Big crowd enjoys 11-bout bill at Royal National Hotel
Islington Boxing Club’s fifth and final home show of the season proved a huge success at the Royal National Hotel in Russell Square.
A crowd of over 500 attended the dinner event, to raise funds for the Hazellville Road club, with 11 bouts providing plenty of entertainment.
Jenson Curtin, 13, was one of four boxers making their Islington debuts and started well against National Schools’ hopeful Frank Watson (Danson) at 54kg, catching him with good combination punches on the way to a deserved win.
But Joshua Strong, 14, lost a unanimous decision at 60kg to Martin McDonagh (Fairbairn), who worked better on the inside.
Connor Daly, 17, beat Exhall’s Ryan Dixon on unanimous points at 49kg, getting into his rhythm after a slow start to push his rival back and showing superior skill and fitness in his fourth outing for Islington.
Jay Jay Curtin, 16, lost a unanimous decision to National Development junior champion Louie O’Doherty (Chelmsford) at 60kg, despite landing some good combinations, but fellow debutant Chris Cunningham beat Ray Firth (Attleborough) by the same margin on his return from a three-year break, pressing throughout and scoring well when stepping forward.
And there was a unanimous points win for Slavisa Gegic against Xavier Akinsete (All Stars) at 70kg, despite not being up to his usual high standards after illness.
Gegic remains unbeaten in seven contests and hopes to challenge for a National Development Class A title in September.
Southpaw Shaun Thomas beat National Development senior finalist Matthew Saunders (Chelmsford) on points after a consistent three-round display, before Masood Abdullah produced the performance of the night at 62kg as he dominated Fatjon Gola (Fairbairn), despite a weight and experience disadvantage.
Boxing three three-minute rounds for the first time, in only his fifth contest, the Islington man dominated to claim victory and the best home boxer award.
Mo Gharib maintained his good form with a majority win over Surbiton’s Connor Marsden at 61kg, but below-par Jerome Campbell lost a unanimous decision at 60kg to Hillcrest’s Mark Butler, who was named best away boxer.
The last contest of the night was between Islington’s London Elite champion Lamin Conteh and George Harvey (Rumbles) over three rounds at 71kg, with Conteh picking his shots well to win a unanimous decision.
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