THERE IS A thriving mixed martial arts scene in the whole borough and there is a great club at the Welcome Club in Stanford-le-Hope.

We will be showcasing more of the club next week but for now we focus on Sam Dixon.

Sam fights in the Great Parndon club in Harlow tomorrow night (Saturday). It is his second semi-pro fight.

We caught up with Sam took discuss his prospects.

STANFORD boxer “John” Wayne Hibbert burst back onto the boxing scene in style last night winning a points decision against unbeaten Tommy Coward on Friday night in Doncaster.

It was Wayne’s first fight for a year and it was a brave decision to go up to Yorkshire and fight for the vacant British Masters welterweight title.

YT spoke to Wayne’s coach, Mark Bates from Spartans Gym. Mark said: “It was a tough fight and Wayne won by a single round but he was the better boxer.

“Getting the belt is great and getting the ten rounds will be great for Wayne.

“He had Coward down in the sixth with a cracking right combination.

“But credit to Tommy Coward. He fought well and his team were very fair afterwards in crediting Wayne.”

Wayne will take a few days off before making a decision on his next fight.

HORNDON-based boxer John McDermott has flown off to Russia to spar with the WBA heavyweight champion, Alexander Pevotkin.

The former olympic gold medallist is less renowned than the Klitschko brothers but none the less has a considerable reputation as he is undefeated in 24 fights.

Many thought John’s career was at an end when he lost to David Price earlier this year but in true journeyman style, John continues to ply his trade around the country and now around the world.

Pevotkin is training for a title defence against Hasim Rahman next month.

NORTH STIFFORD boxing referee Mik Basi has taken centre stage at the London Olympics in more ways than one.

The referee read the Olympic oath on behalf of officials and referees at Fridays opening ceremony.

The Oath states: “In the name of all the judges and officials, I promise that we shall officiate in these Olympic Games with complete impartiality, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them in the true spirit of sportsmanship.”

Mik has also taken up his role at the centre of the ring at the Excel Arena as the Boxing got underway.

Basi first match was the middleweight clash between Armenian A Harkobyan and USA fighter A Gausha.

CHADWELL boxer Nina Smith has backed her friend Nicola Adams for boxing glory as she bids for a gold medal this afternoon.

Leeds boxer, Nicola Adams has taken the Olympics by storm with her winning smile. lethal combinations and a cheeky Ali shuffle.

And like the Louisville Lip, Nicola could go all the way to gold medal glory.

Chadwell Boxing clubs Nina Smith so very nearly made it to the Olympics however she is supporting Nicola.

Nina has fought her opponent, three time world champ, Rene Cancan several times in exhibition bouts.

Nina said: “She is tall and rangy, so she will try to keep Nicola at bay.

“But Nicola has boxed so well at the games so anything is possible.”

TILBURY’S boxer Matt McCarthy put in a great performance to beat the dangerous Julius Rafael in three rounds at the York Hall.

Team McCarthy were out in force to see Matt take control from the start. His combinations picked off the east european and even from early on, the opponent was struggling.

The referee had to constantly warn Rafael for not boxing.

But after great work inside Rafael fell to his knees towards the end of the third round and the ref stopped the fight.

You can see all three rounds below.

COACHES Scot Johnston, Paul Smith and Jimmy Hart accompanied 14 Chadwell St Mary A.B.C up and coming boxers
to the crooked Billet in Stanford-Le-Hope to participate in inter club sparring hosted by Thames Gateway A.B.C on Saturday 29th September.

Junior Head Coach Paul Smith was delighted with the results for the local club he said “Every boxer done extremely well
and proved to be almost if not ready to compete in Amateur Boxing competition. He went on to say they all displayed great use of their boxing skills and he was immensely proud of the way each boxer conducted themselves as they all proved to be worthy members of “Team C.S.M”.

Elite Boxer Kieran Redding 20yrs 60kg was the first boxer out of the Chadwell stable on the first show of the season held at Garon Park Tennis and Leisure Centre hosted by Southend A.B.C on the same day 29th September. Redding boxed 3×3 minute rounds against

Dave Leo 29yrs from Cheshunt A.B.C. Coach and corner man Scot Johnston said Kieran was not feeling 100% in the run up to the bout as he was suffering from a sore throat and sore eyes. The morning of the bout Redding confirmed that he was well enough to box and went on to outbox the much shorter but very strong Leo. Kieran won the bout on a majority decision by setting a fast pace from the bell and by using his long strong jab to keep the Cheshunt boxer at range and by catching his opponent several times with an uppercut as he attempted to come in close to get the Chadwell Boxer on the ropes. This was a very good win for Redding and proved just why he has been selected to be looked at closely by the England Squad.

