Elms stuns rival with first-round knockout

Whitstable School of Boxing youngsters enjoyed mixed fortunes in bouts at Newham ABC’S show at East Ham Working Men’s Club on Friday night.

George Elms produced a stunning right hand to register a TKO of opponent J Lawrence of the host club within 30 seconds of the opening bell.

Lawrence had a history of stopping opponents and a reputation as a big puncher but Elms picked-up on the fact he dropped his left hand in the opening stages of their bout and proceeded to unleash a straight right hand which floored his opponent and ended the fight early.

Whitstable head coach Kevin Place said: “He was up against a local boy, a strong kid but George picked up on the fact his left hand was down and got him with his signature shot. He did well.”

Alfie Sutcliffe’s scheduled opponent withdrew at the weigh-in, with Place saying: “They had said all the right things but when it came to it I don’t think they liked the look of it,” while George Theze was out-pointed by K Johns of Hoddesdon

Place added: “George boxed well. His style and movement was good. He was just up against an awkward opponent who seemed to be about a foot- and- a- half taller than him. He lost nothing in defeat.

“The kid kept jabbing and keeping him away so he wasn’t able to get in there and cause problems.”

Ronnie Murray and Sutcliffe are due in action at Kemsing on April 2 while a host of Whitstable youngsters will be in action at the club’s dinner show at the King’s Hall, Herne Bay, on April 8.

For more information or tickets to the show call Place on 07940 985565.

Should women be paid the same amount for doing the same job as men? Of course they should. If Alexandra Hoad was getting something off her mind on this page, then she should get paid the exact same as I am. Should women be paid the same amount as men for playing tennis, however? Absobloominlutely not. Let me put this straight out there. This is nothing to do with the five sets versus three sets argument, though, of course, there is no way on earth that female players should be paid the same amount for doing between a third and two-fifths less work at Grand Slams. This is also not about the physical limitations or otherwise of female players. The problem is that nobody wants to watch five sets of women’s tennis. A symptom of which is that it took me a good 10 seconds of thinking time before coming up with two players who didn’t have the surname Williams. Women’s tennis is, frankly, a bit of a shambles. Even more so after Sharapovagate. I’ve seen it said that it’s uncompetitive but I’m not sure that’s right. Of the 15 LTA tournaments so far this year, there have been 13 different winners. To me that’s too competitive and all because because the standard is so low. Ray Moore got himself in hot water and lost his job as Indian Wells Tennis Garden Chief Exec this week for claiming that women players ‘ride on the coat-tails’ of the men’s game. World No.1 and one of the all-time greats in the making, Novak Djokovic then lost an army of female fans by claiming that ‘maybe men should be awarded more’ as the men’s game attracts more spectators and TV viewers and ergo sponsorship money, too. Much like his backhand down the line, Djokovic is bang on the money. If you generate more revenue, you should recoup more revenue. Of course, at events where punters buy tickets to see matches involving both sexes, it’s hard to get everyone to say who they most want to watch and divvy the profits out accordingly. However, when you have comparable tournaments like Queen’s and Eastbourne, where the levels of interest, prices and TV coverage, differ so vastly, then it’s a pretty good indicator of the lay of the land. Look around the world. Women play pro golf. Do as many people go troop round the course with the top players as they do at the men’s game. Of course not. What about football. We are growing ever more passionate about women’s football in this country and the crowds the national team get are amazing. But do as many people watch the women’s Champions League in person or on TV as the men’s? No. Why? Because the quality is so inferior it’s almost not worth comparing. So fire away with your allegations of sexism, I am ready for them. I’m not remotely sexist, I’m a huge advocate of female sport. I do truly believe that This Girl Can... but when it comes to tennis, it’s more a case of These Girls Can Do Better.

‘Women’s tennis is, frankly, a bit of a

shambles’

George Theze, left, with his opponent K Johns