St Gerards Amateur Boxing Club took two senior boxers to Oxford for a big black-tie dinner show hosted by Oxford Boxing Academy in the Kassam Stadium’s banqueting rooms.
The Chichester pair were facing two of the home boxers so they knew they faced a big challenge.
First up was senior fledgling Germaine Malcolm, 26, at light-middleweight taking on Mitin Moughal from the home club.
Head coach Gareth Ferguson advised Malcolm, a natural switch-hitter, to control the centre of the ring and be very busy in the first round.
His opponent, a natural southpaw, came looking for trouble from the first bell. Malcolm responded by taking total control of the contest, outboxing Moughal, and very clearly won the first round.
Coach Jon Mills said: “We told Germaine to box southpaw for the rest of the contest as this was far more effective as Moughal found it far harder to catch Germaine.
“He basically took over from were he left off in the first and clearly and concisely won the second round as well, with Moughal getting two warnings for slapping from the referee.”
Most of Moughal’s shots were hitting the gloves so the St Gerards camp expected the win - only for Moughal to get it by a majority decision.
St Gerards were amazed and look forward to a return match.
Malcolm, originally from Brixton but now a Chichestrian, having boxed for his county three times, works at the Berkeley Arms in Bosham and is grateful to his employers for allowing him time off to further his love of amateur boxing.
He boxes again in Brighton tomorrow (May 10).
Next up was 17-year-old beckoning cruiserweight Will Atha facing Alex Williams of Oxford BA, who was coming down in weight.
Head coach Ferguson said the first round was a cracker with Atha clearly getting the better of his hard-hitting opponent
The second round was much the same with Atha easing forward into range and firing off some cracking combinations, allowing him to move forward - another clearly-won round.
Atha coped comfortably with Williams’ onslaught but received a public warning - then Williams recieved a warning for holding and hitting.
Atha got a very well-deserved win on a majority decision, meaning the Chichester club prevailed again in adversity.
Atha is growing in stature and can look forward to bigger and better things in the near future.
St Gerards are looking for would-be sponsors. The club operate on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Swanfield Community Centre, Swanfield Drive, Chichester, between 6pm and 8pm if anyone wants to pop along to watch.