Boxing: Success for three Hamer boxers in September

16-year-old Kieren “Lugs” McMenamy of Hamer Amateur Boxing Club breezed into the Seacroft Sports and Social Club in Leeds on Wednesday 21 September to take on the challenge of 17-year-old Kashif Hussain of Leeds ABC.

When the bell rang to start the first round, he met his foe with a solid right hand to the chin as both boxers locked horns in the centre of the ring. From there on, the Hamer boxer began to use his range to great effect as he timed his jabs and right hands to the head when his on-coming opponent constantly stormed in. This continued throughout the round, whilst Hussain also caught the Hamer boxer on the odd occasion to the delight of his supporters at ringside.

Before the start of round two, his coach Steven Connellan told Kieren to step up the pace of the action, whilst also continuing to use his jab to keep his distance, before stepping onto his back foot to unload his right hand when Hussain came rushing into him. The bell rang for round two and the Hamer boxer followed his coaches’ instructions to a tee as he constantly unloaded one-two combinations to the head of his opponent as he came rushing towards him.

As the round progressed Hussain’s work rate began to slow down and as he moved in close to his Hamer opponent, he began to hold onto him with his arms wrapped around his waist whilst Kieren constantly tried to break free before the referee stepped in to break them up and warn Hussain for holding. This continued through-out the round, as Kieren constantly landed his right hand onto the chin of his energy drained opponent before Hussain grabbed hold of him again with both arms wrapped around his waist, whilst the referee constantly stepped in to warn the Leeds boxer for holding.

Before commencing the third and last round, Kieran’s coach told him to up the action even more, when seeing how exhausted his opponent was. He also told him to always try and keep his distance with his long reach when Hussain approached him. The bell rang for the third and last round and to the delight of his fans, Hussain suddenly stormed into his Hamer opponent with swinging left and right hands, whilst Kieren tried to keep his distance. But the action didn’t last long when fatigue slowly began to take control of Hussain’s actions once again. This led him to constantly grab hold onto his Hamer opponent, until the referee intervened and gave him a final warning. From then on the Hamer boxer constantly caught his opponent as he moved around the ring, whilst the referee warned Hussain on four more occasions for holding and when the bell rang to end the contest it was the Hamer boxer’s arm that was held up into the air by the referee as he gained the victory.

 

 

On Saturday 17 September, 12-year-old Connor “The Removal Man” Middleton travelled Barton Athletic Club in Eccles to compete in a skills bout against Addison Barlow of Collyhurst and Moston ABC. Skills bouts allow young up and coming boxers a chance to gain the experience of boxing on a club show without the pressure of having to gain the victory and the worry of taking heavy punches to both the head and body.

When the bell rang to start the contest, the excited Hamer youngster constantly stormed into his opponent with telling blows to the head, which prompted the Collyhurst and Moston boxer to reply with punches of his own until the referee stepped in to ask both boxers to calm down and slow down their action. To the delight of the crowd both boxers ignored the referee’s warnings in the second round as they entertained the crowd with their performance, before the referee split them apart once again to ask them to slow down their punches. This continued throughout the round as both boxers unloaded multiple punches upon each other before the referee warned them once again. The action was much the same in the third and last round as the referee constantly stepped in to break both boxers apart and warn them for punching too hard. In the end both boxers received a round of applause from the crowd as the referee raised both of their arms up into the air.

 

 

The action didn’t end there for Hamer Boxing Club, when 14-year-old “Charming” Alfie McKay entered the ring at Tameside Boxing Club, Stalybridge on Sunday 25 September to meet Rhys Holden of Eccles Boxing School in the semi-finals of the North West Junior Development championship.

On the sound of the first bell, Alfie came out of the red corner to meet his opponent (who entered the ring with a record of seven wins and only one defeat) in the centre of the ring with his jab, before following up with a solid one-two combination to the head. This forced Holden onto the ropes where the Hamer boxer unloaded more punches to both the body and head before moving back out of range. Both boxers began to find their range with their jabs as the round continued, then to the delight of the crowd, Alfie unloaded another solid right hand to the chin which forced Holden onto his backfoot. The Eccles boxer continued to back off as Alfie approached him with his jab and when the Hamer boxer stepped in to unload more punches, he was met with a solid right hand to the chin from Holden before he moved out of range from his on-coming Hamer opponent.

As the round progressed Alfie continued to force his opponent onto his backfoot and as Holden moved around the ring to stay out of range, the Hamer boxer threw a jab to the stomach to bring his opponents hands down in order to protect himself. Then Alfie landed another solid right hand to the chin, followed by more punches to the head before Holden took to his feet once again to move out of range. The Hamer boxer continued to use his jab to great effect, but every now and again Holden would land a solid right hand of his own to the chin of his opponent which instantly stirred Alfie back into action. At one point he forced Holden into the neutral corner where he landed multiple combinations to the head before the Eccles boxer escaped into the red corner where Alfie unloaded even more combinations to the head.

Before the bell rang to end the round, Holden showed that he was still in the contest when Alfie stepped in, only to be met by a solid right-hand punch to the chin.

Before the start of round two, the Hamer coach Steven Connellan told Alfie to continue to force Holden onto the ropes with his double jab before unloading his combinations. But when the Eccles boxer steps forward with punches of his own, he told Alfie to step back and put his weight onto his back foot so that he could unload his own right hand to the chin as Holden stepped towards him. When the bell rang for the second round, both boxers came out with their probing jabs to find their range and when Alfie attacked his opponent, he was met with two solid punches to the chin before he replied with more combinations of his own to the head of Holden. Alfie’s jab began to dictate the action of the fight and as he continued to probe with it, he timed his right hand to perfection as he constantly landed it onto the chin of his opponent before he moved back out of range. This continued throughout the round, with Holden landing the odd telling blow. But the punch of the round belonged to Alfie when he jolted his opponents head back with a cracking right hand to the chin.

At the start of round three Alfie landed a three-punch combination to the head before he stepped back out of range and as the round progressed, he continued to land numerous punches to the head of his opponent who replied with single shots of his own which caught the Hamer boxer on occasion. Before the bell sounded to end the round, Holden began to take to the front foot only to be met by more solid punches from the Hamer boxer. When the bell rang to end the contest, it was Alfie McKay who had his arm raised in victory to progress into the final of the North West Junior Development Championship.