Les Darcy: Boxing greatest tragedy??

gregluland · Oct 17, 2011

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LES DARCY Vs DAVE DUPENA :-- Darcy's first International Match :---------:-- A little more than a month later, on 4th November 1912 --- Four days after his Seventeenth birthday --- Les was matched for a fight at Summer Park, Newcastle, which was his first international match....
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In Sam Langford's retinue was an African-American lad named Dave DUPENA, a lightweight (9 stone 9 pounds) who trained and sparred with Langford, and was the Boston Tar baby's pupil.-----------------------------------------------------Sam Langford himself went to Newcastle to act as second to his pupil. As an experienced tactician he managed to have an interview with young Darcy a few hours before the fight, and tried to scare him............... " Dave is a terrible hard hitter", he told Les. "He'll belt the hell out of you. It would be better for you sonny, if I went into the ring against you".-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Maitland boy's reaction astonished the Boston Tar Baby. "I'd love to box a few rounds withyou," he said with boyish enthusiasm and admiration of the famous fighter. ----------- "By Golly", said Sam. "You would, eh ? You would like to fight me ?", He stared at the youngster, puzzled, and walked away without another word-..
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-:THE FIGHT !!:-- Darcy's cornermen for this first "Big Fight" were Mick Hawkins and Les Fletcher.--------------------------------------------------------------------The fight was held at 11 am to avoid clashing with other sporting features. An advertisement for it read :--- GREAT GLOVE CONTEST between LES DARCY : Coming Lightweight Champion,--- and,-- DAVE DEPENA :-- Sam Langford's Pupil, For a Purse put up by Mr. J. Rowan, and a side bet of 50 Pounds.----------------Referee , Mr. ARTHUR SCOTT....... Prices :- 5 s. (stage seats), 3 s., 2 s., and 1 s. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The first five rounds saw Darcy carefully measuring his opponent and fighting on the defensive, but in the sixth round the Maitland Boy took the offensive, but with a flurry of lefts and rights to the body, sent Dupena down for a count of nine.-------------------------------------------------------------In the next thre rounds, Darcy continued punishing Depena severely. Depena was practically out on his feet in the ninth. Police at the ringside indicated that they would intervene to stop the fight. The referee thereupon crowned Darcy the winner on a T.K.O..--
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--In repoting the fight the Newcastle Herald stated :---- "the Battle was full of fight. The sturdy little Maitlander lost no time in getting to work, and Depena soon discovered that he had an awkward contract. Darcy went at his man with a will, and Depena fought back just as fiercely. The Maitland boy ducked so cleverly to Depenas leads, and smothered up so effectively before every attack, that Depena seemed at a losss to bring out the right class of punch to suit the circumstances.-------------------------------------------"Darcy gave a splendid exhibition of the art of avoiding punishment by his clever footwork, timing, and judgement of distance. The more effective blows were delivered by Darcy, whose collection of hits and stops came as a surprise to those who had not previously seen him in action. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Darcy is a remarkably neat, clean limbed young fellow of 17 years, powerfully framed, for his size, and is as hard as pin wire. Depena gave a good account of himself, but the boy opposed to him proved a veritable surprise packet not only to Depena, but to Sam Langford and the other members of his party".-
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gregluland · Oct 17, 2011

Sawyers said: ↑

And so begins the Darcy phenom? A single Pascoe name on record? No. Not at all.
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What are you talking about ????

gregluland · Oct 17, 2011

Sawyers said: ↑

And so begins the Darcy phenom? A single Pascoe name on record? No. Not at all.
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From Boxrec...... 1910-01-02 126 Sid Pascoe 125
Andrew's Ascot Stadium, Maitland, New South Wales, Australia W KO 2 10

gregluland · Oct 17, 2011

Sawyers said: ↑

And so begins the Darcy phenom? A single Pascoe name on record? No. Not at all.
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And Cyber Zone states ----

1910
"Guv'nor" Balsa Maitland, NSW, Aus W 11
-This bout was scheduled for 10 rounds but an extra
round was fought to determine the winner;
Some sources report "Thornton, NSW, Aus"
Sid Pasco Maitland, NSW, Aus KO 2

