Boxing: Shahruf Ali beats Corey Benjamin in North West Region semi-final

Shahruf Ali, of Hamer Amateur Boxing Club, beat Corey Benjamin, of Manx ABC, in the semi-finals of the North West Region, 44KG Open Class Junior Championships at Club 147, in Walkden on Saturday.

At the sound of the bell both contestants were cautious, poking out their jabs to find their range.

The Hamer youngster pushed forward looking to land his solid shots while the Isle of Man youngster was content in backing off onto the ropes while keeping his opponent at range with his long punches.

The more the contest progressed it soon became apparent that Ali was the stronger of the two and when he began to find his range, he unloaded powerful hooks to both the body and head to give his opponent a standing eight count.

Ali caught his opponent again with another left hook to the head and Benjamin was given another standing eight count.

The action in the second round was much the same with the Hamer youngster forcing the pace and looking to land his powerful hooks. It wasn't long before he landed another terrific right hook to the head which give his opponent another eight count.

The referee allowed the contest to continue only to see Benjamin immediately catch another left hook to the head and he instantly stepped in to stop the contest and award Ali the victory.