Fight night success for All Saints Boxing Club

First in the ring was local man Chrissie Convery against Alex McCormick.

Both boxers tried to hold the centre of the ring in a tightly contested bout. Unfortunately, McCormick got the decision.

This set the trend for the next two contests, which finished in wins for the Scottish opponents over local men Aidan Kelly and Daniel Carlin.

All Saints’ Reece McDonald turned the tide with a win over Kyle Black.

A closely-fought contest saw Reece putting together some clever combinations and he went on to claim a very well-deserved victory.

Bout six saw All Saints Dean Hughes face William Stuart. Dean opened well and his jab proved effective. Round two saw Stuart began to assert himself.

In round three, Hughes had to take a standing count, which eventually led to the bout being stopped, leading to another Scottish victory.

Next up saw Connor Davies, who has just joined All Saints from Larne, take on John Doherty.

Connor stepped in at short notice and showed great potential and plenty of heart, but unfortunately, was beaten by a more experienced boxer using the counter-punch to win the bout.

Next up saw local man Kevin Gribben face Sarunas Gestautas. With the first round evenly contested, Kevin was unlucky in the second round to be caught by a smashing right hook to the nose which bled freely, forcing the referee to stop the contest.

Following an exhibition fight with TJ Hamill and Karl Duncas, next into the ring was local man Quintan McDonagh against Callum Tengrove.

Both fighters exchanged punches in the first two rounds. In the third round, McDonagh came to the fore and won, leading the way for an All saints revival.

Next up was popular local boxer Joel Scullion against Scott Daniel Fairweather. Scullion took centre ring, forcing his opponent back with a number of well constructed combinations.

From the start of the second round, Scullion began to edge the fight with superior fitness and better combination punches, and he got the result with a unanimous decision.

Number 14 on the card had to be rescheduled, as Vinny Esler’s opponent could not pass the medical.

Top of the bill saw All Saints’ Ulster senior champion, Steven Donnelly, take on Craig McCarthy from St Paul’s, Waterford.

The first round saw Donnelly put his elite opponent under pressure.

Both met six weeks ago at the Irish Elite competition, when Donnelly won on points.

This time, Donnelly caught McCarthy with some superb right hand punches, which caused McCarthy to wilt under the pressure, but he was able to survive the first round.

Donnelly started the second, and quickly realised that McCarthy was reeling from the first and proceeded to bombard his opponent with right hooks ,which left the referee with no option but to stop the fight.

This win was a great boost for Donnelly before taking on his American opponents.

This proved to be a great night for All Saints, with the knowledgeable fans appreciating the skills of all the boxers, and bodes well for the club’s trip to the USA and for the future of boxing in Ballymena.

Finally, All Saints Boxing Club would like to thank everyone for their continued support and wish all the squad good luck in bringing the name of All Saints across the Atlantic.