Boxing: Hamer Boxing Club fight report

Harrison Wright and James Fox

On Friday 11 November, 11-year-old Harrison “Harry” Wright of Hamer Amateur Boxing Club travelled to Greenland’s New Labour Club in Ribbleton, Preston to compete in his first ever competitive boxing bout where he was matched against 12-year-old James Fox of JPS Amateur Boxing Club.

As soon as both boxers were introduced to the enthusiastic crowd, Fox came out of the blue corner to land his jab, followed by a right hook to the body of Harrison who replied with a one-two combination to the head of his oncoming opponent. Fox continued to step forward and he forced his Hamer opponent onto the ropes where he landed a three-punch combination to both the body and head. As the round progressed, Harrison began to settle into a routine and as Fox came towards him, he stepped onto his back foot to unload another one-two combination to the head. The momentum of the contest slowly began to change when Harrison began to take the initiative when he stepped forward onto his front foot with his jab, followed by a solid right hand to the chin. When Fox felt the Hamer boxer’s power, he slowly began to take a step backwards.

The bell rang to start round two and Harrison came out to show his intentions when he landed another solid right hand to the chin of his oncoming opponent. At first Fox continued to come towards Harrison, but when the Hamer boxer landed a left hook to the side of the head, followed by another solid right-hand punch to the face, Fox slowly began to back off again. This gave Harrison the drive and advantage to continuously step towards his opponent to land more right hands and left hooks to the head.

When the bell rang to start the third and last round, Harrison landed another right hand to the chin of his opponent. Fox tried his best to get back into the contest and he stepped onto his front foot to take the fight to Harrison, but when he felt Harrison’s powerful right hand again, he began to back off and tire. This gave the Rochdale boxer the invitation to continue to step forward and land his right hand and left hook to the head to take the contest by a unanimous decision.