Top Yard Boxing Club talent soon warmed up a bumper crowd on a cold night on London Road

For the first time the show was held outdoors in a marquee at the Peacock on London Road, but the action, as well as the hot drinks on offer, soon warmed everyone up.

Exhibition fight

First up was James Smith (11) who was taking part in an exhibition fight against Francis Crawley from New Saints Boxing Club. Smith started on the front foot trying to push his opponent back to the ropes. Both fighters threw consistent 2-3 punch combinations, and the cheers in the crowd encouraged both boxers to finish strongly. Both boxers competed well and had their hands raised at the end. Exhibition fights are encouraged to develop young boxers, until they are ready for scoring bouts.

New member

Next up was newcomer, Zayd Jawad-Ismail (13) who was up against Fairbain Boxing Club’s Yaya Kothia in another exhibition match. The Top Yard lad, the taller flashier boxer, used his height and reach advantage to keep his opponent at bay. He also picked his shots very well in each round often making his opponent miss. A good three rounds banked for Jawad-Ismael.

Lively Lilly-Mai

Lilly-Mai Manning (13) likes to stay on the front foot and trade punches. The fearless teenager went straight to work against Ava Clarke when the bell rang and showcased a strong first round finish. She went onto capitalise on her aggressive style, by continually pushing her opponent back and piling on the pressure. It was another great exhibition bout for a Top Yard youngster.

Unique Johny

Top Yard's first scoring fight was led by Johny Winters (13). With his unique style Winters started off the first round with his long jabs and kept his opponent guessing while moving smoothly around the ring. Winters doesn’t rely on 1-2 punch combinations, but surprises his opponents with 3-4 punch combinations. Much of his success came with the volume of punches he was throwing and he won each round strongly to win the fight by a unanimous decision.

Sefin v Sonny

Sefin Jawad-Ismail (14) was up against Sonny Dodd from Northampton ABC. Both boxers started off strongly and delivered a high-pace, action-packed first round. They went toe-to-toe many times and displayed great aggression. The home boxer did enough to win the first round and then went straight on the attack again the second round as his opponent was forced onto the back foot. Both fighters knew they needed a big last round to win the fight and they started off the same way they approached the first round. The Top Yard teenager had some good success on the inside and then started to use his footwork to pick his opponent off, but the judges scored it a win for the travelling boxer.

Entertaining Arif

The entertaining Ismael Arif (16) took on Danny Short from RG Boxing club. Arif started the first round with great hand speed, consistently picking his opponent off with 2-3 punch combinations. His opponent was forced to keep a high guard and often failed to counter the home star’s punches.

In the second round Arif used his sharp footwork to create angles and land many counter punches, and in the final round he also dominated to claim a convincing points win.

Revenge win

Current National champion, and now England representative, Jerry Mike Connors (16) took on Maliq Mweva from Fairbain ABC. Connors, who makes his England debut on Saturday in Wales, was in no mood to hang about. He was very much geared up for this fight as Maliq won their first encounter last year. Connors started off on the front foot and unleashed a barrage of straight punches and often made his opponent miss. Mweva was waiting to throw his counter punches, but Connors continued to land the cleaner shots. The second round was very much the same as both boxers tried to use their boxing skills to pick each other off, but it was Connors continued to impress to claim his revenge win.

Top Yard Boxers are out again for the next few weeks until a small break during Christmas. The Youth championships start in the middle of January when

Ismael Arif, Jerry Mike Connors and Patrick Connors are among the Top Yard boxers taking part.