10/03/2024
Michele Kirkbride : My good lady wife who puts up with me during the planning of the event and then does an amazing job on the day. Thankyou x
Adam Tyson & Luke Luke Agnew who both assist at Wilters Gym - The Home of Nemesis Boxing Club, Maryport each week with sessions & their input is vital for each boxer of the club, and keep fitter. Thank you.
James Robinson who echoed everything I tell him when he's boxing.... move your head, keep your hands up, in & out, slip the punches, counter and enjoy it.
Cerys Mounsey : Who on the day took fight photos, crowd photos, build up photos & action pics. Approx 600 snaps taken so once she's been able to sift through them & send me them over, I'll upload them to an album on FB for you all to see. I'm led to believe the sutter speed of a professional camera is lightening quick but I'm told thst in the background of one of the photos, you can see Mike Harrison getting a round in.
Luke Jackson : Cheers for being part of the background team & helping pal. You'll be on the next one, keep training away buddy.
Malcolm Scott : Cheers for your part in organising the venue & set up of what was class.
Wayne Jackson : For hosting this event in what i regard as Cumbrias version of ' York Hall Bethnal Green'
Kaye Jackson : For keeping Wayne & Malcolm on their toes.
Stuart Groves : (Aperture) for his continued service & amazing recording of the event & professionaly edited highlights & full show. Thank you.
Shaun Croker : AJ-Security for overseeing the team & keeping everything safe, secure & so the support can watch feeling secure. Thank you
Betty Martin : As always, a very professional pivotel part in ensuring all all boxers were fit & proper enabling them to compete AND they were watched throughtout their fight & checked over afterwards.
Izzy Khatana : For bringining a great bunch of lads up to compete on the show. A class bunch & a credit to their coach. Unfortunatley for us they didnt leave empty handed & went back down the M6 with the Northern Area (Novice) title..... temporarily i hopes until the rematch....
Dave Straughton : Brought to tough as teak lads to the show. Mike getting an early night & stopping his opponent very quickly & Steve Scala who took punishment, and dished it out in an entertaining 3 rounder.
Colin Rumney : As always for organising & setting up all things to do with sound & music.
Lucy : Provided timekeeping duties & done it to perfection. Never being sidetracked by the action right in front of her, timekeeping precision like that of a Rolex. Thank you.
Anthony Nevison : As always, complete professionalism in presentation & controlling of the ceremony & everything else involved with being the main man on the mic
Kev Barr : Fluent control of each bout yesterday which included standing 8 counts, stopages, duty of care for boxers of both corners. Unbiased & neutral refereeing. Thank you.
Mark Brown : One of three regular judges. Why? Because the right boxer gets the decision every time. No building up boxers unbeaten records, no home decisions regardless, no favouritism. And unfortunately for Mark no raffle prize this time either.... 😞 Thank you.
Paul Young : Exactly the same as Mark. Brilliant & accurate judging and no wins on the raffle... Thank you
Ann Scott : The whip at the entrance. Keeping things right with Michele & Cameron when the doors opened and the fight support came in like a scene from Rorkes Drift from the film 'Zulu'. Thank you.
Cameron Brooks : For assisting at short notice & being the muscle between two roses (his Aunties & Gran). Played a vital part. Thank you.
Alvin Finch for his 'ring hire'. Great service, great convo & chat about all things boxing, decent lads with him and a pleasure to meet. Thanks pal.
Ring parade done. Boxers of both corners faced off. And now only moments away from 'Ready for Real'....
To open the show was the lovely Sara Oldham from Cash for Kids who held the mic & told those in the room a brief description of the charity & what it does for who..... thank you Sara
And we're off:
Fightcard:
Eth Storey v Dylan Hall
First bout of the afternoon. First man in. I missed this bout with getting fighters ready but from what I hear Ethan got of to a slow start & didn't handle the onslaught how I know he couldve. Fight didn't go the distance.
Josh Fish v Steven Scala
Both boxers on only their second bout (and second on the fightcard by coincidence). The bell went & they went at each other for three rounds. Accurate & effective punching from Josh, Steve soaked up the punishment & kept going forwards letting off his powerful shots to head & body but both lads were headhunters for three rounds. Lively fight & both deserved the applause from the crowd at the final bell.
Lewis Fisher v Sami Khatana
Third fight & the bell goes. Fight tactics out of the window for Lewis as he steamed into his opponent from Darwin and not letting him get into a rhythm of a point scoring boxer which I feared knowing his Boxing coach. The fight wore on punch after punch resulting in Lewis 'Young Tommy' Fisher getting his first win in as many fights. Well done. Rematch was requested & accepted.
Mike Moore v Jake Cherry
Ball ache central because Mike's original opponent pulled out the night before last minute. Rather than take it on the chin I burst my balls to source a replacement. Looking unlikely & very pi**ed off I kept trying to sort it. Early hours Callum Goodison reached out & between us sorted an oppo out. Thanks Jake.
