A SUPERB evening of boxing was held in Chatteris on Saturday when boxers from all four Fenland towns took on fighters from across the country in 14 thrilling bouts. Fighters hailed from South Durham, Stevenage, Woking, Finchley, and the Midlands, and loca

A SUPERB evening of boxing was held in Chatteris on Saturday when boxers from all four Fenland towns took on fighters from across the country in 14 thrilling bouts.

Fighters hailed from South Durham, Stevenage, Woking, Finchley, and the Midlands, and local boxers came from Whittlesey, Wisbech, Haddenham, March and six from Chatteris.

Throughout the boxing was of a very high standard and was much appreciated by the packed venue.

Fenland District Councillor Steve Garratt, Portfolio Holder for Young People and Leisure, with his wife were guests at the function. After seeing first hand what is being done in Chatteris for youngsters and leisure; before leaving Cllr Garratt said ''It was a very impressive evening''

Z Rash of Addenda v L Manning of Wisbech opened the proceedings. This was the first of four 3x11/2 minute round contest, both boxers gave their all; the young Wisbech lad getting the verdict.

D Izzard of Sandy met D Whale of Stevenage, two more young boxers in the early stages of their career. This was an evenly fought bout with the Stevenage boxer getting the win.

D smith of Sandy met his name sake , Jack Smith of Chatteris. This bout soon had the fans cheering as Jack Smith showed terrific hand speed and landed good combination punches onto the head of his much taller opponent. Round two again all action, even though he was out reached and smaller the Chatteris lad got inside and scored heavily. Credit to both of these Smith boys; they went at it for the entire three rounds. The place erupted when the Chatteris boy got the verdict. Jack Smith will be a name to look out for.

C Crosby of March met L Davies of Donnington Police ABC. Another fight between two youngsters learning their trade. Their enthusiasm and energy brought the best out of the audience, this was a very close fight with Davies taking the decision.

J Cooper, Woking, met M Boon of Wisbech. The first of nine 3x2 minute bouts. Two very keen boxers, the first two rounds were very even, Cooper upped the pace in the third round and he took a close decision.

R. Taylor Donnington Police ABC v Richard Caluanan of Chatteris was next up.

Caluanan is a stylish boxer and he would need all of his style and strength if he was to overcome a very good opponent; both boxers will know they had been involved in a hard fight. Richard Caluanan got the majority decision to the delight of the home crowd.

The next fight involved the popular Jordon Gill the England Youth International boxer his opponent was J D' Santos of Woking. Both of these young lads looked tuned to perfection, a good contest was about to start. D'Santos came forward from the start and was caught by Gill with a good jab followed by a right hook to the body. Gill then went forward and walked onto a good head shot from D'Santos, this changed Gills tactics; he took the fight on the inside and unleashed some severe hooks to the rib cage of the strong D'Santos. Round two was even both boxers scoring with close quarter exchanges. The third round was where Gill sealed a victory as D'Santos began to tire as the body shots took their toll. Jordon Gill was a very popular winner.

J Butt of Finchley faced Luke McVicar of Chatteris. This bout brought together two fighters, with warrior like styles. The pace was lightening, and how it went three rounds I don't know; however after the not stop action Luke McVicar got the verdict.

During the Interval there was a special presentation for the most improved young boxer; the award went to Jack Smith of Chatteris-- so fight fans watch this space he is a bit special.

The Boxing continued and M Usher of Stevenage met B Tabbitt of Chatteris. This fight was fought at a slower pace although some heavy shots were landed throughout. The ref had to keep pulling the two boxers apart towards the end as they both tired. When the Chatteris lad got the verdict, the decision surprised the vast majority of the crowd !

M Ellis Donnington Police ABC met M Boyden of Whittlesey. These were two evenly matched boxers and both showed good style. This fight was nip and tuck right to the end with M.Ellis getting the verdict.

The next fight was a clash of the locals, J Dyer of March and Jordon Tilsley of Chatteris.

It started like a war and did not last long when Jordon Tilsley was caught with a 'haymaker' to the head putting him down, Paul Gill (Trainer) saw his man was hurt and the towel came in straight away . Jordon was seen by the match Doctor at ringside ,and he is fine.

J Perry Stevenage met with M Tootill from South Durham. Two very strong young men came face to face, and this was a great fight. The first two rounds were even but the Durham lad took control of the third round and sealed a victory.

The penultimate fight of the evening was J Blair of Haddenham against S Johnson of Whittlesey. These two fighters really gave the ropes a good testing as they went about their work, it was a fight which was hard to call but the Haddenhan lad took the decision.

The final fight, a 3 x 3 minute contest between K Thompson of South Durham and the popular Chris Brown of Chatteris. Two really big men came out head on and the ring was rocking, both men on a mission to get each other out of the ring. The crowd loved it, but both men tired and had to be taken apart several times in the final round by an overworked ref.

The decision went to the Durham boxer leaving some surprised fans wondering. Maybe a draw would have been about right.

Thanks to all of those who helped and took part in the show. Special thanks to all members of the public for their support.

More pictures to come