“Team C.S.M” are hoping to travel out to Gothenberg Sweden from the 1st-4th November to compete in the Angered Box Cup Tournament. A very strong team of ten boxers have been selected to represent the local club in this prestigeous annual competition.

Senior Boxers Female A.B.A Champion Valerian Spicer 32yrs 57kg, Hollie Martin-Wood 18yrs 54kg, Elite Boxer Kieran Redding 20yrs 60kg, Elite boxer Jack Healy 21yrs 67kg, Ben Davey 19yrs 54kg, Lance Toussaint 20yrs 64kg and junior Boxers Shea Nightingill 16yrs 52kg, Three nations Champion Levi Lee 13yrs 54kg, Jay Healy 12yrs 44kg and Jake Healy 12yrs 42kg.

The club runs on subs alone and we are always looking for sponsors to enable us to compete at this very high standard.

This small local boxing club has produced a national champion every year for the last eight years ! Some local company’s have already showed great generosity by donating their hard earned cash towards this project and we would like to take this oppertunity to thank Darren Coleman at ALM Training Services, Riverside Business Centre Tilbury. John Philpott at River View M.O.T Merrydale Industrial Estate Chadwell St Mary and Teresa at Vivid Nails and tanning salon Defoe Parade Chadwell St Mary.

Anybody interested in sponsoring the club should contact Sindy on 07427958076.

Picture Back Row Left to Right

Head Coach Scot Johnston, Nathan Hawkes, Junior Head Coach Paul Smith, Bobby King, Abid Khan, Titus Jokhan, Coach Jimmy Hart and Jordan Purkiss

Front row left to right Tony Doherty, Sam Lee, Finley James, Poppy Adams, George Fairman, James Josling, Owen Tokley Packer and Alfie Fairman.

STANFORD boxer Wayne Hibbert defended his title in front of a packed Civic Hall crowd at Blackshots on Thursday night.

Wayne, boxing out of the Spartans club in Corringham grabbed a points decision against promising middleweight Leon Findlay from Wales.

Speaking after the fight, Wayne’s coach, Mark Sach said: “Wayne made a little bit of heavy weather out of that but a win is a win and it is always hard to defend a title.

“I gave him seven out of the ten rounds.”

Wayne will now take the next few weeks off before considering his next fight.

The night of boxing was a great success with nearly 400 fans packing the hall.

Many hope that the Civic Hall could once again be the home of boxing in Essex.

TILBURY’s Matt McCarthy continued his impressive entry into professional boxing as he won a points decision against experienced Andrew Patterson.

Matt was in control throughout. He pummelled Patterson in the middle of the second round from which he was lucky to survive.

But hold on he did, even at the end as McCarthy finished with a flourish to the acclaim of the York Hall crowd.

Chadwell ABA News

Ben Davey 19yrs 54kg boxed again on Friday 30th November at Prince Regents Hotel Chigwell against K Hakimi from fight for Peace A.B.C.

Davey won his bout by a unanamous decision giving his opponent 2 standing counts in the third round.

13 year old Chadwell St Mary boxer Levi Lee 54kg has been selected by The Amateur Boxing Association of England to represent England v Ireland in Dublin on Saturday 8th December.

Lee will travel out from Luton airport on Friday 7th December.

Club Chairperson Sindy Overy stated this is an amazing opportunity for a boxer of such a young age as this will be the second time that Lee has had the opportunity to represent his country.

TWO very talented Chadwell St Mary A.B.C boxers were picked to represent Essex Amateur Boxing Association in the Essex V North West London county match held at Hayes Boxing Gym in Middlesex recently.

Lance Toussaint 20yrs 64kg and Shaun Clark 10yrs 33kg. Clark had his first skills bout in preparation of being carded to enable him to compete in amateur boxing from January when he has his eleventh birthday. The very talented Clark who has been training hard in preparation to box, displayed a very mature performance against the much taller M Moriaty from Hayes A.B.C .

Clark could not miss his opponent with the advanced combinations of punches that he threw. As it was purely a skills bout with no winner or loser Head Coach Scot Johnston instructed Clark to sit back and just play with his opponent and show of his class. The loveable Clark put on a real show including the well timed Ali shuffle winning over the crowd and officials. Next on the programme to box for Team C.S.M was Toussaint
who proved to be far to strong and dominated the bout from the bell. Toussaint non stop connected very hard blows with his back hand and well timed uppercuts that the referee stopped the competition as Walsh from Dale Youth A.B.C was unfit to continue. Toussaint earned himself an extra award and was presented with boxer of the night.

