BOXING.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 3640, 28 September 1912, Page 9

BOXING.

(By "Wallop.”!

The Australasian Amateur Championships.

New Zealand nominees, who are on the other side for the Australasian Amateur Championships, have not figured very prominently in the winning list. The fact that not a single Maorilander, though several fought in the finals, got home with one of the competitions is a matter of serious regret. Undoubtedly the present is one of the lean years that come along occasionally, and it certainly must not be taken as evidence that the game, is deteriorating in the Dominion. In fact boxing at the present time is in a very healthy way, as is proved by the number of Associations that are in existence, and the support which they are accorded. The wire from. Mr Atack } published during the week, makes it appear that some of the decisions given were open to question. Mr Atack says that Gunn, in the bantam division, and Fitzsimmons, in the heavy, won their bouts with plenty to spare, yet the decisions went against them. The statement, coming as it does from a man with the standing of Mr Atack, must carry some weight, but at that the matter must stand for the present, for it would not be vise to express an opinion on the matter from the meagre details to hand.

Mehegan’s Future Doings. Now that Hughie Mehegan has satisfactorily settled Mat Wells’s little hash the Australian light-weight seems to have set the other English light-weights into action, and it is apparent that Mehegan will have no fear of the future so far as matches are concerned. Cabled news received during the week states that Summers has come to light with a challenge for a battle with a side-bet of £2OO, and that Mehegan had replied that he had "accepted Wre nil’s offer to fight Matt Wells. The Summers referred to will be Johnny Summers, who beat Arthur Evendon for the English wel-ter-weight championship some little time back. Summers stipulated a 10stonc limit, which should suit Mehegan, as that is the Australian light-weight-’s maximum. The English light-weight is 9st 91b, and the English welter lOst 71b. As Summers was giving 3'.lbs away to Evendon at tho time of their encounter the Englishman should have had no great difficulty in making lOst should he meet Mehegan. The match'a gainst Wells will he a return one, for Mehegan won against the Englishman about a fortnight age. A cable received on Thursday mentioned that Mr Wrenn (tho well-known Melbourne sportsman) had cabled £IOOO to the “Sporting Life” to bind the match.

McGoorty and Others. McGoorty’s stock is apparently .going up some. It is now certain that tho Dave Smith who suffered defeat at tho hands of tho American middle (or light heavy) is the “Dave of ours.” American files awhile hack stated that McGoorty was matched to meet Papke on the same date as which, his battle with Smith took place, but there must have been a hitch in tho arrangements somewhere. News of another success by McGoorty came to hand by cable this week, which stated that he had comfortably ■ walloped Jack Harrison, tho English middleweight champion. While Smith was iii England an endeavor was made to get him hitched up to Harrison, but negotiations did not bring about the desired result. '

Will John Come? John Johnson has again intimated that he will accept H. D. Macintosh’s offer to come out to Australia. Jack has boon so fickle lately that it will lie hard % believe that he will keep his contract. At the same time I do not doubt that Johnson will eventually come out to Australia for tho reason that the offer is a tempting one, and that Jack’s supply of ready cash will be running low again. However, the only thing to do is to wait and see and waste as little time as possible in speculation on tho subject.

Why we Laugh. The greatest joke of the year is embodied in a cablegram from -Pueblo (Colorada). We are told that “Jim Flynn claims the heavy-weight championship of the world, in view of the onee-again announced ‘fact’ that Jack Johnson has determined to retire.” That Jim has been a trier for the title, and a persistent and plucky one at that, there can be no gainsaying, but how anybody could regard him seriously as the man to fill Johnson’s roomy fighting shoes when the big black really does cast them aside surpasses understanding muchly. Poor Flynn, buffeted from the Tommy Burns pillar to the Sam Langfoxd post, and tripping over minor obstacles every once in a way all these years, as a possible successor to Jack Johnson, without actually beating that individual, is just about the limit. But as the information comes from the town (Pueblo) where Andy Haymes (“Jim Flynn’s” baptismal name) put in many tough days and nights as a fireman ere succumbing to the lure of the ring, it might charitably be labelled pardonable.—Sydney “Referee.”

Jimmy Barry Walloped. “White Hope” Luther McCarthy, who went into the fighting business on Tommy Bums’ lies won another battle. We learned by cable that McCarthy had much the better of Jimmy Barry —big Jimmy Barry who was in Australia a few months ago—in a sixrounds bout at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, a fortnight ago. Barry was floored three times.

Notes. Frank Klaus boat Marcel Morean at .Aix-les-Buines (France) on September 9. Klaus almost knocked liis opponent out in the first- and fourth rounds and had all the best of the fighting until Morean was disqualified for hitting low. Morean is one of the most prominent middle-weights, and of late there has been considerable talk of matching him against Carpentier. It will be remerbered that Morean was beaten by Papke about the same time as Klaus settled Carpentier.

Jack Clarke easily defeated Tommy McCarthy (of America) at the Gaiety. Sydney, last Monday week. Clarke had it on the American ali the way, the towel coming in in the fifth session.