John Conteh is guest at honour at Malmesbury ABC dinner (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

John Conteh is guest at honour at Malmesbury ABC dinner

A PACKED hall of 170 diners at Chippenham's Olympiad were enthralled by ten bouts by boxers from as far afield as Droitwich, Plymouth, Wales and London.

And the guest of honour at Malmesbury ABC's annual dinner-show was former world light-heavyweight champion John Conteh.

The Malmesbury club made up half the bill and schoolboy Dan Williamson got the host club off to a flying start against Thames' Albert Wells.

His jab was the key element in keeping his Home Counties' opponent at bay and straight right hands unerringly found the target to emphasise his superiority.

Showing good work-rate, Williamson was on top for all three sessions to emerge as unanimous points winner.

Club-mate Sam Jenner showed a coolness and maturity beyond his years in his clash with Pilgrim's Matthew Mitchell to punch out a clear points victory.

Jenner had a good look at the Plymouth boy in a tactical first round before stepping up the pace in the second.

By the last round, Matthew's nose was bleeding steadily, courtesy of Jenner's accurate left hand, but he battled on doggedly to the final bell.

Clint Stevens made it a hat-trick of wins for Malmesbury, completely dominating his encounter with Cleeve's Matt Burke who had to endure a standing count in the opening session.

Despite some untidiness, Stevens continued to hold the upper hand in the second, but showed more control in the last round.

When a brave Burke pressed forward, he was greeted with straight jabs from a now better organised rival.

The elder of the Stevens brothers, Luke, showed impressive footwork against St Joseph's Liam McColdrick in a close encounter.

The Welsh boy pressed hard, but it was Steven's sharp countering which took the first round.

After a pretty even second, sharp combinations from Stevens in the final round caught the eye.

But with his jab was falling short, he struggled to find the range and, in the end, the decision went against him.

The club's middleweight, Richard Nelson, closed the show in emphatic manner against Walcot's Jamie Husband, who had won a split decision over the Malmesbury southpaw three weeks earlier.

Showing a rare determination, Nelson stalked his taller opponent from the outset and cleverly slipped and blocked a rangy left jab as the Swindon boxer circled the ring.

With little over a minute having elapsed, Nelson trapped Husband in a corner and unleashed a cracking right-left combination, which sent his adversary crashing to the canvas for the full count.

Happily, after some attention from club medic Dr John Heathcock, Husband regained his feet, appearing none the worse for the experience.

This performance earned the Percy Bright (Bryan Salter) Memorial Cup aptly presented by Bryan's long-time partner, Mrs Bobbie Avons.