On Saturday 17th November boxers Sweden Gold Medalist Shea Nightingill 16yrs 53kg and Shaun Clark boxed on the Berry A.B.C show at the James Hornsby School in Laindon. Nightingill outclassed C Nicholson of Berry A.B.C by using the ring and jabbing away at the much shorter stockier home boxer.

Clark once again went out and displayed a fine array of skill for a boxer of such a young age that the referee this time requested that Clark hold back on power and once again the very young team member played to the crowd and displayed the footwork of a pro finishing once again with the Ali shuffle. The coaching team of Chadwell St Mary were smiling from ear to ear with both boys performances.

The smiles were soon to be wiped from their faces the following day when the club travelled to Norwich with Boxer Ben Davey 19yrs 54kg who was through to the national quarter finals of the Senior Novice Championships. Boxer Davey has trained very hard in preparation for the championships and boxed out of his skin mixing his style picking off his opponent on his back foot and then pushing back his rival in a very fast paced bout. The corner did not even use the stool as super fit Davey even stood in breaks between rounds. The whole hall was in total shock when the decision was finally given after quite a delay on a majority to his opponent K England of Bideford A.B.C (Devon). The referee said he had to check the slips several times as he could not believe what he was seeing and coach Scot Johnston was devasted with the result he said Davey is a winner and proved to be ready to be entered into the “Elite Senior A.B.A’s” later in the boxing season.

THE ESSEX Boys and Girls club have been working with boxers in Tilbury to given them a great opportunity.

A spokesperson said: “Young people not in employment or education can gain a boxing qualification and gain support to find employment or education.”

YT went down to Athlone House in Tilbury to speak to a number of boxers about the project.

YOU HAVE to be touched and have to admire the strength and bravery of Brian Johnson and his family.

Five years ago, on a Sunday morning, Brian’s daughter, Katie, died, in a road traffic collision on the A13.

No parent has done more to keep the memory and spirit alive. It is for those reasons that Brian has launched the Katie Johnson Community Trust Fund.

The fund was launched at a memorial service at St Mary’s church, North Stifford.

The family received tremendous support. Kirsty Darling, mother of Karis-May Darling, who has run a fantastic campaign to build a community centre in memory of her daughter, who died from a strain of meningitis in 2011.

They were also supported by boxing promoter and Sky TV pundit, Spencer Fearon, who made a pledge to attend the service.

Miss Teen Galaxy Essex, Brogan Price also attended the service. Brogan told YT: “When I heard about Brian’s campaign, I just asked if there is anything we can do. They are a very brave family and myself and my family will do all we can.”

TILBURY boxer, Matt McCarthy has a huge following already and that is only after three fights.

The last one was at York Hall, Bethnal Green and it was a tough one as his opponent was a durable if unspectacular boxer.

Matt is back at the York Hall for Feb 24th. His loyal fan base will be there.

YT caught up with Matt in the Spartans Gym in Corringham.

Follow him on twitter @mattmccarthybox

IT IS a step up in class but when have you ever known Wayne Hibbert to duck a challenge.

Wayne will be fighting Dave Ryan for the English Light-Welterweight eliminator on Saturday March 9th at the Civic Hall.

Dave is a dangerous opponent having won 13 of his fights. But he can be beaten.

Wayne has stepped down to 10 stone for this one. YT caught up with him in training to see how preparation was coming along.

For details of tickets contact: 07709 451337

YourThurrock’s Boxing page. Sponsored by Reem Tanning of Aveley

TILBURY’S MATT McCarthy made it four in a row with a very straight forward win against Danny Donovitch at York Hall, Bethnal Green.

Matt, who trains out of Gateway club in Corringham really had a gentle work out in the six two minute rounds –

But the highlight of the bout was when Matt put putting Donovitch on the canvas in the fifth round.

After the fight, Matt spoke to Kugan Cassius from I-Film London about the fight.

McCarthy’s next fight may well be a four round contest to be held at Grays Civic Hall on May 18.

Six boxers were out representing Team C.S.M. over the weekend and all six Won.

Friday 8th February at East Ham Working Mens Club Ben Davey 19yrs 54kg boxed against Charlie Keating from Five Star A.B.C on the Newham Boxing Club Open Show.

