Mixed fortunes for Durie’s boys
Club puts 10 fighters in ring at home event
Durie’s Boxing Club held their second home show of the season with 10 local fighters entering the ring.
In what was a mixed day for Archie Durie’s members, 12-yearold Shahzman Parnez topped the bill at the King’s Park Hotel on Sunday, October 16.
The experienced Hull Box Cup winner was up against Wishaw’s Jay Kelly and the result, went the way of Jay by unanimous decision.
The event started with young Cambuslang lad Lewis Millar who was in against the taller and heavier Greenock boy Marcus Latham.
Nine-year-old Lewis, who was making his first appearance for the club, did well to force himself forward against his opponent and earned the applause of the crowd in an exhibition bout.
Rutherglen’s Jayden Cowan was also in against a Greenock lad, Liam Kelly, with Jayden putting in a great little performance in his baptism to boxing.
As both fighters were under 10 years old, no decision was made and both hands were raised.
Castlemilk lad Kyle McGee was involved in a cracking contest with Sparta’s Ryan McDonald
The 13-year-old took the centre of the ring against southpaw Ryan and caught the smaller Grangemouth fighter with effective back-hand right uppercuts, forcing this to split the judges in favour of the away boxer.
Next in was Rutherglen 13-yearold Brandon Grant who was also making his debut against Sparta boxer Sam Lusk. The home teenager fired solid straight back-hand rights in his orthodox stance, catching the Grangemouth lad through all rounds to win by unanimous decision and also voted best home boxer by the judges.
Thirty seven-year-old Irishman Robbie Ryan, 78kg, who recently joined Durie’s BC, was in the ring with Glasgow City’s Sean McCafferty but lost the close encounter.
Castlemilk’s Nathan Basil, 62kg, followed in the next bout and had to box a no-scoring exhibition with his opponent from Clydeview ABC in Mohammed Alkhaldy who came on the scales 3kg too heavy.
But the 15-year-old showed how good he was by pushing back the taller, heavier boxer and landing solid hooks to the body and head.
Cambuslang 18-year-old Dan Murphy was having his second contest against Dumbarton club D- units’ Luke Grey in a wellmatched contest but the judges voted in the way of the away boxer.
Kyle Sillars, 57kg, of Castlemilk, was in his second contest and made it his second win in a row against Glasgow City’s Thomas Russell, with Kyle showing good aggressive hand speed combinations in the last 20 seconds of the first round.
His performance shook the away boxer and Glasgow City coach Gary Porter called the bout to an end, giving the 16-year-old victory by way of TKO.
Also from Castlemilk was heavyweight senior Kieran Mulcahy against Conner Stirling from Sparta ABC.
Both boxers were committed to win but a change in tactics from the home corner turned the bout on its head. They brought their man out boxing southpaw and it changed the fight to give him the victory.
The Reformer can also reveal Brandon Grant, Nathan Basil, Kyle Sillars and Dan Murphy will compete in the Scottish Novice Championships in Motherwell this weekend.