Boxing brilliance: McCormick impresses in Eccles skills showdown

After his first skills bout, it took only one week for 14-year-old Bruce McCormick to step into the ring once again when he met Martin Doherty of Macclesfield Boys Boxing Club in another skills match at Eccles Boxing Club in Bridgewater Mill, Eccles on Saturday 9 November. 

Both boxers came out for the first round throwing swift jabs at each other, which most seemed to miss due to both boxers using clever defensive skills along with their ability to keep their distance from each other, whilst always being alert and ready to step back into the action if there was a chance to land a shot at their opponent.

As the round continued, Bruce began to find his momentum, and he began to step into the action with three to four swift and rapid jabs to the face, which connected each time as he used his swift footwork to move around the ring.

At the start of round two, both boxers came out immediately to try and land a swift one-two punch combination upon each other, only for both boxers to miss, due to both of them using their clever defensive skills and footwork to avoid the power punches coming at them.

Doherty instantaneously stepped into range again to force the Hamer boxer upon the ropes, where he landed around three unanswered punches to the face. Bruce spun off the ropes to get to the centre of the ring, so that he could reply with right-handed punches of his own, which immediately forced Doherty to step back out of range.

Bruce abruptly stepped back into the action once again to land three to four unanswered punches of his own, whilst all Doherty could do was to step back onto the ropes to defend himself.

It was around this time that the Hamer boxer began to gain his momentum, as he continued to use the ring whilst stepping into range with rapid straight armed punches to the head of his opponent, before Doherty responded with good punches of his own, which immediately showed that Bruce had developed good skills in the gym.

He quickly changed his style of boxing, towards the end of the round, when he began to wait for Doherty to approach him as he threw his punches, and when he did, Bruce instantaneously stepped away from the action, only to quickly step back into range with his solid right hand punch, which connected every time.

It was a terrific bout performed by both boxers.

But when the third and last round started with both boxers showing their intentions with rapid and solid combinations thrown at each other, the referee quickly stepped between them to warn them that it was a controlled skills bout.

She told both boxers to calm down upon their power punches, which were genuinely entertaining the crowd and because of their eagerness to continue to thrill the crowd in attendance.

Both boxers simultaneously set upon each other once again, only for the referee to step between them again to warn them both to hold back on their punches which began to irritate the crowd.

The boxer’s coaches had both agreed to have an open skills bout, which would have allowed both boxers to throw any punch combination they could upon each other, but when the boxers entered the ring, they were told that it was a controlled skills bout that would only allow jabs to be thrown in the first round, then straight-armed punches thrown in round two, followed by any combination thrown in the third and last round.

Hamer coach Steven Connellan said: “I know it was a skills bout but both coaches agreed to allow an open skills bout and upon inspection of both boxers, they showed the crowd that they had learnt the science of boxing within their own gyms to a very good level and neither of them looked frail, nor showed any inability to defend themselves."