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French Boxing.TIIB IT in THAT WINSMr S:» p'.e.i Black. evini l.llo weight amateur champion of .South Africa# writer as follows lo the Da ly Mnil.’lThe continued success of Froneij boxers over British call Ikj cxpi lined or rather acc.miito I for, in several ways, without taking up the fashion-, ah'y cry of V* DecadentF.uglund.JfeceiilJy 1 had I ho goo I fortuno to visit Paiis at a time when greati pugilistic tilings were hnp|»ciiing ; ami the opportunity was unique fot* stinlying the methods of the French both inside and out of the riug. Tho psychology of andiouces is always intensely into: e«ting and nobody could fail to learn much trom an observe* lion of the vast crowds which vidtcd Luna Park and PrcmieiUud.1 think that the most reinarkabld »f tho in my features w hich disiiu-gtiisb French boxing from English i* the almost cruel implacability of tho audiences. Perhaps it is the introduce lion of the feminine spectator into French 'boxing which has caused thi*. Women of 'the Latin races are notoriously cruel at times ; the French Revolution, Spanish bull fights and, going farther back, the Roman gladia-torial contests conclusively provethis. .OUti'ti as I fat watching the boxers-in Paris 1 ,\iuali c*d the dying glad* iators of tho Roman arenas and fell that these women near me in modern France were tho direct descendants of those win) had turned down their thumbs for tho death signal in anc« lent Rome.’Splendid French Pluck.Never havo I recu such undying courage exhibited as bv Ficneli boxers. Badly beaten iuo:i fought on and on, matches pro-'oedcd lo tho bitter end which iu Eugland woukl ong before have been stopped by tho re|*rre at tho rc juost of the on-lookers. In Paris the oulookera reem never to have had enough. I did not once hear the cry * Stop it” to which one is so accustomed in England, and thlt;* over seas Dominions when a boxer is obviously beaten. Evenfouls of the worst kind are excused in Paris, so Dial the contest mnv proceed to the bitter end. The French Imxrr* do not foul intentionally. But many boxers less skilled than Car-pentier, Ledoux and Dc Pouthieu, light madly, blindly' for the body ; their arm* whirl wildly as they, crouch .one lower than the other, in desperate efforts to reach the siom, ach, and blows are frequently si ruck' Ih-Iow the bell. But tho action of French rcfei cos is more astonishing still . Ah the boxer Hands cry ing out in pain the rcferoo intervene-. Tiled ho announces that the man foulo 1 u ishefl to go on fighting, and that-there will bo *' un repo* de deux* minutes.” This made me gasp whunt iWt 1 Ir- ar.l i . as^n e • I i nullaQ made Mr Bettiuson ,of the National Sorting C'ub gasp, but it was nothing to what fid’owod. Xear the end1 of the same contest lo whi.di-I refer a econd foul Hill more flagrant thaif the first was perpetrate! by the man-who had first been fou el. Again two minutes repo-e. And as the suffering' boxer in his c micr loudly jiroteste 1 the refcic* walkc 1 towards him andr •aid: ** Yes my boy, but you did' the same thing to him before*French bixiug will have to be cleansed of this sort of thing if it is to make the same adv ance of spirit and tone that ii Iris made of slice.! achievement. Unskilful Iwxc.s mu«ti b* taught with au iron hand that Ihcjj cannot siTific- all the cJiivctitioiD* of sport to hit th** other man unfairly!Fury and Earnest ness. ,Tli* lia'ians spake m my years ago •f the French fury in war la furl it f ain*.* I think it i* the gic»tc1) (lit Ity of ill.* in lt;li*rii French box«.*i j«'dln*r racei of I • i* orici i jh* e-j I t tj». bat not* in 1*0 marked a de-r:. e a- the Fie n?!i. The g cil Iri-h' m l I: i-h Am *rU*:in box«*:s, and tho V»\ I h. have hr.* fury if iu »rc skill .I * it sine* the American* taught the* m»II that light *r* like Bitiling*'\ ' on, w Ju cut rudi and puucli/* it Ii mi ini.-tini I »u f«».* twenty' .e.iu U or mi *. nr* m-iily always •rtalu to d**f * it p i a luxor*. the pel an I fiA of the F.cich lighse*•a e to m* a v on c fu fa :o in tl.or ■ itig. 'C'oiii| areJ with the Eugli-li baxers,Hi * Freij.*’! are wonde fully rer• I-. Tli y n-k n» quarter and they .1. e ll.i'ae. Till' « Is 11 1 RIDCO'Jr Op .it.” ab»ut their llghijug ; once llm ( the cjnlcst is over thoy kiss thebeaten or victorious man as tho case may be. Often in the ring, too, they, display the highest sportsmanship; But they go into a contest to win' and often their deadly oirnojinesa iu using every legitimate means to achiove that end is often mistaken for something less laudable. English: men are at time; addicto I to the rather obvious iu fiportsiuaiiship.But there is a lighter side to French boxing which iloes not exist in England. It is the struggle of French writers and speakers to make a language which has grown up with*, out **|»ort fit the requirements of the modern Frenchman especially in his Jove for ) Mixing. First and foremost the language of boxing is American, many of the older English ring term:* having loceu ousted by tho mare pic , turesque phraseology of liio Westi But the p lrht of the unhappy French* man is pitiable. Into the midst of his most striking periods, his moat thrilling phrase, he is forced to sand; wieh the w ord “ groggy ” or ’* punch.**IJittI1•SeCU
Newspaper Details
Geraldton Guardian
Geraldton, Western Australia, AU
Sat, Feb 07, 1914
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Savate M.
NA, 05 Jan 2025
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