A host of Carlisle Villa ABC fighters were in action when the club held their annual open boxing show at the Crown and Mitre Hotel.

A total of 16 contests on the 17-bout card included a fighter from Carlisle Villa.

There were two non-scoring skills and development bouts, which were well contested by Jack Lindsay and Nathan Graham.

On Friday night, the sell-out crowd were treated to some cracking bouts, with the Villa picking up 10 wins and suffering four defeats, while there was a victory for Currock House boxer Jake Holden, too.

Schoolboy boxer Orlando Quinn, 13, continued to impress with a unanimous points win against Jason Jervis, of Middlebeck ABC.

Junior boxer Evan Ford came up against the highly-rated Danny Burns, who was representing Boldon Boxing Club, in what turned out to be one of the contests of the night.

Both boxers began the bout cautiously, but it was Ford who scored first with a sharp double jab. He used the jab well and landed a solid right hand which sent Burns on to the ropes.

Ford didn’t follow up, though, and was content to hold the centre of the ring while Burns was happy to sit back and counter, scoring with a nice one-two combination which, briefly, stopped Ford’s advances.

It was Ford who had the last say in the round, though, landing a sharp two-phase attack which took him to the bell.

A good second round from Burns left the bout in the balance. But Ford was positive in the final round, again working well behind his accurate jab, backing it up with quality backhands.

Burns attempted to respond, however, Ford was accurate when he delivered his blows.

And at the end of the encounter, it was Ford who took the decision unanimously.

The final bout of the night was a senior contest between Villa’s Gary Johnston and Benwell boxer Andy Simpson, a re-match from last month when Simpson won in Newcastle.

Johnson started well and, while Simpson tried to respond, he was lunging in with his head low, causing the referee to have a word on two occasions.

Simpson landed a good right hand, but Johnston took it well and countered with a sharp left-right combination. The Newcastle lad was up off his stool early and took the bout to Johnston in round two, although Johnston was too quick on his feet and landed a solid jab.

In the third round, both boxers gave their all, but it was Johnston who was judged to be the winner by a unanimous decision.

Awards

Best schoolboy boxer - Orlando Quinn.

Best junior boxer - Evan Ford.

Best senior boxer - Gary Johnston.