Rising home stars hit winning form at thrilling SABC show

To get the evening started two Scarborough boxers, Archie Goldstone and Mickey Grime took part in non-scoring skill bouts, where both were given the opportunity to demonstrate the skills they have been working hard to develop against opponents from travelling clubs.

It soon became clear to those present, how close both Goldstone and Grime were to taking that step up to competitive bouts, as both displayed a variety of skills and abilities that will no doubt be put to good use in the ring in the not too distant future.

Stepping into the ring for the first scoring bout of the evening and making his competitive debut was Scarborough’s Jay Aitken, who faced off against Yasmin Houssini from Wellington Boxing Club (Middlesbrough).

Both young men proceeded to provide three exciting, non-stop, rounds of amateur boxing, that was enthusiastically cheered on by all those present.

At the sound of the final bell and with the scorecards collected, it was Aitken’s hand that was raised in victory as he was awarded a close points decision.

Next into the ring were two established champion boxers in Scarborough’s Olly Cooper and Wearmouth's Logan Frazer.

With both having recently progressed into the quarter-finals of this year's National Junior Championships, it was clear that both young men were keen to claim bragging rights and during a fast-paced first round both boxers looked to establish an early lead with good use of their jabs before unleashing fast combinations.

However, it appeared that it was the home boxer who managed to edge the first round.

With his confidence growing, Cooper then began to move in and out of range of his opponent’s reach, while still scoring with his own shots over the course of the following two rounds in order to secure another points victory.

Scarborough’s Frankie Kneeshaw was the next local boxer to step up against Ben Anderson from the District Youth boxing club, Washington.

Yet again both young men produced three entertaining rounds of high paced skilllful boxing. Throughout the course of the bout there appeared to be very little to separate the two talented boxers in terms of blows landed as the decision again went to the judges.

After a tense wait, the decision was finally announced before a narrow points victory was awarded to Anderson.

As the next two boxers stepped through the ropes, no-one present would have expected to witness what was in store for them, when Scarborough’s Logan Miah and York boxer Kassim Nije of Henry’s ABC, met for the second time.

On the first occasion Miah took the decision and a Yorkshire title, however the much-improved Nije looked determined to reverse matters.

From the first bell both young men resumed their rivalry from where it last left off, as they immediately began to exchange heavy blows at a furious rate, cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd.

It was the taller Nije who looked to establish his jab at long range, while the shorter Miah looked to close him down before throwing heavy combinations to the head and body of his opponent. And so the pattern of the fight was set.

With both corners desperately shouting advice and tactics over the following two action-packed rounds, both men appeared to have their own ideas in mind as they exchanged blows at a furious rate for the duration of the bout before the final bell rang out.

It appeared that the cleaner, heavier blows had seemingly been those thrown by the Scarborough boxer, and once again the judges’ scorecards were called upon as two exhausted young men awaited the decision.

After a short wait a unanimous points victory was awarded to a jubilant Miah.

Next to entertain the crowd was hometown boxer Tom Ledden, in action against Omar Imran of Eastburn ABC, where both young men looked to use their skills to out-think and out-box their opponent.

However, as the bout progressed it became evident that the better shot selection and the tighter defence of Ledden proved to be decisive factors as he switched his punches from head to body while always working from behind his own tight guard.

To his credit, Imran refused to make things easy for his opponent, as he gamely attempted to apply pressure on Ledden throughout the course of the contest. However, at the conclusion of the bout Ledden was announced as the victor.