Boxing: Aeron Maddocks reaches final of North West senior contest

L-R: Hamer coaches Alan Bacon and Matt Lageard, Aeron Maddocks, Monir Miah and Hamer coach Steven Connellan

Hamer’s Aeron ‘The Viking’ Maddocks, 19, rocked the boat when he entered the ring at Tameside Gym in Stalybridge on Sunday (20 March) where he took on Casey Griffith, 30, of Metro Boxing Club, in the North West region senior 67-71kg semi-finals.

Both boxers came out using their jabs to find their range on the sound of the first bell. Then, as the fight progressed, Aeron began to land his jab more frequently, before he followed up with his right hand to the chin of his oncoming opponent.

It was smooth, controlled boxing that saw the Hamer boxer land his punches every time he moved into range and when Griffith did manage to step in closer, Aeron was waiting for him, and he just stepped back slightly onto his back foot to unload a quick right hand to the chin.

Towards the end of the round, the Rochdale boxer picked up the pace to land his fast double jabs, followed by a solid right hand, which forced Griffith onto the ropes.

The start of the second round started off was much the same as the first, with Aeron constantly sticking out his jab to score points as he moved around the ring. Then Griffith found his momentum and his range to unload one-two punch combinations before landing both his hooks to both the body and head of the Hamer boxer.

The bout seemed to be shifting in favour of the Metro boxer leading up to the last minute of the round, then Aeron found his momentum again and his impetus to connect with his left-hook to the side of the jaw, every time he landed his right hand.

Before the next round, Aeron was told by his cornerman, Steven Connellan, to pick up the pace with his combinations as he stayed out of range and when Griffith managed to move in close, the Hamer boxer was told to land his right hand, followed by his left-hook to the side of the head.

The bell rang for the third and last round and the Hamer boxer came out determined to take back control of the fight and it showed when he began to land a barrage of combinations to force Griffith back onto the ropes. When the Metro boxer moved towards him, Aeron followed his coach’s instructions to a tee when he constantly landed his right hand to the chin followed by a solid left-hook to the side of the head which gained him the victory by a unanimous decision, to move into the North West final.

Another Hamer boxer – 21-year-old Monir ‘Real Money’ Miah – was also in action that day when he met the England Boxing representative and three times national champion, Patrick Hewitt of Leigh ABC in the North West Region Senior 63.5-67kg semi-finals.

After the Hamer boxer put on a good show in the first round with his fast combinations to both the body and head, the much taller Leigh ABC boxer began to find his range, which eventually led him to take the bout and move on into the North West final.

Hamer’s ‘Champagne’ Charlie Braddock, 14, was also in action last week, when he got a last-minute call to meet local boxer Alfie Boyd, of Bridgewater Salford Boxing Club in Salford on Wednesday (16 March).

After losing the first round, Charlie came out to take the next two rounds, only to see Boyd have his arm raised with a home town decision.