‘Brilliant night’ as London roar back to deny Leonis boxers undone by London Select

‘Brilliant night’ as London roar back to deny Leonis boxers undone by London Select

A full house at the Radisson Blu witnessed several close contests as Leonis lost the final four bouts to suffer a 7-6 defeat.

‘It was a disappointing result, but performance and atmosphere-wise it was very good,’ said Leonis coach Tony Burt.

‘There were a lot of bouts where the results could have gone the other way. It was a brilliant night for everyone who attended.

‘The match-making was really good and it was a shame that the evening ended with four defeats, but that happens sometimes.’

At the top-of-the-bill, Leonis’s Shane Goggin was stopped in the second round by Lamin Conteh, a former London élite champion.

Burt said: ‘Shane was boxing in the élite section for the first time [at home] having competed in the class at the Haringey Box Cup in London last year.

‘Both boxers have had a similar amount of bouts, but Lamin has had more wins.

‘Shane worked hard but got caught him a couple of times and the referee stopped the contest in the second round.’

Leonis’ Ben Le Gros had a good start but a unanimous decision went to Powerday Hook Club’s Alfie Collins.

Kierra Myles lost her first-ever 67k contest on a unanimous decision to Double Jab Boxing Club’s Giulia Mantuan.

Burt said: Kierra has done a bit of Jui Jitsu so has the experience of being in front of a crowd – and she put up a brave show.

‘Her opponent had height and reach advantage, but Kierra worked hard to box inside.

‘She started well in the first two rounds and I thought it might have been a majority win for her, but the judges gave it unanimously against her.’

Fellow newcomers Daniel Godfrey and Madison Birrell both registered wins.

‘Daniel was brilliant,’ said Burt, adding: ‘He was up against a tall southpaw in Michael Bankole and he listened to everything I told him.

‘He worked so hard and boxed well – he could well be a star in the future.’

Godfrey and Birrell both gained unanimous verdicts, the latter against Kaylie Strudy, while Leonis’s Natalie Harris lost on a majority decision to Natalie Kotwfka, at 62k.

Rhys Munro gained a unanimous verdict against Dagenham’s Michael Biala.

Burt said: ‘Rhys boxed really well. His opponent came in hard, but Rhys got into his stride and boxed much better than last time out.

‘He had some good combinations and delivered some clinical counter punching for a deserved win.’

Cristovao Rodrigues overcame a slow start – when he was put on the canvas twice in the first round – to win a unanimous decision against Karl Knight at 74k.

Southpaw Alex Le Put registered an excellent victory over London’s Louie O’Doherty, the latter a more experienced boxer and former youth champion.

Leonis’s Daniel Dufour followed up his previous weekend’s victory in Guernsey with a unanimous decision against Dynamo ABC’s Jake Lee.

Henrique Jesus was defeated on a split decision by London’s Bairaj Kahara, at 80k, while Islington’s Slavisa Gegic, who now has a 15-15 win record, gained a unanimous verdict against Leonis’ Harry Bertram at 80k.

‘Harry was getting caught and I wanted to pull him out but he was determined to stay the course,’ said Burt.

‘He didn’t go down, took the punches well and he was strong and determined not to give in.’

Gegic, who won the under-64k title at the British Universities & Colleges Championships in February, defeated home boxer Jamie Hamilton last year.

Boxing at 70k, Hamilton suffered only his second defeat in ten bouts, a unanimous decision, to Timon Asiama of the Cuban Boxing Academy.

Several Leonis boxers are now focusing on attending the Haringey Box Cup, Europe’s largest International Box Cup tournament, at London’s Alexandra Palace, between 22 and 24 June.

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