Islington BC heavyweight Mateusz Szczepkowski made a winning return to the ring in his first bout since March as he overcame Aivis Vitols (Littlehampton ABC).

Szczepkowski, who took the bout on Littlehampton’s first ever home show at short notice, looked sloppy in the opening round as he attempted to land swinging right-arm attacks.

But the Islington boxer improved from the second round onwards, catching Vitols with double jabs and heavy right-handers to take a unanimous decision.

Islington’s Aaron Nicely – who had previously lost twice as a youth boxer with Coventry Boys Club – broke his duck on the Waltham Forest ABC dinner show at Prince Regent Hotel.

The 18-year-old used his jab well to keep Charlie Green (Gator ABC) on the back foot and controlled proceedings throughout to secure his maiden victory.

But there was no joy for Islington’s Dwayne Taylor, who struggled against his younger, taller opponent Jack Daly (East London BA).

Daly’s work-rate was superior during the first two rounds and, although Taylor managed to land some basic shots in the third, it was not enough to stave off a defeat by unanimous decision.

Islington’s senior captain Jeff Ofori secured an impressive majority decision against Jacob Gabriel (Basingstoke ABC), the fifth-ranked light-welterweight in the country, on the Manor of Groves show, Herts.

Ofori was outworked in the opening round but stepped it up in the second with a series of left uppercuts and overhand rights, doing enough to swing the verdict in his favour.

However, there were defeats for two of Ofori’s Islington team-mates, with Lamin Conteh beaten by Jamie Whittaker (Royal Navy) on a unanimous decision and Kenyon Reid losing a majority verdict to Vincent Gough (Hoddesdon BA).