Berinsfield’s National schoolboy champion Jordan Flynn made a dream start to his international career when he boxed for England at the Three Nations tournament in Cardiff.
He was in explosive form and needed just 48 seconds to see off Welsh rival Joseph Egan.
A left-right combination bowled over the Newport youngster and another sustained salvo prompted a swift intervention from the referee.
Flynn’s second encounter saw him take on Welsh champion Jim Price and he had the edge during the first two rounds.
Price rallied in the final session, but it did not seem enough to erode the early deficit.
He looked even more surprised when the verdict was announced in his favour. There was further disappointment for the two local featherweights in the second stage of this year’s ABA Junior championships with both of them bowing out under controversial circumstances.
Berinsfield’s Harley Mace showed the more refined jab and landed the better right hands, but was left bewildered after Romford rival Mike Cline claimed the verdict after their Class 6 encounter.
Also on the wrong side of a contentious decision was Oxford Boxing Academy’s Ben Kaluza, who convinced everyone bar the judges that he should have progressed to the quarter finals.
He landed the better quality punches in all three rounds, but Newham rival Casey O’Riordan saw his arm raised at the end of the Class 4 featherweight clash.
But Blackbird Leys light welterweight Les Hill claimed a decisive win in London for a Home Counties select team.
He rallied the strongest of the pair to claim victory over John Hoadley after an intense battle between two determined teenagers. Banbury cruiserweight Robert Evans enters new territory at Sheffield this weekend as the quarter and semi-finals of this year’s ABA senior championships are staged on successive days.
He has drawn Dan Woodgate from the Isle of Thanet and victory over the London champion would see him return to the ring 24 hours later.
Simon Barclay (Corby), Scott Askern (Hard and Fast), Wayne Adeniyi (Vauxhall Motors), Darren Cullerton (Sunderland), Matt Jenings (Amalgamated, Guernsey) and Tony Conquest (Dagenham) are the other contenders in the 86 kg division.
The names of all four winning quarter finalists go into the hat to decide the semi final pairings and those winners return to Sheffield next Friday for the final.
Unbeaten in all his 15 bouts, Evans is bidding for his third national title – he has won successive English Novice championships during the past two seasons.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here