Jan’s the man as Cleary’s ABC show explodes into life at The Assembly

A night which had sparked without fully igniting, exploded into life in the penultimate fight of the night, with the Cleary’s ABC boxer involved in an all-out war against the equally game Majibur Ali from the Sheffield-based Ingle Boxing Academy.

A superb contest saw Khan twice pin his opponent on the ropes in the opening round with a flurry of combinations, which he repeated in the second to force Ali to take a standing count.

It looked certain not to last the distance, but Ali came out reinvigorated for the third, taking the fight to Khan and landing some clean shots before the Cleary’s boxer regained control.

With the packed crowd willing the home boxer on, the final bell was hardly audible before both boxers gained a well-deserved ovation.

Khan was awarded a unanimous decision and coach Edwin Cleary said the victory was a reward for Khan’s sheer perseverance. “He’s not blessed with great talent, but he is blessed with guts and he’s improving all the time,” said Cleary.

“The biggest shame was that the bout didn’t go on longer.”

With several late pull-outs, including Hull super heavyweight Ryan Fuller, there were nine fights on the bill, which opened up with a skills contest for Liam Muir against Wellington’s Kieran Brassington.

Hargobind Niijar was fortunate to gain the decision against Doreece Kirk (Warley ABC) but there was no argument over Dan Quartermaine’s victory against Liam Bell, with the St Vincent’s ABC boxer’s punishment ending at the start of the third round.

Cale Sunner tired in the third on his way to defeat against Regan Parker (Ingle Boxing Academy), while fellow Cleary’s boxer Liam Timms lost to Redditch Community ABC’s Ryan Hayden.

Sam Newey suffered a majority defeat, while Sonny Bhamra’s awkward style earned him the verdict in his bout before the night finished with Matt Archer losing to Christian Kinsoina (St Vincent’s ABC) after being subjected to some eye-watering body shots.