Sunshine and thoroughbred displays at Jackie Turpin ABC’s open-air show

Action from the bout between Red Corner ABCs Troy McCarthy and Fenland Sparta ABCs Reece Oldfield.

Despite clashing with the junior ABA finals, the club put on 14 bouts for the open-air show which was thankfully blessed with wall to wall sunshine.

Jackie Turpin boxer Mark Edwards showed his improved confidence, skill and fitness levels with a dominant first round performance against Lewsey ABC’s Rheece Porter.

However, he was caught by a good shot in the second and the referee stopped the contest.

Despite the defeat, Jackie Turpin ABC’s Lydia Turpin predicted good things for the 16-year-old.

“He is improving every week now and is totally dedicated to his training so its only a matter of time before the tables turn for him,” said Turpin.

Jackie Turpin stablemate Lucas Tonks, meanwhile, was let down at the 11th hour as his opponent pulled out on the afternoon of the show.

Tonks will be hoping for better luck when he competes in the Redditch Schools Box Cup at Abbey Stadium, Redditch, on June 8.

The award for the best bout of the afternoon went to the all-female clash between Merlin Youth ABC’s Chantelle Johal and and Lorna Redfern (Mottram and Hattersley).

“The show was a resounding success and we couldn’t have wished for better weather,” added Turpin.

“We afforded the crowd a very high calibre level of boxing.”

The climax to the show was the Unibox Elite Middleweight title fight between former junior ABA and CYP champion Zach Parker of Swadlincote ABC and Arron Fiaz of Wellington Boxing Academy.

However, with both boxers employing dubious tactics, the the referee had no option but to disqualify them for what he deemed “bad behaviour”.