Oxford deliver knock-out blow
Leo Vincent feels the full force of his opponent, as he narrowly lost out on Tuesday night.
Tuesday night was fight night as boxers from as far as Leeds and Portsmouth descended on the Oxford Union to take on the best the University has to offer. Many people had braved the harsh colds of a dark February night for this event and even a short delay, coupled with the sad absence of the Oxford Sirens, could not quell the excitement for what promised to be a great night of amateur boxing.
The first bout of the night went a long way to justifying this excitement as Oxford University’s BUSA silver medalwinning Peter Ho took on Freeman of the Territorial Army. After some vicious early exchanges, Ho took advantage of a longer reach, cutting and then convincingly forcing the technical knockout. Fred Brown was faced with the task of containing Aaron Green, of the Bulmarshe Club, who had a clear height advantage over the Oxford man.
Brown fought a clever fight, using his quick feet to get in close to Green. Unfortunately, this wasn’t quite enough as Green claimed victory on points, but Brown did himself proud in what was one of the most evenly contested matches of the night. By the time OUABC President James Webster took to the ring to face McKeana, of the RAF, the gripping displays of all the athletes had begun to take hold of the evening; the next match proving no exception.
Webster, roared on by a legion of fans, came out for the bell like a rhino on the charge, rocking McKeana into a standing eight count before the first round was over. The President was too powerful and deservedly earned a unanimous decision from the judges. The Oxford Club took a blow as Jennifer Schneweis and Leo Vincent both came up against tough opponents. Schnewels lost by unanimous decision, whilst Vincent was knocked down in the third, but both performed admirably on the high stage.
The sixth bout saw one of the most eagerly awaited contests between Oriel’s heavily supported John Dennen and Harvey Clear. Both fighters took the boxing on display to a higher level of speed, intensity and technical prowess in what was a thrilling encounter. Crucially, Dennen maintained his composure throughout and was very good value for the points decision awarded to him by the judges.
It was pleasing to see the less experienced Matt Nice craft a win for the University Club with a very convincing performance. The strong punching Nice showed no fear, keeping his head up for the duration and, as a result, landing some accurate and effective shots. His opponent, Ryan Perry, showed some resilience to see the fight through, but the decision was never in doubt.
The Oxford team were clearly on a roll by the eighth bout and Martin Smith confirmed this comprehensively in a shortlived affair with Tom Bailey. Bailey barely had time to make an impression before Smith had devastatingly exploded into the combinations that led to a resounding knockout blow. The next fight would go the distance. It pitted Ben Quigley’s efficient jabbing and manoeuvring against the powerful but erratic style of Tashi Suzuki.
Quigley withstood the flourishes bravely and gained a unanimous decision from the adjudicators. No judge’s decision was required for James Frewer’s contest with Matt Flavell of Portsmouth University. Frewer’s barrage of hooks and uppercuts became too much and the referee stopped the bout before we could have the third round. As the night drew to a close, Zeph Trent and Ben Van Duren were both unfortunate to lose out in hard-fought encounters.
Van Duren may feel particularly aggrieved at the judges’ unanimous decision in favour of his opponent. The fight seemed far closer than this indicated. The penultimate encounter between Chris Abbot and Danny Harris proved to be fantastic entertainment. Certainly not the most stylish affair of the evening, the match saw Abbot, fired up by a deafening crowd, delivering a series of thundering blows before launching Harris out of the ring with a fierce right to claim a knockout victory.
The final confrontation of the night saw the Oxford Club Captain, Tom Freije, take on Ive Kimsiona. After being made to wait, Freije showed all his BUSA winning experience to outbox his opponent for the duration of the three rounds. Kimsiona tried to turn the bout into a street brawl, but Freije remained focused. A very impressive points victory for a boxer that seems to have a few more gears to switch into when and if he needs them.
This was an impressive night for the Oxford University amateur boxers and one that is well worth celebrating. More importantly, if this level of passion, power and skill can be built on in the coming weeks, an even bigger celebration of the Varsity variety could be on the cards.
9th Feb 2006