PHOTOS:
Alex O'Sullivan with opponent Kieran Woods and referee Steve Glover
Micky McDonagh with referee John Phillips
James Griffiths - delighted to have beaten Josh Edmondson
The Community Hall at Letterston was jam-packed for the amateur boxing show put on by Merlins Bridge ABC and those in attendance were treated to 11 bouts of the highest calibre from juniors through to senior bouts, including a girls’ bout which was certainly high in quality to maintain that thread throughout.
Undoubtedly the bout of the night, organised by Graham Brockway, ably assisted by Kim Baker, saw Merlins Bridge favourite Micky McDonagh take on British champion Kane Sheppard (St Josephs ABD, Cardiff) in a contest where four-times Welsh champ McDonagh showed what a superb prospect he is by out-boxing Sheppard in his first three-rounder where each round was three minutes, rather than the two that McDonagh has boxed as a youth prospect in the past.
McDonagh was awarded a unanimous decision by the judges and set him in good heart for his forthcoming British title tilt – and there was no doubting the fact that these two talented young boxers shared the ‘Best Bout’ awards from the evening’s officials.
The ‘Best Boxer’ award went to Alex O’Sullivan (Merlins Bridge) as the 11 year old showed maturity and composure beyond his years to gain a unanimous points decision over Chepstow ABC’s experienced Kieran Woods.
It was a victory that was all the more praiseworthy because it was O’Sullivan’s fourth bout and Woods had already fought 12 times, the youngster from Goodwick showing terrific footwork and the ability to slip a punch, whilst getting in his quality jab throughout the three rounds.
The evening got off to the best possible start with an exhibition bout between Lewis Burrows (Merlins Bridge) and Aaron Jones (Premier ABC, Swansea) where t
here was terrific effort and no shortage of skills that had everyone amazed at the way they approached the bout, which was anything but an exhibition contest!This was followed by a girls’ bout between Alicia Taylor (Merlins Bridge) and Zoe Andrews (Britton Ferry ABC) in which both boxers showed good technique before Andrews won it on a split decision.
In the first half of the programme there was also a win for Kieran Bevan (Premier ABC) over Joe O’Sullivan (Pendine), before Sion Lewis (Merlins Bridge) boxed really well to gain his unanimous points decision over Scott Webber (Chepstow).
Dylan Davies (Merlins Bridge) missed out by a whisker against Rhodri Smith (Pontypridd) to get the second half under way in an all-action contest and Emyr Simmons (Cardigan) was awarded a split decision against Leon Morris (Trostre ABC), whilst an exhibition bout between the very experienced Sam Baker (Pendine) and novice Merlins Bridge boxer Joe Taylor was a pleasure to watch.
The evening also finished on a high note with James Griffiths (Merlins Bridge) boxing well behind a powerful left hook to beat Josh Edmondson (Pembroke ABC) before Dan Mitchell (Merlins Bridge) beat Gavinder Bahia (Pontypridd ABC) in two senior contests.
John Phillips (Narberth) was the official in charge of the show with Steve Glover, Mark Smith and Jason Addison as referees and judges alongside Jennie Baker and Dilwyn Griffiths, with Dr S K Mummidi (Carmarthen) as the medical officer and Bill Carne as MC.