DORCHESTER & District ABC boxers punched to the best of their ability as several young stars ventured onto the canvas for fight action.

At the Portsmouth Arena, Dorchester boxers Joe Scard and Kyle Tiller were both invited to represent the club.

Scard’s first bout was against C Phelan, a member of Portsmouth Boxing Academy.

Scard always trains hard, regularly runs and finishes off his training with hard sparring – it looked like it was going to pay off.

For Scard’s first bout he looked classy, fit and fast, easily one of the most improving young amateurs on the circuit.

Scard was able to start with a bruising, crowd-pleasing combination, however, Phelan, in front of his home crowd, retorted briskly, narrowly pushing Scard back. Although Scard received enthusiastic support from the crowd, the home boxer took the winning crown.

Tiller was pitted against T Umunna. The latter was out for business and charged across the ring, but Tiller was more than ready for the opposition, looking like he was easily going to take the bout on points.

Umunna tried to turn Tiller but he proved to be too strong a counter puncher and stayed with him in spite of landing good shots in the first round.

Despite it looking like the title was slowly slipping away from Umunna, the local fighter received the winner’s title in a heart breaking decision for Tiller.

Elsewhere, Dorchester’s Reece Vincent was last on the card at Waterlooville.

His opponent, Southampton star D Cutler, looked the real deal.

This was the first bout for Vincent against an experienced 2-0 opponent, and he soon realised he had to be first to the punch or he could easily have been outpaced or been put down on the canvas by this over-confident contender.

However, Cutler found that he could not stay with Vincent even though he had slipped in some good shots.

Vincent looked sharp, able to pick Cutler off as hefty punches from the local puncher went short or missed the agile ducking style perfected by Vincent.

Cameras flashed to capture the battling finale of the evening. Cutler hung on but was knocked out in the third by a gruelling uppercut from Vincent to the stomach.

Vincent’s hand was raised high to a hearty acclamation from the packed venue for a well deserved win.

Cutler was the first to congratulate Vincent with a big hug and squeeze, showing good sportsmanship and respect to the better boxer.

Elsewhere, there was a sad occasion for the Dorchester & District ABC team as Charlie Gardner bid the club farewell.

Gardner started with Dorchester 10 years ago and became a very proficient young boxer who matured into a brilliant coach.

Gardner took many young people under his wing and prepared them to train hard, take notice of their teachers and get good grades.

In his goodbye speech, he said: “I thank Ben (Geyser) and the coaches who have put up with me for many years.

“I leave with a wealth of knowledge, it’s been a fantastic learning experience with lots of criticism and compliments.

“Constructive criticism, believe me, only comes when someone really cares about you.

“A good team effort takes compromise, you have to lead and follow and not upset anyone.

“Playing such a big part in the club has been a pleasure. I will genuinely miss it, especially the fond memories, skills and friends.”

Meanwhile, this year’s trophy presentation saw 15 up and coming boxers gaining awards.

Recipients of the awards, donated by R&B Trophies, were: Amanda Moules, Billy Dean, Charlie Gardner, Eddie Martin, Harrison, Parkins, Joe Scard, John-Davy Bowker, Kaitlyn Wlodarczyk, Kyle Tiller, Meg Cooch, Ollie Gordon, Reece Vincent, Ryan Dunham, Ryan Wiffen and William Winch.