Hundreds of spectators were entertained by a bumper 19 bout bill when Malmesbury ABC staged their end of season show on the pitch of Malmesbury Victoria Club last Saturday.

The rain, which had threatened to put the dampers on things- or even cancellation, relented just an hour before the boxing started and it stayed dry, albeit cool throughout.

Charlie Ferris got the host club off on a winning note in a closely fought encounter with Barnstaple’s Harry Sugars which was nip and tuck all the way.

Both boys showed ability and maybe it was Ferris’s better movement and punch variation which earned him the tight majority decision.

Greg Cook met old opponent Charlie Cooper from Bridgewater’s Sydenham club in an all-action contest and found an improved Cooper a little too busy on the day.

Cook had suffered from inactivity recently because of his excellent record coupled with being very light for his age.

This was apparent when a decent right hand from Cooper connected to turn the fight in his favour at the end of the first round which, up until then, Cook was dominating.

A confident Cooper emerged for the second with more ambition but Cook battled away for the rest of the contest to stay on terms but Cooper picked up the decision by a close 2 point margin.

Jack Williamson started brightly against Barnstaple’s Keir McKinnon and showed good footwork and head movement to be ahead after the opening round.

McKinnon upped his work-rate in the second to level things up and a nose bleed for Williamson in the final round hampered him and things got a little untidy in the clinches as both boxers tired. The Barnstaple boy got the judge’s decision after the hard-fought fight.

Sam Jenner met St.Albans’ Miley Cash who he fought earlier in the season. This time the contest was over 4 x 2 min rounds and an even opener was turned at the end when a Cash right hand brought the Malmesbury boy a standing count.

Jenner battled back in the second to get himself right back in the fight and continued the good work in the second.

He probably had to have a good last round to snatch the decision but he was caught again with the Cash right hand and then several more to prompt the Malmesbury corner to signal Jenner’s retirement.

Jamie Edwards won another well matched contest when he took on Launceston’s Jonathan Dawe in a junior lightmiddleweight clash.

Edwards’ footwork was impressive but he could have made things much easier for himself by using his excellent left jab more.

There was an unusual occurrence in the lightweight fight between Malmesbury’s James Bath and Yeovil’s Dan Dawes when the bell to end the final round sounded after just one minute!

Bath had taken the opener with his solid counter-punching and probably shared the second as Dawes had some success with the jab and occasional right hands.

The fight was still in the balance going into the last but the premature finish saw Bath pick up the deserved points victory.

Debutant lightheavyweight Andy King was a revelation in gaining a points victory over Abingdon’s William Cobb. King remembered everything he had been taught and boxed beautifully to orders.

For all three rounds he showed a tight defence a used his double jab combination to excellent effect to pick up a wide unanimous points verdict to the delight of his army of supporters.

Joe Hughes had promised to put on a show in his top-of-the-bill fight with Yeovil’s Justin Hicks and didn’t disappoint as he systematically took the brave Somerset boy apart.

From the opening seconds it was obvious that Hughes was in a completely different class as he smashed in powerful jabs and hooks and deftly slipped any punches that Hicks tried to reply with.

Midway through the second, a crunching left hook really shook Hicks to his boots and he was forced to take a standing count from referee Steve Brooks. Somehow he survived to hear the bell to end the second but maybe he wished he hadn’t as Hughes went out for the final round to enjoy himself and caught Hicks with every punch in the book to take a shutout points decision against tremendously courageous opponent who has to take every credit for refusing to fold.

Other results: Junior : Riley Cox (Downend) outptd Callum James(Sydenham)unan Charlie Ricketts(Downend) outptd Macaulay Cain(Sturminster Newton)unan Michael Macdonaugh(St.Albans) outptd Cory Smitherman(Trowbridge)unan William Price(Sturminster Newton) outptd Billy Hearle (Downend)Maj Tamuka Muchapodwa (Reading) outptd Richard Goulding (Oakmead)unan Senior: Murat Chakir (Finchley) outptd Chris Pollard (Blackmore Vale) Maj Karol Zielinski (Frome) outptd Paul Sadler (Abingdon) unan Monty Brooker (Sydenham) outptd Will Hibbert unan Joe Wallis (Tredworth) outptd Ben Billam-Smith(Oakmead) unan Mike Devine (Blackmore Vale) outptd Sean Cleary (Finchley) Maj