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gregluland · Oct 17, 2011

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It was agreed the pair should box the best of TWENTY Rounds in West Maitland on the evening of December 14 at 10 stone for 25pounds a side, and a percentage of the house
LES DARCY Versus JIMMY BURNS II
---- In Darcy's corner were Mick Hawkins, Frank Darcy, Matt Ross and Peter Hodgins.---------- Burn's cornermen were J. York, S. Brannigan, and T. Cuddigan. The referee was Watty Brien.-------------------- For the first three rounds, points were fairly evenly scored, but then Darcy began to forge ahead. In the Sixth round he knocked Burns down for the count of 9. Burns could not fully recover from the effects of that punch. Darcy could hit him when and where he pleased. In the tenth round Burns was again knocked down for a count of nine, and in the 11th round the end came, as described in the Maitland Mercury :--- "Darcy suddenly swung a right heavily to the body, instantly followed up with a left to the jaw, and Burns went down in a sitting attitude. Then his head fell back and he was out for good. He had put up a plucky fight, and his courage was superior stamina and class. Indeed the winner is a wonder, for he is not yet Eighteen years of age".
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Sawyers · Oct 17, 2011

I do talk of a second Pascoe. Bill Pascoe KO2.

gregluland · Oct 17, 2011

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les darcy vs billy hannan ------ on 15th march 1913, les was matched to fight billy hannan at the adelphi hall, maitland, for a purse of 75 pounds . It was amazing that a youth of seventeen was expected to go twenty rounds with a man many years older, who was experienced in professional fighting, and had been regarded for at least six years as the maitland champion. ------------------------------------------------------------------ billy hannan had given les his first boxing lessons when les was eleven. Now the pupil was expected to surpass the master. Darcy's second appearance in a public stadium had been in a four round bout with young donahoe, as a preliminary to a big fight,--- hannan vs charlie raff. Now, twenty months later, les had made the grade to the top. At this time billy hannan was in his prime. He had just returned from a tour of new zealand, where he had beaten the n.z. Lightweight champion, tim tracy. ------------------------------------------------------------------as st. Patricks day, 17th march, was on a monday, the annual st. Patrick's day sports meeting was held at maitland that year on saturday the 15th of march. The sports meeting, with a program chiefly of foot-races, was to begin at 11.30 am, so the fight was arranged to begin at 10 am. --------------------------------------------------------------hannan and darcy were both of irish blood, but it was darcy who got the yells of delight from the crowd when he entered the ring wearing emerald-green boxing trunks. There was heavy betting on the fight, but the odds were in favour of hannan. One local sport, martin kingsley, in particular backed hannan for big money, thinking that billy would certainly be too experienced for his younger and lighter opponent. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- in the first few rounds the points were even, as both boxed cleverly, but darcy succeeded in landing some strong punches on the body of the older man. As the fight progressed hannan was noticeably tiring. After the fifth round darcy was boxing with exceptional speed, and his left was continually worrying hannan. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ in the fourteenth round, darcy began to hit hannan at will, but hannan refused to give in. The end came in the eighteenth round when the east maitland youngster laid the west maitland low with a clean knockout that settled the argument, and so won the prize of 75 pounds.
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gregluland · Oct 17, 2011

Sawyers said: ↑

I do talk of a second Pascoe. Bill Pascoe KO2.
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I don't anything about Bill Pascoe, may have been Sid's dad..... never heard of Darcy fighting a Bill Pascoe..... maybe in a tent fight that Swanwick hadn't heard of.... could have simply been a mis-spelling.

gregluland · Oct 17, 2011

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at about this time --- the middle of 1913, when les was seventeen and a half ---- he stood 5 feet 7 inches high. He was nuggety and burly, with a short and thick neck, but his most remarkable physical feature was the length of his arms. His reach from fingertip to fingertip was seven inches more than his height from tip to toe. In ideal proportion, an athletes reach is the same as his height, but les darcy had exceptionally big hands and long fingers. This increased his reach by the extra length which an opponent did not expect. It gave his punches the extra stiking force which is the difference between a hit, and a hard hit.
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Les Darcy: Boxing greatest tragedy??

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