George Marrick “The Gardener” versus Oswald Tarrant “Oz Tarrant”
The room list and result ledger agree on the two participants.
An upstairs room with a square floor and a narrow approach to the dressing area.
Contest date: Undated. Entry numbers identify records rather than dates.
Round by round.
Round 1
Marrick and Tarrant both preferred an opponent to make the first definite commitment. Marrick kept the lead shoulder slightly withdrawn; Tarrant changed his position often enough to prevent a simple reading. The opening offered brief answers and careful recoveries, with neither boxer willing to hurry the investigation.
Round 2
Tarrant began disrupting the intervals between Marrick’s movements, offering a short reply where a longer one seemed likely. The changes made Marrick reset more than once before continuing. Marrick remained composed, but the round required him to separate an actual opportunity from activity intended mainly to disturb his timing.
Round 3
Marrick made his own first movement smaller and waited for Tarrant’s attempt to interrupt it. The next answer arrived more cleanly. Tarrant continued to vary his position, preventing a sustained sequence, but Marrick was beginning to use those variations as information rather than reasons to abandon the exchange.
Round 4
Tarrant reclaimed a useful passage by moving earlier and making Marrick turn before answering. His brief replies kept the contest difficult to read as a settled pattern. Marrick found clearer work towards the end, though Tarrant’s disruption had ensured that the round demanded a fresh adjustment.
Round 5
Marrick began finishing his replies in a position from which the next lead was already available. Tarrant could interrupt the first movement but was less comfortable with what followed it. The change gave Marrick more continuous passages without requiring him to abandon the patience that shaped his counter-punching.
Round 6
Tarrant tried to recover the earlier uncertainty through shorter answers and more frequent changes of line. Marrick now stayed ready for the return rather than treating it as a new beginning. Tarrant’s replies remained sharp in places, but the intervals between useful exchanges were growing less favourable to him.
Round 7
Marrick held his position through Tarrant’s first attempt to change the line and continued with a second clear answer. Tarrant was no longer able to interrupt the sequence with the same regularity. The contest was stopped during the seventh round, and Marrick was entered as the winner.