Nothing can be taken away from either boxer. The bell went & Mike raced across the ring, met his oppo in the opposing corner & unleased a garage of head & body shots causing the ref to initiate a count. Using the count for a breather, Jake raised his gloves & was good to go. More big shots landed leaving in no position to defend himself or contine. Fight over early. Well done Mike & thanks Jake for stepping into the lions den at short notice.
Ryan Baxter v Martin Smith
The banter had flowed freely between these two in the build up. Nobody was coming in as favourite on this one with Ricky's last fight finishing early, and Martin keeping active. They both climbed through the ropes with bad intentions. The first bell went & Martin got behind his jab effectively & keeping Ryan at arms length.... Ryan kept up the work rate attacking the head & body while still soaking up punishment. The fight wore on over the rounds. Final bell ceased the action & The Cutter had slain the Peaky Baxter on this occasion with a points decision. Will their be a rematch in June? Let's wait & see.
Malcolm Graham v Shane Winder
Before the first bell, the winner was already publicly known pre the first bell. The winner was Cash For Kids. Both these lads had kept the banter flowing in the build up, both lads had gained a gift from their employers for this Fundraiser. Innovia donated £200 which was amazing & Sealy had donated a mattress to the winner of a lucky dip type comp. Thank you both companies.
Sealy v Innovia
Aspatria v Wigton
Graham v Winder
So much banter it was brilliant to be part of. Both lads came to the venue in the same car as they're mates.
They made their way to the square ring, climbed through the ropes, their names were announced & within minutes they were at each other. Body shots were Mally's tool and he let them loose. Shane beat the count & soaked up the blows letting off a few himself until the ref stepped in & called a halt to it. Mally had got this but it was C4K's who won. Thankyou to both lads, both done great stepping in for a good cause..... but can any of you who were there let me know if they left in the same car, or was one left to walk.... 😆 Well done gents.
Harvey Clifford v Callum Wilson
'H Bomb' Harvey having only his third bout ever was prepped & primed for this, he'd struggled to make the weight limit but remained dedicated & persevered so that when he got on the scales the weight was bang on. It was!!
Facing a tasty opponent from Darwin who wasn't coming all this way to lose, H was up against the pressures but conducted himself perfect. The bell went, with me & his grandad in his corner he had the might of Ulster behind him & it showed from the first bell until the final bell as him & Callum tore into each other bat after bat. The rounds were close and in my opinion a draw would've been a fair result with the decision swaying from blue to red, red to blue & so on. There was dips in the will to win from both boxers throughout as the fight wore on towards the final bell. Ding Ding & the timekeeper sounded the end of the fight. The red corner looked confident, I thought it go either way. Both boxers to the centre of the ring waiting with the REF for the scorecards to be tallied up..... And the winner is.... the Red corner!!!! as Callims arm was raised.
Me disappointed? Not a chance, the decision didn't go our our way but what I witnessed, as did the others in the hall was something you can't buy, coach, punch or borrow & this is 'balls'.... aka as a very, very large heart when up against it. Both lads in this bout have a heart as big as Alan Sugars bank balance. A priceless quality that can't is either in you or isn't.
Final bout of the day was for the Northern Area (Novice) Title.
Spyatri v Darwin
Kirky v Izzy
True North v North
Dave v Liam.
David Wilson v Liam Rigby
Both lads had waited what mustve seemed like eternity for the first bell. Dave had trained constantly for this bout, everything had been done in preparation of this moment....
The ring entrance & announcements were done.
The first bell of four rounds had sounded. The fight started off cagey as each boxer sussed his oppo out while giving nothing away....
It wasn't long until each picked up a gear or two & the were soon at each other, hooks, straight shots to the head. Very little body blows thrown as the clock ticked away. Both lads up for it bigtime, both desired the victory & wanted it more than that and it showed every second between the challenge.
The end of the final round was closing in & both lads were throwing everything but the kitchen sink at each other....
Ding Ding, it was done. The fight was over, both gladiators had nothing more to prove or do. It was now in the hands of the judges. The wait felt like ages. Both boxers made their way to the centre & stand with the REF. I could see it coming, I sensed the decision. Only because I know with hand on heart that the real Dave hadn't climbed through them ropes for this.
Had he trained to much, had he heard the crowd, had the noise derailed his focus, had he wanted the win too badly????
The MC got everyone's attention & the wait was over.... and the winner & champion is ....... the Red corner, Liam Rigby.
Yes I was gutted, but would've been more gutted if I'd seen the true David Wilson in there and not a shadow of himself & his capability.
It was a two fight deal & the 2nd fight is either June 24th up here or a date yet to be announced in Darwin.
Nothing taken away from anyone. It was a toe to toe fight & everything was left in the ring.
Show done & dusted!!!! a mixture of results BUT very proud of all involved. Regardless of results, everything in boxing is a learning curve to help every pugilist a better person, boxer & athlete.
What a venue, what a crowd, what a fight card & what an amazing electric atmosphere!!!!
On behalf of those that fought.THANK YOU! 👍🏻
