HOME fighters were the centre of attention on a barnstorming night of kickboxing action at Weymouth Pavilion – and the majority came out on top in a number of fast and furious title bouts.

The show, entitled ‘Next Gener-ation’, was staged by Weymouth Martial Arts Centre’s King Tiger Thai Boxing Club in conjunction with Dorchester Kickboxing Club and turned out to be a resounding success.

A capacity crowd saw some of the two host clubs’ best up and coming fighters take on opposition from all over the country on a night when there were plenty of thrills and spills.

King Tiger’s Dan Dunford was first up, taking on Adrenaline Fight Club’s Masiek Wasiuk in a three-round battle.

The Bristol fighter’s big punches were matched by Dunford’s strong kneeing technique and, at the end, the result was a well-deserved draw.

Weymouth 19-year-old Billy Ellis then challenged Weston-super-Mare’s Rafal Kaminski for the WKU English 69kg amateur K-1 title.

Ellis had a real shock in the opening round when he was dropped by a big left hand but showed great maturity to tie up his rival and kick his way out of trouble.

Superior kicking and punching saw Ellis floor Kaminski in the fourth before winning on points to become the new champion.

Another thrilling three-rounder took place between Ziggy Horrie and Szakacs Szabolcs from Bir-mingham’s UTC gym.

Horrie was making his debut under Thai boxing rules and matched his bigger opponent punch for punch, but in the end it was Szabolcs’ harder kicking which caught the judges’ eyes to win on points.

The first of the night’s two Southern Area title fights saw Weymouth’s ‘Sugar’ Jay Robins-on become WKU Pro-Am 69kg champion 11 years after winning a junior title belt as a nine-year-old on the first-ever ever Wey-mouth Thai boxing show.

Like Ellis, he had to survive a first-round knockdown to eventually drop his opponent, the more experienced Juris Poskus from the All or Nothing gym in Bridgwater, in the fourth.

Heavy leg kicks did the trick, leaving Poskus unable to continue and Robinson the new K-1 king.

Next up was another title contest between King Tiger’s Matt Hale against Bulldog Bourne-mouth’s Shaun King in the pair’s third meeting – each had one win under boxing rules.

The action exploded from the opening bell with King’s bigger punches met by Hale’s huge kicks.

But this time, it was the kicker’s turn to win as Hale dropped King twice with punishing leg kicks leaving him unable to continue 10 seconds before the end of the opening round, thus making Hale the Southern Area 80kg champion.

The K-1 super-heavyweights were next with King Tiger’s Lee Grinrod coming back after a long lay-off to take on Weston Warr-iors’ big-punching Aaron Miller.

The two giants exchanged huge blows, but it was Grinrod who proved the superior fighter, dominating with his heavier kicks before dropping and stopping Miller late in the first round.

King Tiger’s Sam Osmond met James Bird of Cardiff Eagles for the WKU British 62kg crown in a full rules Thai boxing showdown.

Unbeaten Osmond was ahead on all the judges’ scorecards with some fantastic skills when disaster struck. He suffered a huge cut above his eye in the fourth round, forcing the doctor to step in and stop the fight, leaving Bird as the new British champion and Osmond, who was desperate to fight on, absolutely gutted.

There was also disappointment for Dorchester Kickboxing’s Tom Lawson, who was challenging Adrenaline Fight Club coach Dawid Wasel for the 78kg K-1 belt.

At the end of a tough five-round contest, the judges controversially gave a split decision in favour of Wasel’s flashier technique over Lawson’s stronger, heavier blows.

By now the crowd were in full flow as the final bout saw two champions, King Tiger’s Darren Anstey and Adrenaline Fight Club’s Marcin Karolik, battle it out for the 88kg K-1 British title.

Both were in tremendous form and just as it looked like Karolik’s big kicks were starting to do some damage, Anstey exploded with a brilliant punch-knee combination that forced the referee to give a standing eight count to the stricken Karolik. Rising at eight wasn’t enough and another big kick finished Karolik off.

King Tiger Club coach Tom Ashe said: “It was another fantastic night and a great advert for Weymouth Martial Arts Centre, giving us a chance to showcase some of the talent we have coming through our ranks at all levels.”

Joint-promoter Keith Adams was very happy with his Dorch-ester fighters, adding: “Although I was disappointed with the decision in the Lawson title fight, it was a great all-round performance from him and I couldn’t have asked for more.

“The pavilion staff were fantastic in helping put the event together and we’d like to say a huge thank you to them.”

* Anybody interested in training at Weymouth Martial Arts Centre or Dorchester Kickboxing Club can contact Tom on 07812140950 or Keith on 07929183607.