Top marks to the organisers of Tyne, Tees & Wear’s England Boxing Elite National Championship finals for putting together a superb supporting cast.
There were six non-title bouts at the JD Sports Domes in Seaton Carew and each was a belter, lapped up by the big crowd.
Horden’s youngster Bailey Tindale ended his bout with Logan Wood with a bloody nose, but he set the pace throughout and earned his unanimous result. A great effort though from the Houghton boxer.
The noise of the night came when Connor Gales and Daniel Stainsby played out a terrific six minutes of action.
Gales never stopped coming forward but the Albert Hill boxer, in the blue corner, scored well with both hands. The Hartlepool Catholic Club teenager played a full part in the contest, losing out on a split decision.
Connor’s Catholic Club colleague Evan Vaughan was a unanimous winner against Sunderland’s Shaun Cubby in a bout in which tons of leather were traded.
Southpaw Evan (pictured) moved nicely and had a telling backhand but the Bo’s boxer tried all the way to the last bell.
Another cracker ensued when Travis Miller took on Natural Progression Boxing Academy’s Bradley McLoughlin.
The NPBA boxer took the first and forced a standing eight count for Miller, but the Catholic Club youngster came back strongly and could take great heart from a tremendous fightback, even though he missed out on the verdict.
There were no such problems for Reece Bailey who, seemingly, had the unenviable task of meeting Mohammed Ali.
The NPBA fella with the famous name was lively enough but the greater accuracy came from Bailey who got the nod on a split.
Split decisions were all the rage at the Seaton Carew venue and there was another when Sunderland’s Luke Radcliffe outpointed Gary Gray.
It looked harsh in the extreme on the Horden fighter who, after a first round when neither boxer landed any clean stuff, produced the scoring shots in rounds two and three only to miss out on the verdict.
Congratulations must not only go to all the boxers, coaches and officials but to the match-makers who staged six 50-50 bouts out of six, a lesson perhaps to professional operations out there?
Words: Roy Kelly
