OVER 450 people watched Cardiff University Boxing Club defeat Bristol University in the Cardiff Students’ Union last night.
The amateur event had six competitive bouts and two exhibition fights. Cardiff secured a resounding 5-1 victory over their rivals.
The card started well for Cardiff fighters, with Matt McFerran securing a unanimous points decision over Reece Cammock in an entertaining fight.
After a closely contested first round, McFeeran asserted his dominance over the Bristol fighter by using swift head movement and a series of clever combinations. A tough third round left Cammock with a bloody nose and the judges named McFeeran the winner after a unanimous decision.
Cardiff’s Ian Williams, right, takes on Sam Bernard.
Jordan Daruvalla, 21, continued the winning trend for Cardiff. He was one of the star performers of the night, securing a technical knock-out victory in the third round over Bristol’s Alex Maguire.
The fight started at an electric pace, with both fighters firing off heavy shots during the opening exchanges. When the action slowed, it was Daruvalla who settled into the fight, landing big hits and defending himself to equal effect.
“I thought the fight went really well. I felt like I controlled it from start to finish,” Daruvalla said after the fight.
“I think he was a bit surprised by my power and how I got stronger as the fight went on.
“The win validates all the hard work I put in before the fight. In the build-up to this fight, we were training four or five times a week. It was my second fight and second win.”
Cardiff’s winning run continued until Bristol’s Ben Nicholls controversially stopped Dan Barratt in the second round, much to the crowd’s dismay.
Brad Meddings returned Cardiff to winning ways in the final bout of the night with a commanding victory over Crispin Boden-Tebet (shown below).
Sam Frank, Cardiff’s head coach, was pleased with the effort from his team.
He said: “The atmosphere the crowd generated tonight was fantastic. As for the squad, I couldn’t have asked for any more from them. They all followed the game plans and all the wins were by unanimous decision, which shows how dominant they were.
Head coach Sam Frank cornering the Cardiff fighters.
“During my three years as coach this is the best preparation I’ve had with the team and it has showed tonight.
“The next big event we have is Varsity [against Swansea]. It’s a big ask as it will mean a few of the guys selected will stay in Cardiff to train over the Easter break. The last two years we’ve lost so we want to change that this year.”
President of Cardiff University Boxing Club, Natasha Barnett, 20, hailed the event as a success.
“This is the first time we’ve managed to organise the event to be in the student union and we’re definitely looking to host more events here,” Natasha said.
“I wasn’t expecting such a large turn out but the atmosphere has been great.
“The money raised will go towards our funds and there has been money collected for Cancer Research. It’s been a massive success.”
Cardiff’s next scheduled bout is due to be in Swansea on April 20.
