National semi-finalist Reece Shagourie was hurled out of the ring before returning to help Islington BC register a comfortable victory on their trip to Sweden.

The Islington middleweight, who reached the last four of the England Elite Championships last month, had to keep his cool in the face of some provocative tactics by opponent Amir Smesen at the open air show in Gothenburg.

The Swede virtually threw Shagourie over the ropes in the second round, tripping himself up in the process as both boxers landed on the judges’ table at ringside.

But the Islington fighter was always on top and duly completed the win to secure a 6-2 victory for the Hazellville Road club.

Promising junior Safi Abdullah got the ball rolling for Islington, showing a full array of skills as he outclassed Remi Sado (RBK) in their Under-54kg contest.

There was a shock when Sado’s hand was initially raised, but the referee checked the judges’ scorecards and corrected the verdict, awarding a 2-1 majority decision in favour of Abdullah instead.

Tommy Kerrigan’s time in the ring proved to be brief after he broke a finger in the opening round against Roberto Bengtsson (HAIS) and had to be retired.

The Swede forced his opponent onto the back foot, but Kerrigan fought back and landed a right to the top of Bengtsson’s head, which left him unable to continue.

Islington’s Cherrelle Brown extended her unbeaten record with a totally dominant performance as she took a unanimous verdict against Lina Skohagen (HBK).

Brown dished out a series of hard single jabs and spiteful right hands and then, in the final round, rocked her opponent with a long right followed by a left hook.

Carlos Moreno utilised his jab to good effect, nullifying the advances of ABC’s vastly experienced Ossman Ntuve to claim a 3-0 verdict from the judges.

Ntuve did his best to counter with a series of wide hooks and, although the action became scrappy in the second round, it was the Islington man who regained control in the closing stages.

Paddy McCarthy played his part in a barnstorming clash with Swedish youth champion Hogar Sahli (ACB), whose strength and power gave him an early advantage.

McCarthy fought back and, despite taking a standing eight count in the final round, ended the contest by pounding Sahli against the ropes – only for the 2-1 verdict to go in the home fighter’s favour.

Valerian Spicer edged out Sagal Aden Hussein (ABC) in a scrappy affair, producing the cleaner punches and taking a unanimous decision from the judges.

Elena Narozanski’s performance was more eye-catching as she made her reach count against Johanna Svenungson (MBK) over four two-minute rounds.

Narozanski peppered her opponent with jabs, occasionally landing with the right hand as well, and doubling up on the jab in the final session to secure a comfortable 3-0 win.

It was left to Shagourie to round off proceedings and, despite the highly unorthodox tactics employed by his opponent – often more akin to those of a wrestling match – he did just that.

Shagourie’s sharp counter-attacks at the start of the second round seemed to infuriate his opponent, who deposited him out of the ring, but the Islington man recovered to triumph on a 2-1 majority verdict.