Horsham boxers put up solid ring showing at late notice

They travelled down to Southampton to the Posiden Boxing Club’s home show on the back of wins down in Dover the previous week.

Both boys were keen to box and had no qualms about taking the bouts at the 11th hour.

Mercer took to the ring first to face Posiden’s Jaden Prior - both boys coming in a 48.5kg - but Prior came out looking very sharp with a very good left jab catching Mercer with a left-right combination.

Mercer was on the back foot for most of the first round, occasionally getting through with his own right hand.

The start of the second round saw Prior make good use of his jab, but Mercer seemed in control using good head movement and very good body punches that seemed to hurt his opponent.

At the end of the round, Mercer landed a very hard right hand over the top that seemed to shake Prior, pinning him on the ropes. He took solid punches to the body before being saved by the bell.

Both boys went for the win in the third, Prior tried to come forward, landing good punches, but Mercer gained control with another overhand. Prior covered up and Mercer took control coming forward with four punch combinations. It was the deciding round which saw Mercer take his third win in a row.

Creasy weighed in at 48.5kg and was up against a strong Ashlin Totten who stepped into the ring looking more like a weight lifter than a boxer.

It proved to be a very tough fight as the home boxer came out in the first round throwing very hard punches. With good defence and footwork, Creasy avoided most but was forced to box on the back foot.

The second round saw Totten looking frustrated by the fast movement of Creasy, who was still on the back foot but having some success with his own left jab, before being caught with solid two handed attacks.

In the last round, Creasy knew he had to come forward and take the fight to Totten and that is exactly what he did, catching his opponent with very good head shots. His fitness was beginning to take over putting Totten under pressure which he kept this up till the bell sounded.

The bout was very close but Totten on his home show got the win, despite Creasy clearly winning the last round.

Horsham coach John Essex said: “Both did really well. They were tough fights and taken at very late notice and knew they were up against it as it was their home show.

“Josh’s win was well deserved and Tom won the last round and the other two were quite close, I thought he may have got it in the first round. You could not moan about the decision, but it was very close. His opponent looked like a mini Chris Eubank Junior, which was a bit daunting.”

Horsham Boxing Club is getting ready for their home show on the November 18, with all the boys working hard in the gym. The show is at the Holbrook Club and tickets can be brought by calling Dan on 07554453862 or John on 07809401566.