Mexborough & Swinton Times – Friday 01 December 1933
Boxing
Game Denaby Lad
Gallant Fight Against Odds
Lively Doncaster Programme
Though billed as a supporting bout, the contest between Tommy Spooner, of Denaby, and Harold Starkey, of Doncaster, in the programme of boxing promoted by Mr. W. Bridgewater at the Doncaster Corn Exchange on Monday, quite eclipsed the top-liner. It was in many ways a one-sided fight, and Spooner was well beaten, but the Denaby lad’s splendid gameness drew a bigger and more spontaneous ovation from the audience than the most exciting of the other contests.
Spooner, only 18 years of age, is still very raw, but he packs a very formidable right-hand punch, and this has won him many fights by the short route. His fight with Starkey was announced as a welter-weight contest, but such was the disparity in weight between the two men that it is questionable whether the Doncaster man could not have been much more accurately described as a middle-weight, and a fairly heftily built one at that. Furthermore, Starkey is an experienced boxer, while Spooner has only recently been taken in hand seriously.
In addition to these handicaps, Spooner, owing to a misunderstanding between his manager and another promoter, had had to fulfil an arduous engagement with Farmer Jackson at Goole the previous Friday. Under these circumstances he gave a wonderful display. Starkey was too shrewd to allow him to get home a really telling right, and used his weight to force the youngster round the ring.
Spooner’s defence was elementary and unable to protect himself from Starkey’s hurtful left. He took an enormous amount of punishment, and was down for counts of five in the third round, eight in the eighth, four in the ninth, and was just rising from a fourth count when the final bell rang. He had Starkey puzzled once or twice, and once floored him when his right connected after he had slipped one of the Doncaster man’s rushes, but there was never any question of his doing anything but avoid a knock-out against an opponent with such physical advantages.
His pluck, however, was really extraordinary, for many of Starkey’s blows would have knocked out less game men. But he refused to stay down, and not only beat the count every time, but rose to fight back in gallant fashion. Though defeated, his failure was of the type which will probably enhance his reputation more than some of his successes have done.
Another local lad, Dick Oldfield (Mexboro’), paid the penalty of impetuosity when, after having matters all his own way for the first three rounds of a bout with Cyril Doyle (Doncaster), scheduled over eight rounds, he ran into a right swing in the fourth round which sent him down for the full count. It was a fortunate win for the Doncaster man, for he had been out-boxed and out-fought up to this point.
Harry Pye (Doncaster), who has been acting as one of Harry Crossley’s sparring partners, out-pointed Bobby Clark (Boston) in the top-liner, a cruiser-weight bout. Pye was generally the more impressive, and opened a cut over his opponent’s left eye early on. He afterwards played on this injury with some success, and though always lively and a hard hitter, the Boston man did not collect many points with his fierce swings. Pye had his man down several times, but the prospect of a knock-out rarely seemed imminent.
Fred Davies, the Askern lad, is coming along by leaps and bounds, and soon disposed of Joe Grove (York), knocking him out with a lightning right. Davies showed that he can use his right as well as his left, and was much too fast for the York man.
In another eight-rounder Tiny Bottingham (Doncaster) beat Len Marsh (Worksop) after an entertaining contest.
Mr. Tom Gummer refereed the bouts, Mr. Bert Leah was the M.C., and Mr. Joe Molloy the timekeeper.