Sport: Ringside in the Solomons

Blood flowed again last week on Lunga beach. “I was just standin’ there,” a stricken soldier moaned to his seconds, “when all of a sudden. . . .”

Boxing is the favorite entertainment of the occupation forces on Guadalcanal. Every Saturday night U.S. servicemen, New Zealanders and woolly-haired natives choke the roads to the ringside, scramble for seats in trucks parked bumper to bumper. More than an hour before the first bout, every nearby coconut tree is loaded with spectators and standing room is hard to find.

The bouts follow intercollegiate rules and last for three 90-second rounds. The fighters use 16-oz. gloves, but make up for it with furious, all-out assaults. One night five knockouts were scored. The winner gets $5 in war stamps, the loser $2.50.

Wednesdays, Too. Guadalcanal has a lot of amateur and professional talent. Promoter of the fights is Sergeant John Williams, two-time welterweight winner of Chicago’s Golden Gloves. Like any smart ring operator, he sponsors preliminary bouts on Wednesdays to give new fighters experience. His stable of 150 fighters is headed by Marine Moe Weiss of The Bronx, middleweight winner of 50 out of 57 pro bouts before enlisting, and his twin brother Harvey.

Guadalcanal’s boxing has become so popular throughout the Solomons that it is now broadcast by radio. In last week’s popular card, matching Hawaiian soldiers against Marines, the Marines took six out of nine. MPs ruled no decision on five fist fights in the audience.