Youngsters in action across the North West
THE start of the new year saw 15-yearold Hamer Amateur Boxer Hiraa Akram travel to The Halston in Carlisle to meet her local opponent Ruby English of Carlisle Villa ABC in an open class skills bout where both boxers showed good skills as they traded onetwo combinations upon each other.
Round two was much the same as the first, with non-stop action, as both boxers took turns in pushing each other upon the back foot as they both continued to unload numerous punches upon each other.
In the third and last round Hiraa began to take slight control of the bout as she continued to force her opponent upon her back foot whilst landing straight one-two combinations to the chin.
Then it was her Carlisle opponent’s turn to suddenly switch the momentum when she began to use her much longer range to connect upon her on-coming Hamer opponent as she moved into range.
But just before the bell rang to end the contest, Hiraa suddenly stormed into Ruby again to land more blows to the head and when the bell rang to end the contest both boxers received a great round of applause from the appreciative audience.
Another Hamer boxer showed off his skills when 15-year-old Azaan Hussain met the Carlisle boxer Lee Craik in another open class skills bout which saw both boxers come out for the first round probing with their jabs.
As the round progressed the competitors slowly began to gain confidence as they started to unload combinations upon each other.
In round two Azaan slowly began to take control of the bout when he stepped upon his back foot to make Craik miss with his on-coming punches, before stepping back into range to land swift combinations to the head.
His confidence grew even more as the round progressed with him moving around the ring whilst waiting for the Carlisle boxer to come towards him, before making him miss with his punches and suddenly replying with his own, even more swift combinations.
Azaan’s confidence grew to another level in the third and last round, as he briskly controlled the ring with his swift footwork and his rapid punches, whilst Craik followed him around the ring taking numerous and solid right-handed punches to the chin off his Hamer opponent.
The entertainment didn’t end there, because last Saturday, 16-year-old Asim “The Dancer” Mahmood travelled to Blackburn Youth Zone to meet Daniel Naylor of Apollos Boxing Club, Bolton in the North West Final of the 48kg-51kg category.
On the sound of the very first bell that afternoon, Asim came out of the blue corner to meet Naylor, who used the perimeter of the ring to keep his distance, before moving back into range to land his shots.
This continued throughout most of the round, before Asim suddenly set about his opponent with numerous punches to both the body and head, only for Naylor to begin to use the edge of the ring once again, whilst landing his jab. Then, just before the bell rang to end the round, Asim stormed in again to land more clubbing blows to the head.
Before the start of round two, the Hamer coach Steven Connellan told Asim to expect his opponent to continue to use the edge of the ring whilst stepping into range to throw his punches. He told Asim to defend himself first against them before unloading his own shots.
The bell rang for the second round and Naylor did exactly what the Hamer coach said he would, as he moved around the perimeter of the ring, whilst landing his jab every time Asim stepped into range.
As the contest progressed, it slowly began to become a very untidy affair, with both boxers pushing and shoving each other, whilst also pushing each other’s head down and hitting them on the back of the head, which had the referee step in on many occasions to split up the pair, whilst telling them both off.
The third round was much the same as the second as the untidy brawl continued and in the end the contest was awarded to the Apollos boxer for landing the cleaner blows.
The action didn’t end there, because 15-yearold Hiraa Akram stepped into another ring at the same Blackburn venue to meet Noah Shaz in an open skills bout on the home show of Technique ABC.
An open skills bout is a contest that allows the boxers to use different punch combinations throughout the no-decision bout, instead of throwing just the jab in the first round and the one-two combination in round two of a controlled skills bout, which instantly gave Hiraa the opportunity to immediately attack her Technique opponent with solid one-two combinations to the head, before finishing her assault with a left hook to the body, which instantly forced the referee to step in and ask her to tone down the pressure of punches.
With her opponent hurt and constantly backing off, Hiraa continued to press forward, whilst landing her punches and the referee stepped in again when she caught Shaz with some more hurtful blows to both the body and head, which forced the referee once again to step in and ask her to restrain from using her power punches.
In round two Hiraa instantly set about her opponent, as she forced Shaz upon the back foot in her own corner. Then, as the round progressed the Hamer boxer began to step in with a double-jab, followed by a solid right hand to the chin, which connected every time she unloaded her punches.
Then she moved in whilst her opponent laid upon the ropes to unload left and right hooks to both the body and head.
By this time Hiraa was in total control of the bout as she continued to step in and out whilst landing her shots.
In the third and last round Hiraa instantly forced her opponent into the neutral corner, where she unloaded more telling blows.
The Technique boxer suddenly caught her Hamer assailant with two solid right hands of her own to the chin, before Hiraa forced her back into the same neutral corner to unload her another multitude of punches to her opponent’s body and head, and just before the bell rang to end the contest, Hiraa gave her opponent another barrage of punches as she stood in her own corner and had there been a decision it would most definitely had been awarded to the Hamer female.