On Thursday 01st November 2012, the Combined Services played host to a Scotland select comprising of both Senior and Youth boxers with the dual being held in the Army Training Regiment (ATR) Pirbright, England.
In what proved to be a night of closely contested bouts, our Scottish boxers were up against the pick of the British Army and Royal Air Force boxing teams.
The first bout of the evening saw Stewart Burt take on Tommy Leigh in a high tempo bout. Both boxers shared the pick of successful exchanges, but it appeared that the Scottish boxer was cumulating the cleaner scoring punches in the latter stages of the bout. Unfortunately the judges did not agree, with the decision going to the Army’s Tommy Leigh.
WINNER – Tommy Leigh COMBINED SERVICES
Up next for Team Scotland was Aston Brown, in his first bout back after over a year. In a bout that brought the crowd to their feet, Aston controlled the majority of the contest over Shane Sadler, giving his opponent 2 standing counts in the second. Although the Army England international Saddler finished strong in the last round, the Scottish boxer had gained too much momentum during the bout to let Sadler back in.
WINNER – Aston Brown SCOTLAND
Scott McCormack took on the Army’s former ABAE Champion Adam Whitfield in the third bout of the evening. The first round in this contest saw former England international Whitfield use all of his experience boxing to his strengths, however Scott McCormack finished strong in the latter stages of the first round which saw the momentum of the bout swing to the Scottish boxer. Through shear tenacity and a high work-rate Scott wore his more experienced opponent down, not allowing Whitfield to settle at all. A fantastic performance despite the experience favouring the Army boxer.
WINNER – Scott McCormack SCOTLAND
In the fourth bout of the dual, Connor Law was up against former ABAE Class B Champion Adam Watson. In what was a master class performance in the art of counter punching, Connor controlled the bout from the outset not allowing Watson to settle into any rhythm at all. Continuously drawing his opponent into range and landing with accurate rear hand punches, this bout could only end one way.
WINNER – Connor Law SCOTLAND
James Dickie and the Army’s Jimmy Randall opened proceedings after the interval, with James totally dominating the England international over the first round. In what was building up to be an outstanding performance from James, an under pressure Randall pulled together a sustained attack at the start of the second which caught James by surprise and forced 2 standing counts in succession. With the referee deeming James not fit to continue, the Scottish boxer can take huge confidence from this bout from his domination of a top-class opponent for the initial stages.
WINNER – Jimmy Randall COMBINED SERVICES
Craig McIntyre swung the momentum back in Scotland’s favour, with a clinical performance over the Army’s Bradley Heeley. Heeley had no real answer for Craig’s dominating Jab, with the Scottish boxer using it wisely to both defend and set up his sustained attacks. Although Heeley showed good movement and quick fire attacks in spells, Craig proved too ‘classy’ for his former 2 x National champion.
WINNER – Craig McIntyre SCOTLAND
Last up for Team Scotland was Mark McKeown, taking on the Army’s Kristian Touze. With the roof being raised from the opening bell, Mark applied sustained pressure onto his Army opponent who had no answer for Scotland’s McKeown. After giving his opponent 2 standing counts in the first round, it appeared the final bout may finish before the designated 3 rounds. Although Touze held on and replied with some solid counter punching tactics, Mark again dominated the second round. The final round saw Mark continue to apply pressure from the outset, however Touze was finding some success in his defensive punching backed up against the ropes. As the bout came to an end, it seemed everyone in the venue settled for Scotland taking another Army scalp, so when the MC announced the win for the Combined Services, disbelief could be seen on everybody’s face. Although the decision certainly DID NOT reflect the contest itself, Mark can be more than content with his ‘winning’ performance.
WINNER – Kristian Touze COMBINED SERVICES
Scotland can be extremely proud of a well-rounded performance by all the Scottish boxers, in what saw the Scotland select gain a ‘scarce’ win over the strong Combined Services team.
OVERALL RESULT: COMBINED SERVICES 3 – SCOTLAND 4
