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03/11/2008
England v Wales
The England team
Friday 31st October 2008
All boxers arrived at the Glamorgan Cricket ground, Cardiff, for the first senior boxing interntional between England and Wales since 1976. Weigh-in was at 4pm and all the England boxers were spot-on with their weights. Straight after the weigh-in the team sat down to a light meal, shortly followed by a meeting where all the boxers were congratulated and James Allen was nominated as team captain. Referee Fred Davies then re-iterated the rules in preparation for their bouts.
At 7.45pm the team gathered and walked the short distance to the venue, where they were seen by the doctor, there was a ring parade for both teams, each boxer was introduced and national anthems were played and respected.
It was a first international experience for many of the England squad, who took on the more experienced Welsh team in a hard-fought, well-mannered encounter. All bouts went the distance.
Bouts as follows. (England boxers in bold)
54kg Sean McGoldrick v R.Tyler (Home Counties)
The bout started well for both boxers, with the Welsh boxer getting the edge with a lot of hooks to the body of Tyler, who was scoring with straight shots. As the bout progressed Tyler began to settle down with a good display of punches to the head and body. The last round saw Tyler push the Welsh boxer back for the whole round and was very unlucky not to get the decision (there was no score given due to the computer crashing early in the bout).
54kg Joseph Cardina v Nathan Reeve (Midlands)
Welsh boxer Cardina was a very relaxed, tall stylish boxer with a long reach, who Reeve found very awkward. However, Reeve had some good success with some well-timed counters and combinations, catching the Welsh boxer. Cardina's flair kept him in control of the bout, winning by a point score of 18-4.
51kg Joe Gage v Phil Smith (Merseyside and Cheshire)
Both boxers started the bout trying to work each other out, but it wasn't long before Smith sent Gage reeling across the ring with a well-timed and placed right hand. In a very technically boxed second round Smith landed three good right hands forcing the referee to award a standing count to Gage. Smith appeared to be boxing well within his capability, with the gallant Gage tiring towards the end and being forced back onto his back foot. 21- 9.
51kg Andrew Perry v Usman Malik (Midland Counties)
From the outset the tall, long-armed Usman kept the ever pressing Perry at bay with some well aimed straight punches to both the body and head. This was a game plan which worked very well against the forward fighting Perry. Both boxers were switching from orthodox to southpaw, in a bid to outwit the other. Perry changed to an all out attack in the final round, which Usman managed to smother and ruin, in amongst his countering shots, ending up the winner by 14 - 3.
54kg Andrew Selby v James Allen (Army) Team Captain
James appeared to start the bout slow, allowing the swinging punches of Selby to score well. The first round Selby was in control. As the bout progressed James came more and more into it, with some good counters, catching Selby with well-aimed and timed shots. The third round saw James catch Selby with two good right hands in succession forcing him onto his back foot; this remained the way the bout was fought through to the end. Even though the decision did not go James's way, this was a good team captain's performance 17 - 12.
57kg Craig Evans v Josh McLaren (Midland Counties)
This bout was a crowd pleaser from the outset with both boxers standing 'toe to toe' unloading hooks to both head and body, the first round being controlled by Evans. Initially in the second round Josh tried to keep it at long range, but the speed of Evans was difficult for him counter, so the bout went back to the 'toe to toe' style for both, connecting with telling blows. This was the way the bout went right through to the end, earning Evans 19 - 7 win.
64kg Lewis Rees v Steve Turner (Army)
In the seventh bout of the night Steve took on Welsh captain Lewis Rees. The bout started well for Steve, who was countering the oncoming Rees with some ease. In the second round Steve, having settled into his stride, began to relax, firing off some superb countering combinations to the head and body of the Welsh captain. The third round saw Steve ease off a bit, allowing the pressure of Rees to get some success, however in the final round Steve took the fight to Rees forcing him out of his comfort zone and onto his back foot, winning the bout 20 - 6.
69kg Matthew Innes v Jamie McGough (Midland Counties)
This bout had both boxers trying to impress from the outset, throwing punches from all angles with a lot of them missing the target. Once both boxers settled down their punches began to be more selective. As the bout went on, Innes had some good success with the straighter shots; these were put together in combinations, which caught Jamie on the way in. This did not deter Jamie who pressurized Innes throughout. The decision went to the home boxer by 18 - 8
91kg Andrew Jones v Jack Radford.(Yorkshire)
Last up for England was Jack Radford. At the start of the bout both boxers were very cagey in their throwing of punches, whilst trying to work the other out. The athletic southpaw Jones stood upright and threw his rear hand to Jack's head with a good rate of success. As the bout progressed Jack began to up his work-rate, catching the waiting Jones. However, Jones threw everything in straight punch combinations, catching Jack with some good rear hands to the head and attracting the eyes of the crowd who spurred the Welshman on. This remained the way for the remainder of the bout, which was awarded to the Welshman 17 - 5.
In summary, whilst a couple of the bouts could have gone either way, I did feel that the scoring did not reflect how evenly matched some of the bouts were, with both boxers putting everything into their respective bouts.
Event information
The information running up to and during the event was of a good standard, which is a credit to the Welsh ABA.
Accomodation 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.
Weigh-in
The weigh-in was conducted, with a representative of both sides present throughout.
Venue
The first boxing venue was a cricket club, which was clean and tidy and had adequate changing rooms. The facilities were good with a reasonable area in which to warm each boxer up in preparation for their bout and viewing. The function suite was very large and quite cold, which suited the boxers more than the paying guests.
General
The competition was a great success. Both teams were respectful throughout. The boxing was of a high standard, with all teams of boxers learning from the competition. Credit must go to all three coaches who worked well together and earned the respect of the team with their professional approach and encouragement to the boxers throughout the competition. The team's behaviour was good, they got on well together and with the Welsh team.
The officials played a good part not just in the refereeing/judging but also as part of the team.
Team Manager
Cliff Perkins (Police Boxing Association)
Coaches
Mick Gannon BEM (National Coach)
Darren Maher (Merseyside)
Martin Uttley (Yorkshire)
Nick Griffin (Midlands)
Officials
John Hart (North West)
Lee Innes (Army)
Fred Davies (Midlands)