Hamer boxers compete in the North West Region Championship Finals

Hamer Coach Matt Lageard, Kieren McMenamy, Alfie McKay, Hamer coach Steven Connellan

Hamer Boxing Club travelled to Tameside on Sunday 2 October to compete in the North West Region Championship Finals. 14-year-old Alfie McKay and 16-year-old Kieren McMenamy along with 23-year-old Bethany Connellan were all due to be fighting.

14-year-old “Charming” Alfie McKay of Hamer Boxing Club met Stephen Cash of Sandygate in the second bout of the afternoon.

When the bell rang to start the first round Cash came in to land two solid right hooks to the body. This didn’t deter the Alfie, but as he tried to find his range, Cash landed another powerful right hook to the body. Eventually Alfie found his range and when Cash attacked again the Hamer boxer stepped out of range before stepping back into the action to unload a one, two combination which forced his opponents head back. From there on Cash became more cautious when the Hamer boxer began to land fast and accurate punches to his opponent’s head. On the odd occasion Cash managed to land a single blow to the head, only to receive numerous combinations in return.

Alfie continued to work off the back foot as he waited for Cash to throw his jab, then he moved out of range once again before instantly stepping back in to land more telling blows to the head. On the odd occasion Cash landed a solid right hand to the chin, but Hamer’s head coach Steven Connellan noticed that when Alfie attacked his opponent, Cash backed off to cover up and didn’t reply with punches of his own. So before the start of the second round Connellan told Alfie to change tactics and to start to force Cash onto the back foot and onto the ropes where he could land more telling punches as Cash covered up.

The bell rang for the second round and Alfie instantly followed his coach's instructions as he began to land solid one-two combinations to the chin of his opponent who was trying hard to return punches of his own, but as the bout continued Alfie’s power began to take its toll upon the Sandygate boxer who slowly began to tire and it was at that moment when the Hamer boxer forced Cash into the blue corner where he landed numerous punches to both the body and head before Cash managed to escape.

It wasn’t long before Alfie trapped him again on the ropes, where he landed more telling blows and as his punches forced Cash into his own red corner, the Hamer boxer continued to land shot after shot to the head which forced the referee to step in and administer a standing eight count. As soon as the count finished, the referee allowed the contest to continue and Alfie instantly stepped in with blistering speed to unload stinging punches upon his opponent, which instantly prompted the referee to step in and call an end to the bout in Alfie’s favour to gain the North West title.

Nine bouts later, Hamer Boxing Club entered the red corner with 16-year-old Kieren McMenamy who met Mohammed Khanjra of Technique Boxing Club in the final of the North West Region Championship and as soon as the bell rang to start the bout Kieren came out landing one-two combinations to the head. As the bout settled into its routine, both boxers showed great speed to land telling punches upon each other in a very close round. Believing that his Hamer boxer had just edged the round, head coach Steven Connellan told Kieren to use his jab to draw his opponent into range, before stepping onto his back foot when Khanjra tried to throw his right hand, he then told Kieren to instantly step back into the action and land his own right hand to the head.

Kieren picked up the pace in the second round and landed continuous punches upon his opponent who also gained success when he occasionally knocked the Hamer boxer's head back with solid right hands to the face. It was a very close, action-packed bout that could go either way, so before the bell rang for the third and last round the Hamer coach told Kieren to continue to use his fast combinations, whilst defending against his opponent’s right hand and when the action commenced, both boxers came out to entertain the crowd even further when they unleashed continuous punches upon each other.

It was a very close contest in which the judges had to decide who should gain victory. Was it Kieren who landed numerous punches to the head or Khanjra who landed heavy blows that knocked the Hamer boxer’s head back. It was a flick of a coin, it was that close, but sadly the coin landed in Khanjra’s corner to gain him the victory.

23-year-old Bethany “The Blue Toffee” Connellan didn’t know whether to feel happy or disappointed when her opponent Katie Clegg of Tameside Boxing Club withdrew from the tournament at the last minute which meant the Hamer boxer will progress into the National Quarter Finals in Tamworth on Saturday 8 October.