Hebden Bridge ABC fighters box clever

A crowd of 300 attended at The Venue, Barkisland and Bridge club chief Clayton Varey said the 15-fight event had gone very well.

Senior fighter Baxter returned from a lengthy absence against a late replacement, Frank Alex from Benny’s ABC in Nottingham. While Baxter looked rusty in the 80kg fight, he won on a split decision.

Yorkshire champion Simpson, 17, continued his comeback with a unanimous success at 60kg against Sam Greaves from Kingston ABC in Hull. Varey said: “He controlled the fight from the word go.”

Duke, a senior who came in at 72.5kg, made it three wins out of four with a clear-cut success over Saad Zaman from the KBW Club in Dewsbury. The previously unbeaten Zaman was floored in the first round.

Three Bridge boxers had tasted defeat earlier.

Allan Pudney, 14, stepped in at a few hours’ notice and was far from disgraced in a unanimous defeat to Sedbergh’s Troy Pedder.

Diarmuid Pritchard, 16, lost unanimously to Brandon Brearley from the Training Cave in Leeds but it was a cracking fight at 58kg with little in it and a rematch could be on the cards.

Chris Mellor was stopped in the second round of his second senior fight by Lee Bailey of the Tigers club in Leeds after taking a standing count in the first round.

Debutants Harvey Salamino, 10, and Robin Moss, 13, pleased Varey in skills bouts, which do not have a result, at the start of the show.

Jools Uttley’s opponent was a late withdrawal but he, Simpson and Jacob Cushing will be in action in Leeds on Saturday, February 23.