Young Oxfordshire boxers take on top rivals

The Oxford Mail library is packed with pictures of boxers who have represented the wide range of clubs that have existed in Oxfordshire over the years.

Some have been so successful that they have been chosen for representative teams, like the four in Picture 1.

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The four, left to right, Des Brackett, Louis Blackstock, Jeff Ives and Carl Gabidon, were part of a Home Counties’ team which took on boxers from the Channel Islands in Guernsey in 1979. All won their bouts.

Brackett, despite being “a trifle ring-rusty”, according to the Mail, gave a polished performance and dropped his opponent, P Gannon, for three counts.

“The Channel Islander has a string of victories to his credit this season, but could find no answer to Brackett,” the Mail report said.

Ives, with “superior class and selection of punches”, gained a unanimous verdict over S Payne.

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Picture 2 shows Steve Jones, of Abingdon Boxing Club, taking part in an open tournament at Exeter Hall, Kidlington, in 1984.

He is seen planting a solid left on K Dunn, from the Elizabethan club, Worcester, but taking in turn a right from his opponent in Mail photographer Peter Farr’s picture.

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Paul Holcombe, coach and club leader at Balliol Boys’ Club in Oxford, is seen in Picture 3 giving tips on style and technique to P Duggan, left, and John Wise during a training session in the club house in 1963.

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The boxers were training for the preliminary stages of the National Association of Boys’ Club championships, the finals of which were to be held in Oxford.

Picture 4 shows Dennis Kelly, of Wolvercote, landing a left to the head of Barry Crane, of Banbury, on his way to a points victory at a tournament organised by Wolvercote Boxing Club in Oxford in 1977.

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The highlight of the evening, according to Mail reporter Tom Goodway, was a contest between Wolvercote’s Paul Mannion and Banbury’s Steve Heywood.

Heywood won on points and was presented with a statuette for the best visiting boxer. But Mannion was also rewarded, landing the trophy for the host club’s top competitor.

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In Picture 5, schoolboy Jason White, from Thame, is seen wincing as Darren Kirby (Peers Youth) lands a punch to his body, but still managed a points win in a tournament in 1982.

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Picture 6, taken in 1980, shows Andrew Derry, of Bicester Thistle, landing a right on John Doran at a tournament organised by the Lions Club at the Garrison Theatre, Bicester.

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In Picture 7, David Holmes, of Eynsham, misses with a left hook against Nigel Austin, of Bath, during a match between Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and the Western Counties at Oxford Stadium in 1975, but went on to win the bout.