A SELL-OUT crowd were treated to an excellent display of boxing when Chepstow Boxing Club held its first show of 2018 at the weekend, writes Bob Cypher.

The club put together 12 bouts, which all went the distance, and eight of Chepstow BC's members took part.

First into the ring was eight-year-old Terry Mullane, who was up against Dylan Davies of Cwmcarn Boxing Club.

This was a skills bout for boxers aged eight and nine. There is no winner or loser because the boxers show the skills they have been learning. It was great opener to the show.

Bout number two saw Chepstow boxer Jerry Cash, 10, in his first contest taking on Cameron Richmond of Hope and Glory Boxing Club. Cash listened to advice well. He started quickly and stuck to basic boxing, landing straight jabs followed by straight right hands, he also kept to his boxing stance well and dominated the bout throughout, winning by an unanimous decision.

Chepstow boxer Kayd Dean was next into the ring, taking on Ethan Wilkinson of Barton Hill Boxing Club (Bristol).

Dean was up against a taller southpaw opponent who was also very well schooled. Wilkinson knew how to use his reach advantage

He was followed by clubmate Tommy Dolan, 11, who took on Logan Williams of Tylorstown Boxing Club.

Although Dolan boxed very well and worked off the jab to good effect, his opponent proved to be very strong and put on relentless pressure, forcing Dolan on to the back foot. The bout ended with a split decision going in favour of Williams.

Bout five was Chepstow's Gussy Cash who took on a very game Makenzie McNamie of Alway Boxing Club (Newport).

Although McNamie was a very keen opponent, on this occasion Cash proved to be the better boxer, not only counter-punching but also putting in a good attacking performance.

The referee gave McNamie a standing count in round one and again later on in the bout and Cash won by unanimous decision.

At the end of the night the judges announced this bout to have been the best of the night and both boxers received an extra trophy.

Chepstow BC's head coach Steve Woods said the evening had been a great success.

"I was extremely pleased with all our boxers, as were assistant coaches Colin Fear, Doug Lewis and Rameece Rouf," he said later.

"Our club is a team effort and all the coaches put in a lot of work, so when the boxers perform as well as they did tonight, we know the hard work is paying off.

"The 300 or so people who came to watch were also great, creating a really wonderful atmosphere and a lot of that is down to the Free Press who publish our news. We all appreciate it."