In memory of a legend

A bareknuckle boxing legend will be remembered at the old Wanganui cemetery in Heads Rd tomorrow.
Relatives will gather from across New Zealand and from overseas to unveil a headstone at the grave of Harry Laing, fighter, farmer ... and character.
Almost 120 years ago, Laing was the champion of both New Zealand and Australia, fighting bruising 20-round contests ... usually with a few tots of whisky in him to numb the pain.
Three months after he beat Aussie champion Joe Goddard in Melbourne - taking the national title and the 150 sovereigns purse - he died horrifically, run over by a train at Fordell railway station.
The date was April 12, 1894, and Laing was just 32.
It has only been in the past 12 months that relatives have managed to discover the whereabouts of his burial site and tomorrow they will celebrate his larger-than-life deeds.
According to reports, Laing won his first 44 fights by knockouts ... and only lost his first fight because he was sober. His biggest weaknesses were said to be whisky and women.
He fought at Wanganui and Marton racecourses and, legend has it, one bareknuckle bash was pushing 40 rounds and only ended when the police broke it up.
After Laing won the Australian title, Goddard - who had quit after 12 gruelling rounds - said his opponent had not fought fairly and had abused him throughout the fight.
Laing was killed when he tried to jump off a moving train at Fordell and fell under the wheels. Both his legs were crushed and he was rushed to Wanganui Hospital where they were amputated.
Though he regained consciousness, he eventually succumbed to shock and excessive loss of blood.
However, over a century later his legacy survives ... carried on by his great grandson Losh Matthews, a former boxer in Wanganui and now a trainer and gym owner in Sydney.
Matthews, a former Imlay freezing works employee who moved to Australia as a teenager, has come back home for the unveiling.
And he has taken inspiration from Laing's exploits as he has attempted to pass on the skills and benefits of boxing to a younger generation.
Matthews admits to being a bit of a bad lad in his teenage days but believes boxing helped straighten him out.
"Now I like to teach kids the boxing skills,' he said.
"It is great for their fitness and also helps build their confidence and self-esteem ... in fact, it helps them in everything in life."
And prompted to make boxing safer for youngsters, Matthews has developed a new form of the sport called Box'Tag, which relies on skill and accuracy rather than brute force.
Box'Tag allows fighters of all ages, male and female, to compete in a safer, modified sport that uses a revolutionary computerised points scoring system.
Punches to the head are not allowed, with only punches to the body and upper arms scoring.
Combatants wear boxing gloves, headguard and a body vest that are all fitted with wireless sensors. The computer recognises punches landed through the sensors similar to the way points are scored in Olympic fencing.
Punches to the body score three points, but contact to the head incurs a one-point deduction. In addition, points are deducted for hitting too hard as the computer also detects the force of the punch.
Matthews says the emphasis is on fitness, speed and skill and there is no attempt to hurt an opponent.
He started the Box'Tag programme 10 years ago in Sydney and it has gathered a significant groundswell of support among Australian sports administrators and health officials.
Now he hopes to introduce it to New Zealand, starting in Wanganui, and plans to bring over some of his Aussie fighters for a trans-tasman competition later in the year.
As far as Matthews is concerned: "Box'Tag came about because of my great grandfather Harry Laing."