Boxing: Hamer's hat-trick of victories

A week of terrific action has seen boxers from Hamer Amateur Boxing Club gain a hat-trick of wins.

The first victory came when Aeron ‘The Viking’ Maddocks, 19, travelled to the Irish Centre in Cheetham Hill, Manchester on Thursday 10 March, to take up the challenge from the local Collyhurst and Moston boxer George Killeen.

Killeen came out for round one using his reach advantage to keep his Hamer opponent at bay with his swift jab. It took Aeron around 30 seconds before he found his range and when he did, he forced Killeen onto the ropes to unload numerous punches to both the body and head.

Killeen moved off the ropes to find his distance once again and when Aeron attacked him, he shot out two solid jabs which jolted the Hamer boxer’s head back, which had the crowd instantly cheering, until Aeron silenced them when he forced Killeen back onto the ropes before landing more hurtful blows to the body and head.

This continued throughout the round and into round two when the local boxer tried to keep his distance with his long arms as the Rochdale boxer moved towards him to unload more punishing blows.

At the start of the third and final round, Aeron leapt onto his opponent once again to unload another barrage of punches to both the body and head, before the Collyhurst and Moston boxer moved off the ropes to find his range with his swift jab.

Aeron pushed forward as he slipped his opponent’s jab before storming in again with more telling blows.

Halfway through the round, Killeen awakened his supporters when he connected with a powerful right-hand which jolted the Hamer boxer’s head back, but their delight was short lived when ‘The Viking’ continued to force Killeen onto the ropes with solid punches to take the win by a unanimous decision.

The next win for Hamer came when ‘Champagne’ Charlie Braddock, 14, travelled to the Conference Centre in Runcorn on Friday 11 March to meet 15-year-old Finnlee Bunting of Runcorn ABC, who showed his intentions from the very start when he nearly knocked the Hamer boxer off his feet after unloading heavy blows to the head.

Charlie quickly composed himself before he began to deposit his own punches upon his foe when he trapped him in his own corner. His opponent moved around the ring with his arms down as he tried to land his swift jabs, but Charlie stayed out of range before stepping back in with a double jab, followed by a solid right-hand to the chin which jolted his opponent’s head back.

Charlie then kept Finnlee upon the ropes where he unloaded numerous punches to the head and body.

At the start of round two, the Runcorn boxer waited for Charlie to attack once again, and when he did, Finnlee stepped back slightly before stepping back into the action to land a telling blow upon the Hamer youth, which had the crowd clapping and cheering.  But the cheering was short lived when the Hamer boxer continued to force his opponent onto the ropes with a continuous bombardment of punches.

In the third and last round, the Runcorn boxer seemed to have lost his momentum, which instantly ignited Charlie into explosive action as he forced his opponent onto the ropes once again with non-stop punches throughout the round to gain the victory by a split-decision.

The triumphant Hamer boxer was awarded his trophy by the former WBC welterweight champion of the world, John H Stracey, who complimented the young boxer on his skills and determination.  

 

 

Hamer’s third victory came when Aeron ‘The Viking’ Maddocks stepped back into the ring two days after his victory over George Killeen.

On Saturday 12 March, he met Daniel Brown of Sale West Boxing Club in the North West Region quarter finals at Tameside Gym in Stalybridge.   

On the sound of the first bell, the much stockier Sale West boxer came out with his weight upon his back foot as he waited for Aeron to attack so that he could land his right-hand. 

It was a tactical move that allowed the Hamer boxer to take his time in his approach and when he did, he landed a terrific left-hand hook to the jaw.

The punch sparked Brown into action, but as he stormed forward, Aeron stepped back onto his back foot to unload a solid right hand to the chin. This continued throughout the round when the Hamer boxer switched tactics when Brown attack or stepped back.

Brown’s corner must have spurred him into action before he stepped out for round two because he immediately began to unload punishing blows upon the Hamer boxer.

This lost Aeron his momentum and he struggled to match his opponent throughout the round. However, in the third and last round, Aeron regained his momentum and the crowd looked on with delight as both boxers stood toe-to-toe to land heavy and hurtful punches upon each other.

This continued throughout the round, but the Hamer boxer began to land the more telling blows as the end of the round approached and just before the bell rang ‘The Viking’ landed three unanswered left hooks to the head to take the win via a split-decision to reach the North West Region semi-finals.                       

The action didn’t end there though, as 16-year-old Kieren ‘Lugs’ McMenamy travelled to Moorends Community Centre in Doncaster that same day to put on a terrific performance against the local boxer Tom Watson of Almond Boxing Academy, who gained a very close, hometown split-decision on points.

 

 

The previous couple of weeks also saw some victories for Hamer.

Connor ‘The Removal Man’ Middleton, 11, stepped into the ring on Saturday 26 February to compete in a skills bout against 12-year-old Vinnie Lackey of Finest ABC. Had there been a result, the Hamer boxer would have gained the victory, which resembled past relentless action from Rochdale’s former Olympic boxer Kevin Taylor.

Austin ‘Powers’ Heneghan, 14, lost another very close well-fought bout against the National Champion Liam Davie of Jimmy Egan’s Gym when boxing him in the North West Region Junior Championships Final at Tameside Gym in Stalybridge, which gained him compliments from both his opponent's coaches and the ringside officials.

Scarlett Holden, 11, and Bethany Connellan, 23, also represented Hamer Amateur Boxing Club when they participated in the North West Women Warriors squad training at Ricky Hatton’s Boxing Gym in Hyde on Sunday 6 March.