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25/02/2008
Young England v Young Canada
Young England v Young Canada
Assembly - Thursday 21st February 2008 Apollo Hotel Basingstoke.
All boxers, Coaches and Officials arrived at the Apollo hotel Basingstoke 12.00hrs. On arrival all the ME3s were checked and collected.
The team gathered together and was congratulated on being selected, given a quick briefing regarding their behavior whilst representing their country and a reminder about their own responsibility regarding their weight management. Iain weaver was nominated to captain the team, which he was really proud of.
All the rooms were allocated with two boxers in each room.
A check weigh-in was conducted immediately.
All boxers were then asked to return to the scales for the official weigh-in at 1800hrs.
The boxers and coaches travel expenses were then gone over and checked, this was then followed by an evening meal, with the Canadian team.
The team then retired to their respective rooms and settled down for the night.
Friday 22nd February 2008
All the team were at breakfast at 08.45hrs. A full breakfast was served, which was both wholesome and nourishing.
At 10.00 all of the team went off into the town together to view the sights of Basingstoke. The team all appeared to be relaxed and in good spirits.
Lunch was served at 12.30, followed by the team taking the time to rest and sleep in their rooms.
At 17.30 the team regrouped and had a light meal in the restaurant.
Following the meal we had a short team meeting where they were given their strips for the boxing.
At 19.30 the team were picked up by coach and taken to the venue. Following the short journey the whole team made their way into the venue and were immediately seen by the doctor.
At 21.15hrs the ring parade was held and the anthems for both countries were played and respected. The first bout remained in the dressing room keeping the first boxer warmed up ready for the immediate start shortly after the opening speeches the boxers left the ring.
At 21.30 the first bout boxers were played into the ring
51kg Francois Pratte v Haroon Khan
Haroon started the bout well with a good range of punches, which were both well aimed and well timed, towards the latter part of the first round Haroon landed with some good combinations.
Round two saw Haroon's confidence growing by the minute as he placed his opponent under pressure. His opponent appeared a touch uncomfortable boxing off of his back foot. Towards the end of the second and in the third round Haroon was drawing his opponent in order to land with some lovely counters. Haroon won the bout by a score of 9-14
54kg Kenny Lally v Luke O'Rourke
Luke began fast against his opponent, pushing him back whilst landing with some good hooks. The Canadian although throwing a lot of punches, was not scoring well, as in the main they were landing on the high guard of Luke's. In the second round Luke was caught with some well-aimed left hook counters by the Canadian, whilst he was applying the pressure.
The third round saw the pace drop off by both boxers. However Luke managed to remain in control. The last round both boxers tried to take control of the bout, Luke being the stronger managed to hold on winning the bout by 12-14
54kg Jarmaine Badchkam v Daniel Lawlor
This bout started fast and furious by both boxers, as they tried to take control. After the initial exchanges the bout became a very technical affair. In the first round Daniel was spoken to by the referee regarding the dropping of his shoulder as his opponent rushed in, this was made to look worse as the southpaw Canadian appeared to jump up as he rushed in. The second round Daniel was deducted points twice for again dropping his shoulder. The second and the third round remained a cagey affair, with both boxers selecting their punches with some accuracy.
The fourth round Daniel realizing he was behind pushed forward scoring well with combinations, however he left it too late to catch the Canadian who won the bout by the score of 16 - 7
57kg Steven Wilcox v Iain Weaver (Team Captain)
Team Captain Iain Weaver led from the front with a fine display of boxing. In the first round the southpaw pushed his opponent back with some well selected punches to the head and body of the Canadian, the Canadian appeared a bit confused with Iain's power and speed. The second round was the same as the first with the Canadian coming back into the bout. In the third round lain upped the pressure scoring well with right hooks to the body and head of his opponent. Although the Canadian was giving a good account of himself, lain stepped up a gear to keep in control with his clinical punches winning the bout by 5 - 14
60kg Jean-Phillipe CYR v Daniel Phillips
This bout saw both southpaw boxers stand toe-to-toe, exchanging with good combinations against each other. Towards the latter part of the first round, it was apparent that Daniel was the harder hitter and had a better array of punches. In the second round Daniel took control of the bout with some superb combinations to both his opponent's body and head, even though the game Canadian came back towards the latter stages of the round.
In the third round Daniel caught the Canadian with a left hook-straight right combination, which prompted the referee to step in and award a standing count to the Canadian. Following this Daniel became more relaxed and turned on the style to pick-off his opponent with well-timed precision punches winning the bout 6 - 23
25 minute interval
64kg Matthieu Germain v Liam Cameron
Liam being the taller of the two boxers kept his opponent at bay with some lovely straight punches to the head of the Canadian who was stocky and strong. Liam had some good success with his left hook as the Canadian came in. The bout remained in this vein throughout, with the Canadian increasing the pressure as the bout went on. Liam stuck to his plan picking off the Canadian as he came forward.
