PROMISING youngsters from Sandygate Amateur Boxing Club continued their progress with bouts in Blackpool.

Will Smith, 15, was representing the Burnley club at the Cliffs Hotel, taking on Fleetwood Amateur Boxing Club’s D Caitlain.

Smith, from Harle Syke, took controlled the centre of the ring from the very opening bell.

The Blessed Trinity RC College year 11 pupil was again dominant in the second round, switching his attack and moving at angles to avoid the punches of his opponents, before returning with power.

The third and final two-minute road was Smith’s best as his fitness came to the fore. He connected with a rigid jab and gave the three ringside judges an easy verdict, winning 30-27 on all three scorecards.

The Blackpool show was making history by becoming the region’s first boxing show to adopt new AIBA rules and scoring system, in line with world boxing regulations.

At the Devres Hotel in Blackpool, Sandygate’s Harvey Fletcher made a winning debut in a show hosted by Sharpstyle ABC.

Fletcher, 12, faced Sharpstyle boxer J Smith in a schoolboy contest of three rounds, each lasting 90 seconds.

From the start of the fight Fletcher let loose a barrage of blows that constantly hit the target, connecting with a right hand to dominate the round.

The Unity College year seven pupil took control again in the second round, holding the centre of the ring and forcing his opponent on to the back post.

Fletcher, from Rossendale Road in Burnley, got even better in the third round as he countered every attack with relative ease to claim a 30-27 points victory on all three judges’ scorecards.

Brunshaw Primary School year six pupil Jaden Haworth-Franklin, 11, showed real skill in his bout against Sharpstyle’s C Wilson.

Sandygate clubmate Dylan Lord, 11, narrowly lost out to Aintree ABC’s C Matler on a split 29-28 points decision.