ABS is pleased to bring you a report from the England v Scotland Home International held in the Rainton Meadows Arena, one of the largest indoor arenas in the North East of England.
Team Scotland were keen to avenge the narrow 8-7 defeat it suffered prior to Xmas at the hands of England and was delighted to accept the invite to travel to Tyne and Wear so soon after the New Year.
A summary of the action can be found below;
Aqib Hussain V Adam Cope 1996 52kg:-
Aqib did very well against his more experienced English opponent and this was a rematch from the Ravenscraig Dual on the 22nd of December. Aqib upped his work rate and pushed Cope back with some very good overhand right hands and keeping the contest close right up to the final bell. Result :- COPE ENG Points. 1-0 ENG
Paul Burns V Jamhal Weaver 1996 75kg :-
The two big Youths showing some great skills and also great determination in this bout and it was Burns who just showed that little bit more always finishing off with the last blow in the exchanges. This bout was good crowd pleaser with plenty of action. Result :- BURNS SCOT Points. 1-1
Jack Turner V Aaron Huberry 51kg :-
(This bout was matched at 51kg normally Jack competes at 49kg) Again this was an enthralling bout for the crowd with both boxers throwing plenty of punches. Jack started off quickly and looked to have the edge early in the bout with his very fast hand speed catching Huberry out, but the more experienced and older Englishman upped the pace immediately. Although the decision could have went either way, it was the Englishman who had his hand raised by the referee. Result :- HUBERRY ENG. 2-1 ENG
Scott McCormack V Thomas Hallimond 56kg :-
This was Scott’s first senior International contest and what a contest this was for the boxing fans present. There were more punches thrown in the first round than there are normally in three! It was non-stop action from the two boxers who almost punched themselves to a standstill! it always looked as if there was only going to be one winner. Result :- McCormack SCOT 2-2
Kevin Skea V Dale Lincon 56kg :-
The contest swayed from one direction to to the other with Kevin dictating the bout as the rounds progressed. Kevin boxed clever slowing his opponent down with body shots then switching to the head. This was a good performance from Kevin in a close, tough fought bout which he deserved to win Result :- SKEA SCOT. 3-2 SCOT
Joe Ham V Josh Leather 60kg :-
This was another rematch from Ravenscraig and this was always going to be a tough bout for Joe knowing the Englishman was looking for revenge from the defeat at Ravenscraig. Josh Leather was looking very sharp with the home crowd cheering him on. Joe was not his usual self on the evening which could be seen by the fact he started off unusually slow and never really got going until the third round. By this stage, he really started to score with some excellent combinations and pushed Leather to the final bell but it was too late. Result :- LEATHER ENG. 3-3
Jason Easton V Tab Simamane 64kg :-
Jason got off to a good start picking his punches and scoring with a long lead hand. The Englishman was trying to close Jason down but with very limited success. Some good movement from Jason ensured that Simamane’s punches were being blocked and with Jason duly coming back with some effective counters. Result :- EASTON SCOT. 4-3 SCOT.
Stewart Burt V Lewis Ritson 69kg :-
Yet another rematch from Ravenscraig with some very big punches being thrown in this contest from both boxers. Ritson’s body punching was terrific and it was a testament of Stewart’s resilience and fitness that he was able to take the punches and still come back with some very good body punches himself. This was 3 x 3 minutes of non stop punching with the home crowd roaring on their favourite in every exchange. Result :- RITSON ENG 4-4.
Robert Forrest V John Docherty 71kg :-
This was a very commendable effort from Robert in this bout with the more experienced Englishman getting pushed back on a number of occasions. The balance of power swayed from one boxer to the other with neither giving up till the final bell. In the end, it was the Englishman who got the majority decision which could have just as easily been given to the Scotsman. Result :- DOCHERTY ENG 5-4 ENG
Brian Peacock V Peter Martin 75kg :-
This was the second last bout of the evening and we had to win if we were to have any chance of coming away with a memorable win over the Auld Enemy! As can be witnessed from previous bouts it was swinging one way then the other in favour of Scotland then England. Brian was up against a very awkward switch puncher and also a very slick mover in Peter Martin and the bout was close. However, it was Brian who came out on top of most of the exchanges using his experience to overcome the Englishman who had some success when he switched to the south-paw stance. Martin also showed some very fast hand speed and it looked like it would all be down to the final round. This was the case but it was the Scotsman who upped the pace and finished the stronger in this hard contest. Result :- PEACOCK SCOT 5-5
Scott Forrest V Dean Laing 81kg :-
The last bout of the evening was Scott’s first bout since winning his memorable silver, after five tough bouts, in the 2012 World Youths Championships. This was also his first International bout as a Senior boxer. There was not much to choose from in the first round as both boxers were trying to find suitable openings and it was round two when the real action started! From then on it was a real battle with Scott having the better of the exchanges but his opponent immediately came back with his own decent counters. The crowd were on their feet in the third round as it was obvious this was probably going to be the deciding round. Scott showed his quality and why he won a silver in the World Youth Championships by pushing himself to the limit to gain the upper hand in this contest. With the score tied at 5-5, he clearly sensed what was required to return home with a win over our host’s. Result :- FORREST SCOT 6-5 SCOTLAND.
Overall, this was an exciting dual with the pendulum truly swinging back and forth. However it was Scotland that eventually came out on top to avenge the recent defeat in Ravenscraig. The boxers showed some great determination and to us of to a good start to the year! Thanks must to go to our hosts, England, for the invite and who were very accommodating as always.