Liam won the bout 5 - 11
64kg Branjd Anthony Butt v Tom Shaw
Tom started the bout well against the Canadian southpaw; the first round was fairly even, with both boxers giving a good account of themselves. As the bout went on the Canadian had more success close in. The second round Tom caught his opponent with a straight right hand, which pushed him back. Tom changed his game plan as he tried to keep the Canadian at long range where he was having the better success. The Canadian being strong and awkward worked his way in to score well as the bout went on. In the last round Tom hurt the Canadian with some well-timed right hands to the body; these punches drew a gasp from the crowd, but appeared not to catch the judges eyes. The Canadian clearly hurt, retreated as Tom applied the pressure. Sadly it was too late for Tom who lost the bout 14 - 5
69kg Ben Shamoon v Jonson McClumpha
This bout started with both boxers trying to land some big punches. In the early exchanges the Canadian appeared to read Jonson's moves early on, avoiding the full weight of his punches. Following a furious exchange between the two boxers, the Canadian was given a standing count for what appeared to be a problem with his gumshield. Jonson came forward fast and furious in a bid to stop the bout in the first. The second and third rounds saw Jonson stalking the Canadian around the ring, however his work rate appeared to drop off allowing the Canadian to run up some points with precision punches. The last round saw Jonson step up the pace, scoring well, however it was too late to catch the Canadian who won the bout 13 - 6
75kg Stuart Twardzik v Charles Delve
Charlie was a lot taller than his opponent and had a greater reach, this he used to his advantage with some superb straight punches to the head of the in-coming Canadian. As the bout went on Charlie was caught with some hard left hooks to the head from the Canadian, these he shook off well and kept to his game plan. The Canadian pushed forward relentlessly pressurizing Charlie. In close Charlie was not as effective as he was at range. The final round Charlie had to work hard to stay ahead and keep the Canadian at bay. Both boxers went right to the wire, with Charlie earning a good points victory 6 - 8
81kg Collin Fish v Alfie Sackie
The last bout saw Alfie take on the much fancied/respected Canadian. In the first round both boxers were unloading with some well aimed loaded punches to both body and head of each other, at the end of the first round Alfie caught the Canadian with a three punch combination which forced him back for the first time. As the bout went on the Canadian began to take control, with Alfie being awarded two standing counts. Following a boost from the corner team Alfie pushed forward taking the fight to the Canadian. In the third round, following a three precision punch combination from Alfie the Canadian was awarded a standing count. This gave Alfie another boost ready for the fourth round. Digging deep Alfie went after the Canadian, halfway through the round Alfie shocked the Canadian with a combination, which ended with a left hook, sending the Canadian to the canvas. Following the count Alfie chased the Canadian around the ring in an attempt to finish off this opponent. The Canadian clearly hurt managed to keep away from the reach of
Alfie and earning himself a point's victory 23 - 12
At the finish of the competition, Danny Phillips was awarded the well-earned, best boxer of the night trophy.
Following this, team captain Iain Weaver was presented with the winning team trophy.
The team were then fed a hot meal. Which was very well received by all.
At this point in the evening five members of the team, then left the venue and made their way to their respective homes, with their families. The remaining team members were then conveyed back to the hotel, where they relaxed before retiring to their rooms.
Saturday 23rd February 2008
Following breakfast all members of the party left the hotel, having gained a lot or respect from the hotel staff and the event organisers.
COACHES
Darren Maher - North West Counties
Graham Alderson - Royal Navy
Both coaches were great, they instilled confidence and discipline to the boxers where they could, working hard over the two days preparing the boxers to compete.
Their professionalism in and out of the ring was a credit to them.
They had the trust and respect of all of the boxers.
Event Information
The information running up to and during the event was of a good standard, which was easy to understand and adhere to.
Transport
We were assigned a 22-seated coach to convey us from the hotel to the venue and back. This was both clean and well maintained.
ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD
The accommodation and food was of a very good standard, which was also enhanced by very helpful and pleasant staff. Nothing was ever too much for them anytime of the day or evening.
THE WEIGH IN
The weigh-in was conducted on the first day, with both sides present at each team's weigh-in
BOXING VENUE
The boxing venue was a hall, which was completely dressed in the White Ensign and the Canadian flags. The facilities were good with a large area in which to warm each boxer up in preparation for their bout and viewing.
GENERAL
In my opinion I thought the match/show was a great success. Both teams were respectful throughout the competition.
The England team members were all very well behaved and were a credit to themselves, their clubs, the ABAE, the country and the sport.
Cliff Perkins Team Manager.