Two rugby league converts made impressive debuts at the Cumbria Grand Hotel at Grange, with Ollie Dilks and Jack Moses both making winning starts to their boxing careers.

The annual tournament is organised by Freemasons from the local lodges under the auspices of Kendal Boxing Club and was once again a huge success with 14 excellent bouts on the card.

Barrow ABC coach Jeff Moses cannot fail to have been impressed by the maiden outing of his son Jack, who looked at home in the ring as he quickly went about the job of demolishing a more experienced opponent who, after a standing count in the first round, had another in the second before the referee decided that he had taken enough punishment and stopped the fight.

Dilks had turned up at Barrow ABC to do some extra training to get fit for playing rugby league but discovered he had an aptitude for the noble art. His first outing saw him win with a unanimous decision after three impressive rounds.

The two best fights of the evening both involved local boxers.

Mike Cheetham of Furness Catholic ABC had a change of opponent and found himself unexpectedly up against a southpaw. It was a surprise to many when the judges’ cards gave the split verdict to his opponent as the Furness man had seemed to land the better shots.

Ethan Greer from the Moses stable was involved in what was probably the best bout technically. One punch from Greer in the second round connected with such ferocity that the referee had to pause the bout whilst he went in search of the opponent’s mouth guard.

It was not all one way traffic, however, as Greer proved he had a good chin when on the receiving end of some hefty blows. In the end the better quality of his punches and his control of the ring saw the judges award the bout to Greer.

A valiant display from Ethan Holt saw him loose out on a majority decision but again it was a tight call and he can take great pride in his performance.

Furness Catholic’s Will Turner displayed great confidence on his debut as he was always on the front foot and delivered plenty of punches. It was no surprise when the judges awarded him the win.

His clubmate Kian O’Neil also gave a good account of himself when pitted against a boxer who took the fight to him. He stood up well to the challenge but failed to get the decision.

The planned opponent of Jim Braithwaite pulled out late in the day but Jamie ‘The Lancaster Bomber’ Proctor, who come along to support another boxer, agreed to take him on. It was not a great display of boxing, but proved to be brilliant entertainment with Proctor being given the verdict.