Thames Valley ABC boxing show at Newbury Racecourse a roaring success
Thames Valley Amateur Boxing Club held their annual dinner show on Saturday 10th May at Newbury Racecourse.
This year’s edition, entitled ‘The Young Lion & Lionesses’, saw the largest number of diners to date, as an evening of high quality bouts entertained all in attendance.
There were 4 ‘skill bouts’ on the card, and first up was local boxer Lily Cartmel (aged 13) taking on Gabriella Haines (12) of South Moreton.
Both girls showed their skills using both hands, working to head and body and with excellent movement throughout the three rounds.
Cartmel grew in confidence as the match went on and she is itching for her next bout, this being her first experience in front of a large crowd.
Next up was Daisy Brown (14) versus Flossy Hawthorne (14) both of TVABC.
They both worked extremely well, letting their combinations flow to show great skill and confidence, with both girls working very hard in their skills contest.
All three local girls have come through the Berkshire Youth Female Boxing sessions, which Paul Cooke of Thames Valley ABC runs on Wednesdays.
TVABC’s Archie White (15) took on Sammy Chan (15) of Aylesbury ABC next, both having their first skills bouts.
White, being the taller of the boxers, used his height and reach to good advantage, keeping Chan at bay.
The first competitive contest of the night was Bailey Rackham (15) of Thames Valley ABC against Paddy Orchard (14) of Wells ABC.
Rackham started with great confidence, using his hand speed to frustrate Orchard.
In the second round he worked well with his stinging jab and worked to the head and body, keeping his opponent at distance and keeping control.
The third saw a confident Rackham use his speed and footwork to gain control.
The decision was unanimous, as all five judges gave Rackham the win.
He also won the Johnny Bremner trophy for heart and courage.
Paddy Ward (16) of TVABC took on Ryan Barnes (17) of Alive ABC next.
Ward had height and reach over his opponent, but Barnes rushed in to work inside of Ward’s southpaw stance.
The bout was fought at a fast pace, and the decision was a 3-2 split to Barnes.
Lewis Hicks (17) took on Joe Emery (18) of Poseidon ABC in the next fight.
Hicks kept Emery at distance to maintain his rhythm, but in the third round both boxers came out strongly, going hammer and tongs at each other.
Hicks knew that with his combinations to head and body, he could run out the winner, and the decision was a 4-1 split to Hicks.
Next up was Archie Williams (17) against Alfie French (18) of Artful Dodger ABC.
This was a well contested bout, with both boxers exchanging heavy punches and working extremely hard.
Williams landed a pair of solid head and body shots, causing his opponent’s nose to bleed.
Not to be disheartened, French came back with some great combinations, determined to try to finish the round on top.
This was a real crowd pleaser, with French taking a 3-2 split victory.
Williams won the Mick Sutton trophy for Junior Boxer of the evening.
The first senior bout of the evening was Caulay Suttie (25) against Tom Birch (22) of White Hart Lane ABC.
Birch, being very tall for 70kg, had an advantage over Suttie and kept him at range.
Suttie gradually became more aggressive and stayed close, making for a good fight before Birch won via a 4-1 split.
Tilly Martin (28) versus Kanye Nevers (21) of Wells ABC saw both girls making their competitive debuts.
They got off to an aggressive start, but Nevers seemed to be the more accurate with her back hand.
Martin took two standing counts in the fight and lost to a unanimous decision, but it was a great bout in front of a packed house.
The next fight saw Omar Sheikh (25) take on Rathan Saithiymoorthy (21) from Northampton ABC.
Sheikh started out the more explosive, with left and right combinations keeping his opponent at distance.
Round three saw him switch stance and dominate with his right hand, which threw Saithiymoorthy off.
He won via unanimous decision, and also won the Berkshire Youth Cup for the best bout of the evening.
The penultimate fight saw Levi White (21) face Khalifa Igbin (21) of Aylesbury ABC.
Both boxers were on debut, both exchanging heavy shots in the first round.
White took two standing eight counts throughout the fight, as Igbin’s power punching caused him issues.
Unfortunately, White lost by unanimous decision, but was more than grateful for the experience.
The final bout of the night was Harvey Stevens (20) against Leon Kocaj (18) from Blackbird Leys ABC.
This was Stevens’ first senior bout, having not been active since 2019 for TVABC.
He used his speed with both hands to work the head and body and showed great movement and accuracy.
The more often Stevens moved around the ring, the more he caught Kocaj cleanly, which made for an entertaining last bout of the evening as Stevens won by a 4-1 split decision.
The evening was an excellent showing from all of the Thames Valley boxers.
Thames Valley ABC coaches Paul Cooke, Dan Ward, Paul Tillen, Ski and volunteers Sheikh, Nadine and Chris would like to thank all of their supporters and the sponsors, as well as Newbury Racecourse and all of their staff for their continued support.
