LAUNCESTON Amateur Boxing Club staged their first home show of the season on Saturday November 1 at Penstowe Manor. Clubs from as far away as Kent were represented. There were 12 very evenly matched contests with the Launceston boys winning eight of them.

Liam McDonald (11) faced Cellan Moore (11) from Torquay in a display of skills.

Both boys gave a great demonstration over three one minute rounds of footwork, defence and straight punching, and the Launceston boy showing that he is definitely one to watch for in the future. Both boxers are winners in a skills bout and has started their careers in a very positive way.

Dan Braunton (13) boxed Kyle Gargit (13) from Devonport ABC.

From the opening bell the Launceston boy unleashed a two fisted attack on the much taller Plymouth boy and threw punches like there was no tomorrow. Kyle countered well and just about stayed with the no tiring Dan. The next round was as the first but the Plymouth boy starting to match Dan in workrate. There was not much between them going into the last round and both boys very tired were glad to hear the final bell. Dan was unlucky to lose on a majority points verdict.

Sam Smith (14) boxed Ryan Fisher (15) from Bodmin ABC.

Sam elected to box on the back foot fending off the body hunting Bodmin boy, catching him with some good stiff jabs and the odd right cross. From the second bell, it was plain to see that Ryan had come to win loading up some big left hooks but the Launceston boy stuck to his boxing catching most of the shots on his arms. Sam unleashed some flash combinations of his own catching the Bodmin boy clean and the final bell ended a very close fought contest with Sam earning a unanimous points victory.

Elliot Lodge (14) was matched against Connor Gorsham (14) from the Isle of Thanet ABC (Kent).

From start to finish this bout was very exciting and very evenly matched. Both boys gave it their all in every round but Elliot's strength and determination being the deciding factors. There was some great boxing skills displayed and the Launceston boy dug deep, together with great slipping of punches and landing big right hands, Elliot boxed his way to a unanimous points victory.

Wes Smith (16) was in a return match against very experienced Peter Nurdin (16) from Bandford ABC.

Wes was defeated in their last meeting a year ago and went out to reverse the decision against the 45 bouter. From the opening bell Wes elected to box clever and be the counter puncher trying to draw the lead shots from his cunning opponent. This turned into a battle of skills and whoever made the first mistake was going to be punished. Wes stuck to his 'hit and not be hit' approach and going into the last round was probably ahead on points and decided to switch tactics and start to unload with fast combinations and connected with some solid right hands to the head and finished the bout a unanimous points winner.

Another rematch saw Max Deeble (15) box Edward Leach (16) from the Kent club.

These boys met in the National Championship quarter finals earlier this year where Max won on points. From the opening bell it was clear to see that the boy from Kent meant business and was loading up massive shots but the Launceston boy's very skilful footwork had Edward punching thin air and Max connected with clever counters and uppercuts from his southpaw stance. Edward battled hard but Max kept his composure and boxed his way to a unanimous points victory.

First on for the seniors was light welter weight Jameel Sandham (17) who faced Matt Mitchell from the Pilgrims ABC in Plymouth.

From the off Jameel unleashed fast right leads to the head and followed up with fast combinations to the head and body of the Plymouth boy, who fought back hard but couldn't find the target. The Launceston boxer continued the attacks into the second, landing far more of the cleaner shots but Matt was tough and kept himself in the battle throwing big punches. The final round saw Jameel defend his lead and box on the back foot until the last 30 seconds where he gave it all he had and won a unanimous points victory.

The third and final rematch saw lightweight Craig Charnock (17) box Howard Hart (17) from the Mayflower ABC in Plymouth.

In only his tenth bout Craig set out to get his revenge against his 32 bout opponent and utilised good combinations against the Plymouth boy who was not effective being pushed back. The Launceston boxer kept up the pressure for the next round and was connecting cleanly to the head and body of Howard. The final round saw Craig tire and box defensively and looked like he had it in the bag. Controversially the bout was scored a unanimous points victory for the Plymouth boy. Rematch to follow!

Marcus Hodgson (18) took on bantam weight Rik Leach (18) from the Kent club.

Marcus was up against it giving a bit of weight away and from the opening bell tried to boss the bout. Rik was having 'none of it' and blasted back and out scored Marcus in the first round. The second saw a change of tactics from the Launceston boy who tried to box at long range to gain the upper hand but once again the boy from Kent had an answer and so going into the last round Marcus was well behind on points and decided to dig deep and unload everything. Rik struggled to stay with him and on two occasions was rocked down to his boots. The final bell saw Marcus lose to a unanimous points verdict but was hailed 'Best Bout' of the evening by St Austell Breweries, who also presented trophies to both boxers.

The Launceston lightweight Joshua Williams (18) took on Ben Morrish (22) from the Pilgrims ABC.

From the start Josh took the fight to Ben and unleashed very fast and powerful straight shots to the head and body, backing up his opponent to the ropes where Josh thumped home lots of body shots. Once again the Pilgrim boy was very tough and in the second round battled hard to get himself back in the contest but took a fast left, right, left hook combination followed with a vicious onslaught of more head and body combinations. The referee looked as though he was going to step in and halt the contest but Ben fought back hard. The Plymouth boy did well to soak up the punishment but the Launceston boxer was too fast and too strong and boxed his way to a unanimous points victory.

The penultimate contest was between Launceston's Vitalijus Labosavas (25) in his first amateur contest who faced Will Deacon (23) from the Bideford ABC. This proved to be a very entertaining bout and a battle of the jabs with neither boxer dominating the first round. The second round saw both boys connecting with thunderous jabs, knocking each other off balance but the Launceston boxer started to find the occasional right hand. Both boys very tired turned the last round into a battle of the jabs again with the Launceston boy getting the decision with a unanimous points win.

The final bout was between Launceston middleweight Ross Chard (22) and Jimmy Lawrence (20) from the Kent club. From the bell Ross tried to take control of the bout letting go with some long range jabs and right hands. The first right Ross landed damaged his hand and forced him to try and win the bout with one hand. Unfortunately, the much more experienced opponent from Kent was too much for a one-handed boxer to beat, although Ross never stopped trying and lost to a unanimous points verdict.