A night of exciting boxing was promised by members of Lochaber Phoenix Boxing Club at their Home Show last Saturday night – and they delivered just that, with non-stop action in every bout.
The local club had boxers in nine of the 11 bouts on the night with an enthusiastic crowd packing the main hall of The Nevis Centre to spur them on while welcoming their opponents from Aberdeen, Dundee, Elgin and Hamilton.
All the home boxers were aged 17 and under and fell into a number of weight categories which had to be balanced by head coach Vince Lopez.
First in the ring was Kyle MacDonald, weighing in at 44kgs, in only his second fight. At the lower end of the age scale, Kyle faced Bobby-Joe Johnson from Cain Boxing Club, Aberdeen.
Kyle, who recently took part in the Scottish Novice Championships, put up a tremendous performance but Bobby-Joe was declared winner.
In the second bout of the night, Allan MacColl, aged 14, at 63kg , made his ring debut when he took on Cain’s Kodie Thom. Allan also fought well but came out on the wrong end of the judges’ split decision.
Toby Jackson, 16, faced Hayden Fairhurst of Braveheart, Hamilton, but again, despite hard and skilful fighting, he lost.
In the fourth bout, Josh Parton took on Cain’s Aaron Cruikshank. At 62kgs, John put on an exciting performance but didn’t get the win.
Next up, Lochaber’s Ryan Cameron turned the tables with a solid win against Elgin’s Callum Hunter in the 68kg class. Huge cheers filled the hall when his arm was raised as winner by a unanimous decision.
Stepping up a weight, the tall home boxer Daniel Millar took on Mark Sidorov of Aberdeen Boxing Club at 76kgs.
Despite the excitement and skill shown by Daniel in the ring, the decision went
against him.
Just before the interval, Anton Bodkin stepped into the ring with Lucas Vaitekumas at 84kg for an exhibition match.
Lochaber’s Jamie Douglas had to drop out of his bout at the last minute as a result of illness, so his opponent, Cain’s Ben Still, took part in another non-scoring demonstration.
This was followed by the only non local battle to take place between McKinlay Lorne of St Francis, Dundee, and Zane Lawson of Cain.
The most anticipated fight of the night was between current Scottish Schoolboy Golden Gloves Champion, Lochaber’s Connor Bodkin and English Golden Gloves holder Leo Atang who had travelled up from his club Legions in York for the 94kg bout.
This was a fantastic experience for 15-year-old Connor who gave away quite a height advantage.
The crowd was vocal and united in support of Connor, the atmosphere being described as ‘electric’ and the hall vibrating to the cheering and clapping as he stepped into the ring.
The astounding skill of both boxers enthralled the audience throughout the first round with many exciting moves and counter moves.
Round two ended when Connor’s seconds threw in the towel to finish the bout due to his rapidly approaching exhaustion but leaving no-one disappointed or critical of the youngster’s performance.
The final bout of the night was between Lochaber’s Noah Johnston and Leo Benshabat, of Cain, at 69kg.
Again, it was a hard-fought bout and a worthy end to the evening, with the Aberdeen boxer declared winner.
Head coach Vince Lopez said: “The results may not have been in our favour on the night but the boys all showed brilliant commitment and gained a lot of experience from the show.
“Many thanks to our long-term sponsors Caley Timber and Fort William Tyre Service and all the other local businesses which supported us on the night and to the fantastic audience who cheered everyone on.”
The Caley Timber Boxer of the Night Award went to Lochaber’s Ryan Cameron, while Gym Boxer of the Year, voted on by fellow boxers, went to Noah Johnston with Allan MacColl awarded the John Donnelly Memorial Trophy for most improved boxer.
Featured image: The Lochaber Phoenix Boxers who fought at the club’s Home Show. From left: Ryan Cameron, Josh Parton, Daniel Millar, Kyle MacDonald, Anton Bodkin, Connor Bodkin, Noah Johnston, Allan MacColl and Toby Jackson. NO_F46_LochaberPhoenicBoxingClub_23_HomeShow_squad