Entertaining Amateur show in Walsall by Daniel Mole Oct 19th 2007

Boxers from across the Midlands entertained the sell-out crowd at Walsall Football Club's latest Amateur Boxing Dinner Show last night. After being treated to a five-course meal and a half-hour set from local comedian Ollie Spencer, the 300 plus fight fans settled down for an evening of amateur action. Hosted by Pleck Amateur Boxing Club, the nine-bout card saw a number of junior boxers whet the appetite before the attention turned to the seniors. Juniors from Pleck, Nechells Green, Lions, Wednesbury, Rubery and Walsall Wood all took part in three one-and-a-half minute rounds whilst seniors, who were also fighting out of the above mentioned ABC's, boxed for three rounds of two minutes. At the interval former British Midlands Area cruiserweight champion, Nigel Rafferty, entered the ring. ‘The Centurian', one of only a select band of boxers to have over 100 professional fights under his belt prior to his retirement in 2001, received  rapturous applause as he showed off his belt.  Top of the bill did not disappoint as Pleck's Marcus Miller went toe-to-toe with Rubery's David Baxter. In the opening round, Miller's superior reach kept the compact Baxter at bay but the Pleck man was trying too hard to unleash his upper-cut on his opponent, who was giving away a fair few inches in height. Baxter kept plugging away though and, in the second, made good headway. Closing in to stop Miller picking him off, Baxter landed with a clean jab and followed it up with a left hook to send Miller pirouetting towards the ropes. Visibly shaken, Miller did well to compose himself until the bell. The third and final round saw both boxers score points without really hurting their opponent as the exerts of the previous rounds began to take their toll. The officials from South Staffordshire Amateur Boxing Association scored the fight as a unanimous victory for Miller but, in all fairness, it could have gone either way. That brought the night of boxing to a close at the Banks's Stadium as the amateurs from across the area, at all different age groups, showed that the future of Midlands boxing is in good shape.

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