Town Down Gown in Royston Rumble

A thrilling contest sees Town narrowly come out on top of Gown in the annual Boxing battle. Read more here.

Cambridge Boxing CUABC Elliott Chambers Kiwanuka Pepper town vs gown Webb

Town yesterday narrowly overcame Gown in a thrilling encounter, winning 5-4 at the Cambridge Motel.

As the ring-side seats filled up and ‘Eye of the Tiger’ began to blast out over the motel sound-system, hopes were high for a closely-fought contest in the annual match between Cambridge University Amateur Boxing Club (CUABC) and a collection of fighters from the Metropolitan Police, Iceni ABC and Fulbourn ABC.

A series of late-notice withdrawals had seen the proposed 15 bouts thinned down to 11, with CUABC fighters Burlton and Mark’s opponents being forced to withdraw due to weight difference issues.

CUABC’s ‘Chewwie’ Chadwick was first to step into the ring, landing some crunching blows in a frenetic opening bout.  Despite a flurry of punches from the CUABC man, it was his policeman opponent who came out on top, Chadwick throwing in the towel in the second round.

Phillips and McCool fought next, both losing on points to their Met opponents. Phillips will feel hard done by, losing by a majority verdict despite some pleasing combinations.

Super-heavyweight Robert Pepper then climbed into the ring, his opponent, Sam Smith, a towering plumber from Fulbourn ABC. The bout began with thumping blows from both men, as Pepper landed a huge right hook to leave Smith’s eyes watering. However, vocal support from the crowd saw Smith rally strongly and a crunching shot to the head floored Pepper and left the referee with no option but to stop the contest.

At this point, Town led 4-0 and a whitewash looked on the cards, MC Bob Williams, himself a former professional Boxer, joking that “if it carries on like this we’ll all be in the pub by 10”.

Enter CUABC’s Elliott Chambers. After cheekily flexing his muscles for his legion of female fans, Chambers found himself facing Goddard, a Metropolitan policeman far taller than him. Though initially struggling against his opponent’s jabs, the CUABC man hung in there, easing the pressure with a massive left to the body followed by a right hook to the head.

Goddard soon tired and Chambers’ superior fitness allowed him to pick his opponent off, taking a majority points decision and sending the crowd into frenzy. When asked afterwards about his performance, Chambers commented “I didn’t want to beat the guy, I wanted to humiliate him”.

CUABC super-middleweight Kiwanuka then stepped into the ring, his bout unquestionably the highlight of the night. Kiwanuka’s opponent, Iceni ABC’s Tichanow started the bout at a lightning pace, furiously wind-milling to leave Kiwanuka pinned against the ropes as the bell sounded at the end of the first round.

 

As the second round began, the Cambridge laser specialist won himself some breathing space with some excellent footwork, landing two huge blows with his right hand. Three consecutive left jabs then left the Town man up against the ropes, before Kiwanuka delivered the coup de grace: a colossal right hand square in the face, which sent Tichanow crashing to the floor.

The crowd roared its approval, chanting Kiwanuka’s name and yelling ‘that’s what we came to see’ as Tichanow lay sprawled across the mat, out cold. When questioned about his strike, a modest Kiwanuka claimed to be unsure whether or not he had connected cleanly.

With the score now at 4-2, Cambridge were very much back in business and American student Dear was exactly the man for the occasion. Overcoming a sluggish start, the CUABC man put in an unbelievable second round before ramping up the pressure in the third, pummelling his opponent against the ropes. A unanimous points decision went in favour of Cambridge, leaving the score at 4-3 and the Gown spectators in raptures.

Next in the ring was a Women’s bout, CUABC’s Matthews fighting Kelly Clayton from the Met. Chants of ‘Go on sweetheart’ contributed to the electrifying atmosphere as the crowd were treated to a wonderful spectacle of technical boxing. Awesome stamina from Clayton resulted in a Met victory, Town taking an unassailable 5-3 lead.

After two further inter-collegiate bouts, CUABC captain and former GB kick-boxer Chris Webb stepped into the ring.  Webb’s opponent, a lanky fighter from Iceni ABC, began the better of the two, using his superior reach to good effect.

As the clock ticked on, Webb showed immaculate footwork, outmanoeuvring his opponent in a stunning show of physical fitness. As the Iceni man began to flag, Webb pounced, landing a series of thumping blows to leave the crowd and judges in no doubt as to who the winner should be, the CUABC man taking a unanimous decision.

Speaking to The Tab afterwards, a confident Webb had this to say:

“I’m very impressed with the team’s performance tonight; despite a couple of disappointing decisions from the judges we’re looking good for Varsity. I’d just like to apologise to Ssegawa (Kiwanuka) for leaving him behind in Cambridge though – fortunately for us he’s a wily character and managed to find himself alternative transportation.”

CUABC’s next match is against the Army on February 4th.

See The Tab’s photos of Town vs. Gown here.