Davey won his bout by a unanamous decision. Davey is a very fit boxer and has learnt to come forward enabaling him to mix it up in bouts by sitting on his back foot and using his strength against his opponents when needed. Next up on the same London Show was Klayden Russell-Meade 12yrs 34kg who boxed against A Ishfaq from Southend A.B.C. Klayden won his bout by a majority decision “Ginge” as named by his team mates is proving to be quite a talent. He is quite a character in the Gym so it is very refreshing for the coaching staff to see this boy putting it all together in the ring.

Levi Lee 14yrs 57kg, Jay Healy 13yrs 42kg and Jake Healy 13yrs 40kg all attended The quarter finals of the National Schoolboy Championships held at Harlow Dog Ttack on Sunday 10th February. Lee and Jake Healy both received walkovers on the day and Jay Healy boxed against C Mansell from Hemel Hempstead winning his bout by a unanamous decision seeing all three through to the National Semi Finals held in Portsmouth on the 17th February.
Club chairperson Sindy Overy said that to have three Local Boys in this stage of such a prestigeous competition is such a massive achievement for a small unfunded club and would like to personally thank the coaching team for their commitment which enables the youngsters to reach such potential.

Kieran Redding 20yrs 60kg is through to the Eastern Counties round of the Senior A.B.A Championships making him The Elite Essex Champion for 2013. Redding will be boxing next in The Eastern Counties round of the championships to be held at New Astley in Suffolk on the 1st March. Redding is a very experienced boxer that has had nearly 60 bouts since joining the gym at the age of 11. He is a great aspiration to the younger boys in the gym and helps out whenever possible. He.. attends most of his team mates bouts making him a very popular all rounder in the gym. Team Captain Redding has a very good chance of winning the Elite Senior A.B.A’s this year and the whole of the club are very much behind him.

By Jason Acres

IT WAS a good work out and a fifth win in a row for Tilbury’s Matt McCarthy as he put in an impressive performance at Impulse Leisure’s Civic Hall in Grays.

The crowds really showed their support for local boys Wayne Hibbert and Matt McCarthy who both had bouts.

Welterweight McCarthy (19) went up against Jan Balog (30) and retained his unbeaten record scoring in at 40-36 by the end of the match.

Balog took a count in the third round but managed to find his feet coming back strong mid way through the 10 round bout; however by this point McCarthy knew what he had to do, and was dead set on doing it almost knocking Balog to the deck for the second time after a fury of jabs and body shots.

Balog stayed up though and provided the crowd with a good fight ending in success for Tilbury boy ‘Mighty’ Matt Mcarthy.

Both fighters showed great sportsmanship, congratulating each other at the end of the fight holding each other’s arms up and posing for pictures as a sign of respect to each other and the sport.

By Jason Acres

STANFORD’S own “John” Wayne Hibbert lost a controversial decision at the Civic Hall.

Hibbert faced Derby boy Dave ‘Rocky’ Ryan (29).

From the second Hibbert entered the hall it was obvious who the crowd came to see, the noise was incredible! A chorus of “There’s only one Wayne Hibbert” filled the room as he made his way the ring and continued throughout the entire fight.

This didn’t put off Dave Ryan though who fought through the noise and composed himself excellently against the local boy.

The bout offered blow by blow entertainment and wow what a fight! Both fighters were swinging away at each other through the whole 10 rounds, I don’t know how either of them were still standing by the end of it, but they certainly both had their eye on the prize. Wayne Hibbert lived up to his nickname ‘John Wayne’ by coming out to the ring with the air of confidence John Wayne always had in his movies, he was focused and looked at the top of his game.

‘Rocky’ Ryan also lived up to his alias, showing he certainly could pack a punch and anything getting in the way of his right fist was going to get hurt; to be honest I wouldn’t like to get on the wrong side of either of these guys and they both fought a good fight, giving the crowd everything they came to see – excitement, skill and excellent sportsmanship! Hibbert however found himself down by 2 points by the final count, with the judges awarding a 97-95 victory to Dave ‘Rocky’ Ryan.

Controversy set in as the crowd went wild, both in celebration of Dave’s victory and in commiseration for Wayne. I can say with some certainty, this will not be the last time we see these two come head to head in another skull crushing main event.

IT LOOKED all over after under two minutes when Horndon heavyweight John McDermott was knocked out by David Price last year but as Mr Price knows himself, it is a roller coaster in boxing these days.

And so it is with John McDermott who has a tilt at the English heavyweight title at York Hall on Friday night.

John has a new training base, a new sponsor and a new momentum having benefitted by sparring out in Russia recently.

Should be a fascinating contest.