BOXING.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2766, 22 March 1910, Page 6

BOXING.

FITZSIMMONS v. WILLIAMS. | It lias been arranged, says the “Refetree,” that Bob. Fitzsimmons and Ed. Williams shall meet in Melbourne on ..May 25. Middle-weight championship OF'AUSTRALIA. xtreme caution, coupled with re4fS?jable defensive skill on the part . ?#oth contestants characterised the -' •between Arthur Cnpps und Ed. ' ms (says a • Sydney exchange). . %|S-b men scaled under the middielimit \of 11.4, the contest car- • Mj ith it the. title of middle-weight '' of Australia. and'; standing in the centre .• ‘ ft ~12, the two opponents presentH •

ed a striking contrast, representing two entirely different types of athletes. Cripns, the shorter of the twain, shows remarkable development from the waist upwards, whilst 'Williams is just the reverse. Both men, having met in previous contests, were full” cognisant of each other’s power, and as a consequence at the outset both were excessively careful. In the opening rounds Cripps paid most of his attention to his opponent’s body, but owing to the latter’s extreme shiftiness, coupled with his almost perfect timing, very few ot Cripps’ leads did any damage. Williams used a long lead to . the face, and; a right drive for both head and body with a ■ small amount of success. Right up till the sixth' round the contest was more like an exceedingly clever gymnasium spar rather than an actual contest. The same order of things prevailed until about the twelfth round, when Cripps started to change his tactics. At this stage he was slightly ahead on points, but his different method of attack soon caused the contest to assume an entirely different aspect. He kept jabbing short lofts into Williams face with great regularity, and occasionally sending short Tight jolts to the Williams seemed quite unable to withstand this- new style of attack, and lost .szTOund' rapidly. The contest, however, did not become an” more attractive from a spectator’s point of view. Clever it undoubtedly was. but merely a repo, tition of the same tactics. Starting from the eighteenth round Williams attacked savagely.. Cripps stood to him. and a succession of lively rallies ensued, in which Cripps, . who was punching cleaner and timing better than his opponent, more than held his own. Williams was hanging on a trifle too much in the second last round, an offence which he repeated towards the close of the final term. Cnpps \ as apparently much the. stronger ot the pair when they faced each other for the last round. Williams attempted to force the /pace, hut Cripps carried too many guns tor him, and managed to score very freely right up till the conclusion of the round, when the referee. Mr. Snowy Baker, had no hesitation in acclaiming Cripns as the winner. The decision was an extremely popular one, the major it- of the spectators favoring Cripps. Strange to say, Cripps received the most of the punishment, for, although lie scored the greater number of points. Williams’ punches were the more telling.