Boxing: Hamer travel to Newcastle for first bout of season

Hamer boxers Alfie ‘The Charmer’ McKay and Austin ‘Powers’ Heneghan made an incredible nine-hour journey to and from Newcastle on 14 September to compete in their first boxing bout of the new season.

The first Hamer boxer to step into the ring at the Jubilee Club on Proctor Street that night was 14-year-old Alfie McKay, who was matched against 14-year-old Jimmy Hall of Marden ABC, North Tyneside.

When the bell rang for the first round, the Marden boxer showed the excited crowd why they came to support him when he landed a solid right-hand to the chin of his Hamer opponent.

Alfie began to use the ring as he snapped out his jab to keep Hall at bay and when the Marden boxer stepped in close, Alfie stepped onto his back foot before unloading a right-hand of his own to the chin.

Hall continued to move forward as the Hamer boxer used the ring and he forced Alfie onto the ropes where he landed a two-punch combination to both the body and head.

By then Alfie had gained his momentum and he constantly bounced around the ring whilst landing punch after punch upon his oncoming opponent.

When the bell rang to end the round, Alfie’s coach Steven Connellan told him that his opponent was looking to land his punches before he stepped back to take a rest. He told Alife to time his opponent’s movement and step back when he came towards him before unloading his own right-hand.

Connellan also told his boxer to move towards his opponent with his double jab, followed by his right-hand, when Hall looked like he was taking a rest.

The bell rang for the second round and Alfie immediately followed his coach’s advice when he met Hall in the centre of the ring to unload rapid combinations which began to force his opponent onto his back foot.

From there on, the Hamer boxer began to force the action and dictate the pace of the contest by moving forward to land his swift jab after jab upon Hall’s chin before unloading fast combinations to the head.

The third round was much the same as the second when the Hamer boxer continued to force Hall around the ring.

Although the Marden boxer landed the odd solid punch, it was Alfie who continued to dictate the action: at one point in the round, he forced Hall into the neutral corner where he unloaded punch after punch upon his opponent before Hall managed to escape just as the bell rang to end the contest, which was awarded to the Hamer boxer by a unanimous decision.

Four bouts later the roof and walls of the building shuddered and wobbled when the local favourite, 15-year-old Kane Usher of Tyneside Boxing Club entered the ring to incredible noise from his supporters when he met 14-year-old Austin Heneghan of Hamer ABC.

The bell for the first round and both boxers came out with their probing jabs to find their range. The Hamer boxer took the middle of the ring whilst Usher used the ropes to move around the perimeter of the ring and as he did, Austin stepped in to land a three-punch combination to the head of his opponent.

As the round progressed, Usher was missing and landing single punches, whereas Austin continued to land swift combinations, before moving back out of range. This continued throughout the round, then just before the bell rang to end the round, the Hamer youngster landed a solid right hook to the head of Usher.

Before the bell rang for round two, Austin was told by his coach Steven Connellan to pick up the pace of the action whilst drawing Usher’s lead so that he could counter-punch with swift combinations.

Austin stepped out in the second round whilst the noise from the crowd still vibrated around the room. The Hamer Boxer took to the centre of the ring once again whilst Usher stayed upon the ropes and in the corners where Austin landed another swift two-punch combination to the head, before Usher moved around the ring towards a neutral corner where Austin landed another fast three punch combination to the head.

It was around this time when Usher began to hold his opponent when the Hamer boxer came in close, but it didn’t deter Austin, who continued to land his swift punches. Usher was still landing swift single punches of his own when the Hamer boxer stepped in close, but he was constantly matched by well-timed fast combinations from his Hamer opponent.

Before the bell rang for the third and last round, Austin was told by his coach to continue to use feints to draw his opponent’s lead before unloading his own swift counterpunches. When the bell rang Austin took to the centre of the ring once again to draw Usher’s punches before he landed another solid right-hand to the chin.

The Hamer boxer continued to force the Tyneside boxer around the ring but, as he approached his opponent, the Tyneside boxer instantly grabbed hold of him before the referee split them apart and told them to continue to box.

Halfway through the round, Usher grabbed Austin once again when the Hamer approached him, then just as they separated, Austin unloaded another astounding combination of punches to both the body and head, just before the bell rang to end the contest.

It was a terrific performance by the Hamer boxer, who showed that he was not overawed by the actions of the local boxer, nor was he intimidated by his partisan crowd.

But when the result came in Usher’s favour by a split-decision from the ring announcer Billy Hardy – the former British Bantamweight Champion and British, Commonwealth and European Featherweight champion, along with four times world title challenger – it was a total shock to both Austin and his bewildered coaches.

When both Hamer boxers later stood alongside Billy Hardy for a photo shoot, the former two-time British champion told both Austin and his coaches that he along with quite a few others in the crowd thought that Austin had won the contest quite convincingly, which instantly made Austin feel a lot better regarding the result.