A HARD-FOUGHT draw for Channel Island boxers against a renowned Merseyside & Cheshire outfit brought a literal meaning to “punching above their weight”.
It was the first time in the sport’s history that Jersey and Guernsey fighters had teamed up to box under the same banner as part of a Channel Island Select team, led by Miguel Ferreira and Ben Duff.
It proved a thrilling evening of boxing at Greenbank Sports Centre in Liverpool in which the two sides could not be separated, sharing the 14-bout affair 7-7.
Jersey coach Ferreira described the draw as feeling “like a victory”.
“It is a top region in the UK for boxing, so to go into their backyard and get any sort of a result is really impressive.
“The Channel Islands are incredibly small compared to some of the places we compete against.
“They have a much bigger pool of fighters to select from and they have better opportunities to fight more often than our boxers.
“We could quite easily pick some regions that are weaker and come back with resounding victories every time. But that is not the way our boxers can learn and develop.
“If they want to be the best they can be, then they need to be tested against the best opposition available.
“It was a step well outside our comfort zone, which is so important from a development standpoint.
“We really came together as Jersey and Guernsey boxers as part of one team.
“The support for each other was incredible and that was what impressed me so much.
“For our first time, everything worked so well and we know that there is an exciting 2024 ahead for our joint Channel Islands team.”
Emily Logie Inman opened the card and was the only girl in the 14-strong squad that journeyed to the north west. The occasion was memorable for the 16-year-old fighter, who stormed to her first-ever victory against local hope Summer Doran.
The Jersey fighter displayed immense maturity throughout in a polished display to take the win by unanimous decision.
Fight two saw the scoreboard evened up as Guernsey’s Liam Duff was defeated by Nico Summers.
Alex Wheatley (aged 16) was up next from the Jersey contingent. In a highly competitive bout, the crowd were perplexed at the judges’ decision to award Liverpudlian fighter Thomas Lyons the victory. The aggrieved onlookers felt that Wheatley had done enough to take the win.
Similarly, the supporters were not overly pleased when Jersey’s Coen Le Monnier was adjudged to have lost his contest against Bailey Wood. Several murmurs and groans were audible from the crowd, but the judges felt Wood was good for the win.
With Liverpool in the ascendency on the scoreboard, Joe Patterson came out “like a tornado” against Che Winter. The Caesarean did not step off the gas and secured a comfortable points victory.
Next up was Arron Gallichan, who started the fight in a controlled manner to dictate in the early stages.
However, his opponent, Teddy Tomlinson, grew into the fight and got stronger as time went on to seal a points victory.
The Channel Islands would take bout seven as Sarnian Emile Prevel was assured in victory over Elliot Logsdon.
Perhaps the most impressive Jersey performance of the evening came courtesy of Charlie Corbel.
The Islander took the opening round to stalk and feel out Liam Donague before an explosive second led to a stoppage victory.
Next came a quartet of Guernsey fighters. Ruslan Gogervaks and Tommy Teers were defeated by Danny Lonergan and Owen Campbell respectively.
But there was Sarnian redemption immediately afterwards, as Fin Walsh and Tyler Quintel gave the Channel Islands hope in the overall contest, squaring the scoreline at six apiece.
Towards the end of the evening, the experienced fighters from either side took centre stage.
Firstly, Jersey’s Daniel Dufour took on local crowd favourite Brendan Atherton.
Behind raucous support, the local fighter came out strong, throwing several heavy punches in Dufour’s direction.
However, the Caesarean held his own, showing incredible agility to avoid the barrage of punches.
Atherton was visibly frustrated at Dufour’s evasive nature and counter-punching.
However, Atherton landed a big shot towards the end of the opening round that caught Dufour and signalled the end of the bout.
But Channel Islands had the last laugh in the final fight of the evening.
Harry Bertram was relentless against local southpaw James Anderson, with three energetic rounds that ground his opponent down.
There was clear surprise from the Liverpool camp that Bertram was able to sustain such a high tempo throughout and deservedly got the win on points to secure a stunning draw for the travelling team.
The Channel Island Select team extended their gratitude to Structura Lending, who provided the squad and coaching staff with team clothing for the event.
Channel Island Select v Merseyside & Cheshire
Full results (CI listed first)
Emily Logie Inman defeated Summer Doran
Liam Duff (G) lost Nico Summers
Alex Wheatley lt Thomas Lyons
Coen Le Monnier lt Bailey Wood
Joe Patterson dft Che Winter
Arron Gallichan lt Teddy Tomlinson
Emile Prevel (G) dft Elliot Logsdon
Charlie Corbel dft Liam Donague
Ruslan Gogervaks (G) lt Danny Lonergan
Tommy Teers (G) lt Owen Campbell
Fin Walsh (G) dft Paul Bramhall
Tyler Quintel (G) dft Kieron Burke
Daniel Dufour lt Brendan Atherton
Harry Bertram dft James Anderson
CI Select 7-7 Merseyside & Cheshire
Coaches and support staff: Miguel Ferreira, Ben Duff, Kevin Baudains, Richard Langlois, John Perry.
