PHOTOS:
Callum Haines clearly disappointed to just miss out against Cai Llewellyn
Alex O'Sullivan (and dad!) are delighted with his win
Cameron Burrows beats David Davies in the bout of the evening
James Griffiths receives his 'Best Boxer' award from John Phillips
Pictures by Hannah Morris

 
Venue: Letterston Village Hall
Referees: Steve Glover and Mark Smith
Official in Charge: John Phillips
 
The village hall in Letterston was packed to capacity as Merlins Bridge Amateur Boxing Club put on their latest show which featured not only talented young boxers from our county but had opponents travelling from Cirencester, Calcott (Barry), the Rhondda and Swansea.
 

James shows he’s the top boxer

 
One of the undoubted highlights came in the last of the 13 bouts as Haverfordwest’s James Griffiths took on Alex Ball of Trostre that saw Griffiths win the ‘best boxer’ of the night award from chief official John Phillips, the most experienced referee and administrator in British boxing.
 
In a fast-moving contest, Griffiths used his southpaw style to good effect and put Ball on the canvas in the second round to make sure that the judges had no option but to choose him as the winner.
 

 

O’Sullivan duo star

 
Another fascinating facet of the night was the appearance of the O’Sullivan brothers, Alex (12) and Kyle (8), the former maintaining his impressive run of form as he took on the highly thought of Calvin Phillips, from Barry, and came back well after Phillips had looked good early on, to win a split decision.
 

Now Kyle is too young to box competitively but he was allowed to box an exhibition bout over three one-minute rounds during the interval against Adam Lawrence (Cardigan) which people firmly pinned to their seats in what turned out to be a terrific display of skill and commitment that belied both boxers’ age – and had dad Wayne, a former double Welsh champion himself, feeling ten feet tall!

 

Burrows boys have mixed fortunes

 
The evening got off to a flying start as Lewis Burrows (Merlins Bridge) took on John Varey (Cirencester), who won a terrific contest by the narrowest of margins on a split decision. Now Burrows was understandably disappointed because he went so close to victory but he showed great sportsmanship in congratulating his opponent.
 
But Cameron Burrows gained revenge for the family as he took on another Cirencester boxer in David Davies and gained an impressive unanimous verdict as he jabbed well and pinned his experienced opponent on the back foot.
 

Haines family lead more exciting contests

The Haines’ family from the Tenby area was also prominent in support of the evening but there was no fairytale ending as Cai Llewellyn (Cardigan) won on a split decision against Callum and Leon Haines boxed well but lost a unanimous decision to Cane Kilby (Rhondda).
 
Tom Morris (Cardigan) also looked very sharp in his exhibition bout with Natwut Snowdon (Llantwit Major) and there was also a girls’ exhibition match for supporters to see involving Alicia Taylor (Merlins Bridge) and Caitlin Cromie (Cwmgors). In the final bout of an exciting first half, Antonio Price (Pendine) gained a majority verdict over Rhys Edwards (Rhondda).

Dylan Davies (Merlins Bridge) showed what a useful boxer he has become and could consider himself unlucky to be shaded out of his bout against Jake Lovell (Premier). It could gone either way and Davies lost on a split decision, which he accepted in his usual sporting manner.
 
But Merlins Bridge bounced back as Edwin Woolhard beat Craig Weston (Aberystwyth) on points, all three judges giving him the verdict as he boxed well against a strong opponent from Mid Wales.
 
Merlins Bridge head coach Graham Brockway said that he was delighted with the success of the show, with the superb support from local boxing fans, from the supporting clubs who had travelled from long distances and the officials who had travelled from all over South Wales.