Williams head and shoulders above the game Baxter

A comfortable win for emerging prospect Lewis Williams was the highlight of a subdued evening of boxing at Trident College on Saturday evening.
Jordan Kendall looked impressive in his skills bout against Jevan Hayer. Picture submittedJordan Kendall looked impressive in his skills bout against Jevan Hayer. Picture submitted
Jordan Kendall looked impressive in his skills bout against Jevan Hayer. Picture submitted

Cleary’s inaugural show at the college suffered a setback before action got underway when Danny Quartermaine’s opponent Connor Jones called off at last minute.

And, with home boxer Sean Greenfield also pulling out, it left Williams’ youth contest against Chatteris’ Dean Baxter as the main attraction.

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Thankfully, the 17-year-old produced one of his most accomplished performances to date against the game Baxter to pick up the decision from all three judges.

Williams’ jab marked up Baxter’s face early in the first round and his opponent was nursing a bloodied nose by the time he was given a standing count in the second following a brutal combination.

An explosive start to the third threatened to end the contest, but Baxter took his punishment well and retained a willingness to stay on the front foot until the final bell despite Williams’ jab repeatedly finding its mark.

Michael Jephcott’s return to the ring proved shortlived with the former Midlands champion failing to make it through the first round of his contest against Triumph ABC’s Luke Beasley.

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Beasley did not boast the most impressive of records but he came out swinging and the ferocity of his attacks had Jephcott reeling.

Three standing counts duly followed as Jephcott struggled to adjust to the pace, with Beasley repeatedly finding his range to secure a technical knockout.

Cleary’s Ricky Atwel rounded off proceedings with a unanimous points defeat at the hands of Rayne ABC’s Jack Deer.

Atwel showed some neat skills but the bustling Deer got the nod for his busier approach.

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Earlier, the proceedings had kicked off with fours skills bouts, the first of which featured an all-Cleary’s clash between Tyler Kendall and Aman Kumar.

However, it was Kendall’s brother Jordan who caught the eye in his skills contest against stablemate Jevan Hayer.

There was plenty of action in a good old-fashioned tear-up between Evesham’s Jesse Johnson and Cleary’s boxer Harry Hogan.

Too much, though, for referee Chris Sunner who, having repeatedly warned both boxers for using too much aggression, called off the bout.

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Jake Finch then made his return to the ring after a broken thumb, claiming a points win in a scrappy encounter against the vastly more experienced Ryan Ducker (Chatteris ABC).

Meanwhile, Jake’s brother Josh suffered a split-decision defeat in his EB Junior National pre quarter-final clash against Sharpstyle’s Jacob Smith in Newdigate.

“He boxed fantastically and didn’t deserve to lose,” was coach Edwin Cleary’s assessment.

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