The 2021 Boxing New Zealand Nationals Championships to be held in Wanganui, will be the third time that the Wanganui Boxing Association has hosted the flagship event.

The first Wanganui Boxing Association was amongst the early affiliations to the New Zealand Boxing Association, joining the national body in 1909.

The first Wanganui NZBA National tiles were decided in 1914, with the second edition of the Wanganui national championships staged in 1953. It will be been a long time between drinks, with the return of the Boxing New Zealand showcase to the river city after a 68 year absence. 

The standout boxer of the 1914 National Championships was Jack Heeney, elder brother of New Zealand's first Heavyweight World Title challenger Tom Heeney, who squared off with champion Gene Tunney in 1928.

This narrative shines the light on Jack Heeney, and son Darcy, who have been consigned by history to the shadows of the Heeney family boxing feats.

Born in Gisborne, on the 1st January 1894, Jack was one of ten children of Irish immigrants Hugh and Eliza Heeney. Along with his brothers, Jack was taught to box in an old tin shed on their property that served as a gym. 

Jack was an accomplished amateur boxer, with the high point of his time in the amateur ranks, being when he defeated L Wills from Taranaki, to win the Welterweight crown at 1914 NZBA National Championships held in Wanganui.

Along with thousands of other Kiwi's, Jack served his country in World War 1, with the first mention of his return to the squared ring, in a professional contest against a Boy McCormick at the Honslow Military Aerodrome outside London in February 1918. 

On his return to his home country after the cessation of hostilities, Jack engaged in a further 27 professional contests. Like many of the boxers of the time he would take on anyone, often at short notice, which saw him hang up his gloves with a 12 win, 15 loss, 1 draw record.

During his nine year professional career in New Zealand, there were many highlights, including holding the NZBA Professional Middleweight title for four years, and meeting a legend of the fight game that was later inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame.

In just his fourth professional outing, Jack was matched with American Jimmy Clabby at the Municipal Theatre in Hastings during November 1919. Clabby was reputed to have won the Middleweight Championship of the World in 2011 and when he squared off with Jack Heeney was reported as having had over 200 bouts. 

A press report of the fight said “At the Hastings Municipal Theatre on Tuesday night, the much heralded contest between Jimmy Clabby and Jack Heeney of Gisborne took place, and it is gratifying to report that a bumper house rewarded the Hawkes Bay Association for its courage and enterprise in arranging such a match. Clabby was an easy favourite (winning by knockout) which was only to be expected from the imported boxers imminence in the world of stoush ".

February 1920, saw the Gisborne Boxing Association host two nights of back to back professional boxing at the Gisborne Opera house. Night one on the 12th February, saw Tom Heeney defeat tough-nut Bill Bartlett in Tom's professional debut, with Jack beating Denny Boreham on the second night of the Gisborne association promotion.

A snap shot of the 1920's, where boxing held centre stage in small towns and hamlets throughout the country, is shown by a Gisbone Herald report during July 1927. “The Wairoa Boxing Association staged another successful amateur and professional tournament last night. The attendance was good, the hall (Wairoa Town Hall) being packed to the doors and 200 persons were turned away".

It is worth noting that the amateur boxers represented Wairoa and Gisborne gyms, along with boxers from Tuai and Waikaremoana gyms, which have long drifted into obscurity.

On the 9th October 1920, Jack defeated Laurie Cadman in the Dargaville Town Hall to claim the New Zealand Professional Middleweight title. A Poverty Bay press report told the story of the return of the conquering hero. “The local middleweight boxer, Jack Heeney returned to Gisborne overland last night, from Dargaville, where he defeated the Aucklander Laurie Cadman in a contest for a purse of £150 and the middleweight professional championship of New Zealand". “Heeney bears no mark from his encounter bear a bruise on his left forearm, gained in contact with Cadman’s elbow in the infighting, which predominated through the ten rounds of the fight". 

Heeney held the title for four years, making just two defences, before losing his title to Eddie Parker, in February 1924. 

Jack Heeney, finally retired after beating another warrior of the time in Dick Loveridge in Wairoa during October 1927, after 28 fight in the professional ranks.

Darcy Heeney, who was born on the 22 April 1916, picked up all the family genes for performing with distinction in the squared ring, following in the footsteps of father Jack and uncle Tom, who would go on to fight Gene Tunney for the World Heavyweight title in 1928. 

Darcy was an outstanding sportsman, representing Poverty Bay at rugby, however it is deeds in the ring that will be part of Boxing New Zealand history forever. 

Coached by his father Jack and Sam Bardswell, Darcy was the first boxer to win three successive NZBA National Championship titles, when he won the Welterweight crown in1937, 1938 and 1939. His first title came after he defeated Len Huzziff from Taranaki at the 1937 championships held in Greymouth.

A big hometown crowd was on hand at the Gisborne Town Hall in 1938, when Darcy beat Northlands Fred Woods, to lift aloft the Ted Morgan Cup aloft in triumph in front of his partisan supporters. The clouds of war were on the horizon when Darcy Heeney, became the first kiwi pugilist to win three titles in a row.

Darcy was selected for the 1938 Empire Games, which were the first Empire Games that New Zealand sent a boxing team. The Gisborne boxer defeated a Rhodesian opponent in his preliminary contest, before meeting Bill Smith from Australia in the Gold Medal decider. Unfortunately, the Aussie had a longer reach and quicker hand speed, and defeated the New Zealand Welterweight representative by way of a points decision. 

Darcy Heeney became the first kiwi boxer to receive a Commonwealth Games medal in combat in the ring. While history will show, that Ken Moran was awarded New Zealand's first Empire Games boxing medal, it was awarded on the toss of a coin after Moran lost his preliminary contest.

Heeney enlisted in the Royal Navy after the outbreak of World War II, serving on several British ships in Europe, and was fleet boxing champion in his weight division. Darcy Heeney paid the ultimate sacrifice, on 19th December 1941, when HMS Neptune sank in an enemy minefield off the coast of Tripoli.

Article added: Monday 17 May 2021