. A WONDERFUL CHAMPION

(Notes by "Uppercut.")

''Well, wliat do you know about that?" With this remark aud a dumbfounded expression on his face, a ringsider (sunimcd up last Saturday night's great boxing contest in Napier, the remark coming as Donovan was being assisted to his eorner. It was incredible! That sucli a great fighter as the Fighting Fireman •from Waitara, a man who was as tougli, proverbially, as the "iron horse" which he drives dailv, could be put to sleep in fair battle in the liempen square, was beyond the imagination of at least 95 per cent. of Ihe boxing followers, not of Napier, Hastings or even Taranaki, hut the whole of the Dominion. That Johunie Leckie might beat the hitbterto unconquerable Donovan, who liad three successive victories orer the mighty Pete Sarron to his account, was a possibility — in fact more than a possibility to many fans, hut a knockouL! Well, it surcly was enough to make anyone remark, "Wliat do> you know ahout that?" CONTEST PREDICTED. "Uppercut" is in tlie rather happv position of having predicted, beforc the contest almost identieally wliat luippened, a'nd naturally the writer i'eels somewhat elated to be able to ay "I told you so," or words to that effeet. Pete Sarron is another in the same hox, for on Saturday night at Napier, Pete informed Donovan that he was in for a liiding aiitl that he lvould not see' the way Leckie went. Pete was riglit. CAN CHEW THEIR WORDS And now the critics who were so constaut in their allegations that Lcekie liad "slipped" will have to cliew their words. There will be talk, col.umns of it, of Leckie's great "come-back" and so 011, but the writer still maintains tliat it was not a case of a "come-back." Leckie was never out to come-back, and perliaps fans will now realise that it was his ill-health that was responsible for Johnnie's lapse -from success. cess. And there can be no excus© that Leckie's victory was a fluke. There was 110 fluke about it and to-dav Leckie stands supreme as the greatest feathenveight in the Dominion. BEH1ND ON P01NTS. Donovan was beaten fairl.y aT'd squarely, but he was certainly not disgraced. Up to the eleventh round he was going great guns, althougli well behind on points and, in fact, in the tenth session, his best of the battle, it looked as if he miglit make things interesting for the Napier boy. It was evident at this stage, however, that he would have had to score a knock-out to win, for on the writer 's card he had only won two rounds, with one drawn and the rest in favour of Ijeckie. HIS HARD RIGHTHAND. Leckie proved against Glen Leslie that he had a riglit liand — such a dandy, too ! When he erossed it to Leslie' s jaw, Leslie didn't know wbat liad hit him. i Neither did Donovan, when it landed on bis point, and once again it was proved that 110 matter how hard they are. if they're hit riglit tlie.v'Il drop. Donovan was hit right, and had the gong not sounded he would never have started 011 another round. So right was he hit that the minute's spell was not enough to allow him to reoover and when lie went out for the 12tli flutter he was still, to all intents and purposes, on his nnexpected visit to the land where purses, tiLles and hard-hitting opponents are non est. INSTINCT, FOOLISHNESS It was instinct 011 the part of Donovan and foolishness 011 the part of Leckie tliat Donovan went so far in the 12th round. After the Leckie-Leslie afFair. the writer warned Leckie that it was a. foolisli tliing to go in blindty to beat a beaten man. Leckie did tliis same thing against Donovan at the start of

the 12th anfl for a moment it looked as if Donovaln miglit recover, whilst Leckie was using up a lot of valuable energy with aimless punches. Then suddenly Johnnie realised liis mistake, stood off, picked his target and it was all over, and for the first time in his brilliant career, Tommy Donovan, the iron man from Waitara, was down and out. * * * . NOT IN SAME STREET. Donovan's displays against Sarron tesulted in a bmreputation preceding him to Hawko's Bay, and we were told wonderful tales of his ability, not only as a fighter, but as a boxer. On Saturday night, he was still a good fighter, but there was not the devil in his punch that there was in his earlier clays, and as a boxer he was not in the same street as Leckie. At timeg he very cleverly slipped Leckie's left lead, but Leckie didn't tbrow many points away, and poov Tommy's nasal organ was invariably at the end of Johnnie's left battering rain. When Donovan led, Leckie invariably took the lead cn liis glove or baek moved it, Donovan's best punches being swings to tbe body. Some of these were hard, too, bnt never did they distress the champion 111 any way. SHORT PUNCHES* At close quarters, the pair were fairl.y evenly matclied, but it was in close that Leckie's short punches told their tale. _ As the writer previously snggested^ it would be Leckie's evasiveness, his straight left, and his short shock_ punches which would turn the tide in his favour, It was a shock punch which dropped the Waitara man in the 11th round and that punch did not travel move than eight inches. A CONFIDENT BOXER. Right to the end, the contest was great, fought at a fast clip, in the cleanest manner, but with no quarter given. Donovan was confidence itself, but Leckie wore his usual worried expression which is really a mask from which it is impossible to gauge his feelings. Ev'en whilst fighting, this expression remained, and it was not until it was all over and he was receiving the congratulations of his friends that he really smiled. He had cause to sinile then, for 'the crown rests on the head of a worthy champion: THE RETURN BOUT. Leckie and Donovan are to meet in a return contest in Dunedin 011 the 21st of next montli, and New Plymouth fans can look forward to some more thrills, bnt the writer lias no hesitation in stating that the -result will most probahly he the same. Leckie's science will always triumpli over Donovan's ruggedness, and the fact that he suffered his one and only knock-out _ at Leckie's hands is not going to improve Donovan's chances. LECKIE 'AND SARRON. It _ was only natural that after Leckie's win there sliould he talk of another Sarron-Leckie battle, but the writer was informed on Saturday night that Sarron was leaving for home in a ■fortnight. Even if he does not leave, tjjough, it _ is doubtful if they will meet, for if Sarron still wants the £400 guarantee he asked for in Hastings, he will not be matched. No association can give him £400, pay his opponent and the expeilses of running ihe hout, unless it is an open-air contest, and no association is likely to" nsk the open at this time of the year. If the pair do meet, it will be mteresting. even tbough it will be their fiffch clash together. Comment 011 the outeome of such a meeting will he deferred until and if a lnatch is clinched. t It_ has since heen reported hat Napier has secured this bout. * * * THE AMATEURS. Space will not permit any comment of tlie amateur bouts this' week, but they tvill be dealt with in next week's notes.