England amateurs spank the Yanks by James Howard Dec 2nd 2007

In one of two bashes to be hosted in the East End of London, England's finest faced off against the transatlantic counterparts. In attendance were faces that represented the past, present and future of the sport, former world champion Barry McGuigan, local boy and recently crowned cruiserweight world champion David Haye. Also wondering around the venue were Olympic qualifiers Bradley Saunders and golden boy Frankie Gavin. Clive Woodward and Jim McDonnell also participated in what was a tight but knowledgeable crowd. The evening's bouts commenced with Vauxhall Motors 18-year-old Paul Butler facing California's Malcolm Franklin. A pattern that continued for most of the evening started here in terms of the boxer's shape, the majority of Americans like mini-Mike Tysons - short stocky and muscular. Their English opponents were frequently taller with a more conservative build. An explosive round kicked off proceedings and Butler took control utilising the aforementioned reach advantage. By mid way through the third, the busier England boxer had stretched to a six point advantage, the applied pressure continued as he relaxed into the fight and went on to achieve a fair score of 19-7. Next up, Birmingham's ABA champ Khalid Yafai took on Atlantic City's short and stocky national number two Qa'id Muhammed. Yafai, in the red vest of England, started off well displaying good movement as he was able to creep in before scoring and retreating, racing to a 12-0 lead by the end of the second. A few matters of controversy in the match up, Muhammed was booed and warned for a behind the head blow which was returned by Yafai 15 seconds later, only this time to cheers. At the break of the second, the frustrated Muhammed threw Yafai dispatching him unceremoniously to the floor, cue further booing and a deducted point. The latter stages of the fight showed Yafai getting caught in the head more as Muhammed began warming to the task, causing Yafai to take a standing eight count. Yafai had to hold on at times against the strong American but did enough early on to deserve his win but the score wasn't announced other than to say it was unanimous. Another crowd lifting moment as Britain's first amateur world champion Frankie Gavin was presented from the ring. Frankie is in high demand but mixed with the crowd effortlessly. He is enjoying his time since coming home from the worlds, and is flying out to Switzerland for fellow Brummie Wayne Elcock's world title challenge to Arthur Abraham. He has had calls from vast and ranging boxing royalty but the classy lightweights feet remain firmly on the ground. Bradley Saunders received an equally warm welcome when he entered the ring later in the evening and seemed to be on good form for the night and enjoying himself. Performance of the night came from Manchester's exciting European Junior gold medallist Michael Maguire, who didn't disappoint his army of vocal support. Maguire enjoys an increasing reputation at bantamweight and it was clear to see why as he used his fast hands to take every chance to hammer punches into San Diego's David Clark, rated third at the weight for USA. With Maguire able to avoid punches to too, Clark found himself swinging and missing and ending up in a heap on the floor, such was the skill difference between the fighters. In the second, Clark tried to get back to basics and box more but Maguire turned the screw once again and the area surrounding the American's eye was beginning to inflate and redden. He was spared further punishment with the fight halted after two due to the twenty-plus points difference. Thomas Stalker, having now dropped down to 57kgs faced Rico Ramos. The Englishman, just back from China along with Paul Butler and Danny Price had reach and height advantage but the American kept forcing his challenge. It was a close fight and totally different to the one that had preceded it and in truth could have gone either way but the judges vouched for Ramos in a low scoring affair (7-5). Manchester's Carl Place stepped in for Frankie Gavin who's suffering a minor niggle (reported to be a cold and a broken tooth - Ed.). He took on Cleveland, Ohio's Miguel Gonzalez. Both seemed to be waiting for an opportunity to counter punch but as the rounds went on I began to see the sort of class from Gonzalez that I had expected from more of his team mates. He moved, glided and boxed elegantly and was the away team's best fighter of the night. Place pressed valiantly as the fight neared the distance but couldn't avoid the Americans second consecutive decision on the trot. David Haye was on hand to present the trophies to the boxers, looking well and as if he had enjoyed the meals he had spurned for the six months prior to the Mormeck fight. Haye happily posed for pictures with the fans of all ages while signing plenty of autographs. If that was a treat for the boxers you would have to feel for the next two whose trophy was to be presented by Adidas' marketing manager. A superbly entertaining bout with extremely well matched styles was next at 64kg, as Birtley's Craig Dixon fought Massachusetts Dan O'Connor. O'Connor spent most of the fight on the march forward while Dixon spent the fight picking his shots sensibly. One of the most entertaining fights of the night ended with a justifiably close victory for the Englishman (13-11). Along with Michael Maguire, sharp shooting southpaw Billy Joe Saunders (Hoddesdon) boasted the biggest support of the night as he took on the stockier, muscular but shorter (yes that pattern again!) Greg Carter (Connecticut) at 69kg. The first was a big swinging affair as the both looked for big punches while throwing bursts, the second involved equally good exchanges although Saunders' class told all the way through as he connected with the more shots. Stopped after three rounds because of the score difference, the impressive Saunders was presented his trophy by Jim McDonnell. During the parade at the beginning of the show, it appeared as if the US number one at 75kg Shawn Porter was informing Londoner James 'Chunky' Degale what he was going to do with him in his hometown. Unfortunately for the American who must have used up his energy in his bluster, DeGale wasn't intimidated as he dominated the American throughout the scrap. Feinting with bolo punches, DeGale danced in and out delivering clusters of punches from a variety of angles. 'Chunky' looked slick and very comfortable throughout the fight and has improved massively since I last saw him fight a year ago, winning 23-4 against the US's top man at the weight. Promising light-heavy Obed Mbwakongo of Fisher ABC faced Siju Shabazz of Las Cruces. The Englishman settled well and was throwing the higher volume of punches. The second began slower but ended with an energetic attack from Mbwakongo who was now establishing himself into the lead. Mbwakongo has a lot of talent and uses the ring very effectively, the only negative perhaps his balance occasionally when retreating but at 18 years old he has plenty of time. By the fourth the red vested Englishman was relaxed and connecting freely with Shabazz's head, spilling sprayed sweat on to the judges at ringside. Mbwakongo looks a good prospect and took the win by 20-2 which seemed a little harsh on the disappointed American. Fresh from his Gold medal in China, at 91 kgs England's Danny Price (Westway) fought Louisiana's Quantis Graves. Price has always impressed me in the past and this was no exception as he took command from the opening. Fast for the weight with a stern look of focus during the match, Price wouldn't let Graves get close to getting into the fight. Graves had a point deducted for a clear use of the shoulder but Danny Price remained cool and kept to the same game plan, punching in twos and threes. The Englishman Price was good value for his win (21-1) in what was the most one sided fight to go the distance. In the final bout of the evening, Repton's giant Damian Campbell faced off against American Michael Wilson in a battle of the super-heavies. The pace of this one was noticeably slower than the last, both fighters taking their time with shots and often not exploiting gaps when presented. Level after the distance, Campbell got the decision after a count back. Overall it was a good 9-2 win for England in a match up where neither team had all their top guns on show. The top performance of the night for me was Michael Maguire who has a fantastic look of spite in his face as he delivers his shots, impressive also were DeGale, Saunders and Price but the whole team have reason to be pleased with the night's work.

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