Leonard C. Bibby “The Counterman” versus Leonard Wickham “Len Wickham”
The result was entered after the scheduled rounds.
Bibby was billed as “The Counterman” for this contest. He worked from the outside behind his long lead hand, using his reach to make an opponent cross the distance.
A roofed yard laid out for a small circuit gathering.
Contest date: . Entry numbers identify records rather than dates.
Round by round.
Round 1
Wickham used the first round to keep the meeting mobile, leaving the ropes before Bibby could make their position useful. The Counterman followed with restraint and tested the gap rather than chasing it. A few sharp exchanges gave each corner something to consider without establishing a decisive pattern.
Round 2
Wickham found room to turn away from Bibby’s first lead and answer before the second was ready. Bibby had to shorten his advance and recover the centre more carefully. The round showed why an opponent’s willingness to move could make a long reach less straightforward to employ.
Round 3
Bibby began varying where the lead finished, bringing Wickham’s guard into a less comfortable position before extending the exchange. He did not try to follow every exit. Holding the centre gave him another meeting point, and his more patient work produced the cleaner sustained passages.
Round 4
Wickham offered a small invitation, moved as Bibby accepted it and returned quickly enough to make the mistake count. It was his most useful adjustment of the contest. Bibby remained composed, but the round required him to distinguish an actual opening from a direction he was being shown.
Round 5
Bibby reduced the length of his first step and made Wickham move before committing the longer answer. The change restored some of his command over range. Wickham still left cleanly when given room, though the exits were now taking him farther from his own opportunities to reply.
Round 6
Wickham was quicker to circle back towards the centre and made Bibby turn more often. His best work arrived before the taller boxer had completed that adjustment. Bibby answered well in the later passages, but Wickham’s movement kept the contest active rather than allowing a simple procession behind the lead.
Round 7
Bibby stopped trying to close every route and concentrated on the one that brought Wickham back into range. His lead was waiting there more regularly. Wickham remained elusive in the first movement, but the return to a useful position was becoming the more demanding part of his work.
Round 8
Wickham kept moving and continued to find occasional clear answers, while Bibby’s steadier command of the meeting points gave his work greater continuity. They completed the scheduled eight rounds without a stoppage. The recorded points result went to Bibby after a contest that required sustained attention to distance.