LAST week in Taunton saw the return of home shows to Blue Flames ABC, with this being the third Boxing show hosted this year alone, writes Harrison Lane.

Kicking off an action-packed day of combat fighting was the National Schoolboy Quarter Finals which saw 14 bouts between clubs based all around the country.

Representing Blue Flames ABC was up and coming youngster Liam Tate who qualified for his bout via winning the Western Counties Championships for the second consecutive.

Up against Liam Tate was Ted Baker fighting out of Rumbles at the 42kg weight category. It was a hard toe to toe bout for Liam with him leaving nothing in the ring, but he just missed out on the win losing on a split decision, three rounds to two.

Even with the loss, it leaves Liam ranked in the top seven schoolboy boxers in his weight category in the country and a bright future ahead.

Following on from the successes of hosting the National Schoolboy Quarter Finals earlier in the day on May 6th, Blue Flames ABC played host to 19 bouts in the evening as well.

It was the two Western Counties title fights that stood out for Blue Flames with two of their fighters getting their hands on a belt.

First up was Yuri Cabral who took on Bideford Boxing Clubs Jed Avery for the 73kg Western Counties Challenge Belt.

It was a non-stop action-packed clash with both fighters going all out, right until the last ten seconds when Cabral knocked out Avery to secure the win.

Next up was another Blue Flames v Bideford Boxing Clash as Simon Heyburn took on Alex Dovell for the 80kg Western Counties Challenge Belt.

This was to be the second time these two fighters had fought after Simon lost to Alex at Bideford’s home show by way of unanimous decision.

This time around, Simon and his team took the time to learn a new game plan and executed it to perfection, dominating each round, landing heavy shots to the body and head and securing himself a win and avenging his previous loss.

After the successes of the previous weekend, May 13th and 14th saw another successful set of bouts for Blue Flames ABC’s young boxers, this time on the road, as Blue Flames travelled east to take part in the National Schools title in Surrey.

Jessy Hepburn entered the square circle first, competing against Marne Owen from TKO Folkstone in the semi-finals, in which she was able to secure the win and a place in the final.

Come the final, Jessy took on a tough fighter from JC’s Boxing Club, Francesca Goodman. It was a hard fought three rounds, but Jessy just missed out on the win, but she was able to take home the silver medal ranking her second in the country.

Next up was Taylor Williams competing in the National Final against Ella Briscoe from Priory Park ABC, Taylor got the bout off to a fantastic start being the sharper, stronger and more technical boxer, Taylor ended the first round in the lead, and it was clear she had claimed the first round and outboxed her opponent.  

After the first round her opponent’s club decided to end the bout by throwing in the towel.  Taylor secured the win by 1st round stopage and won the National Schools Championships Class A under 60kg Title.  

Taylor was awarded the prestigious Golden Gloves and is now the number 1 in the country at her age and weight category.

The club is extremely proud of both girls, they have a bright future ahead of them.

It was a fantastic few weeks for Blue Flames ABC who hope to host their next home show in November, keep an eye on their social media for any new information.