Co Durham boxers Jay Hughes, Chris Wallace win again

Top Country Durham prospects Jay Hughes and Chris Wallace lived up to their hype, both winning at Phil Jeffries' fight night, writes Jake Smith.
Jay Hughes (white) crunches a right into the head of Joe Ducker. Picture by TIM RICHARDSONJay Hughes (white) crunches a right into the head of Joe Ducker. Picture by TIM RICHARDSON
Jay Hughes (white) crunches a right into the head of Joe Ducker. Picture by TIM RICHARDSON

It was a big evening for both men as they looked to make a name for themselves in front of a packed-out crowd at Rainton Meadows Arena.

Hughes, now 5-0, faced Joe Ducker. Hughes had gone the distance in all of his previous pro bouts and this continued, sealing his victory 40-36 on the judge’s scorecard.

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Hughes quickly got himself on the front foot. He found the distance well and caught Ducker with a barrage of clean shots.

The second round threw up some challenges for Hughes. Ducker looked like he was taking charge of the bout, catching the Crimdon boxer but Hughes just done enough to take the points.

The third round saw Hughes take charge again. Although still getting caught with the odd jab, he held his own and was landing the majority, and better, of the shots. Hughes kept cool and boxed smart in the fourth to see the fight out against the Leicester man.

It was a solid effort by the 19-year-old, who looks to have a promising future.

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For only his second pro bout, Wallace showed why he one of the top up-and-comers, convincingly beating Driffield’s Danny Little 40-36.

Wallace had the most explosive start of the night, catching Little with flurry of punches seconds in.

He found success with his left jab and cruised comfortably through the round.The second saw much of the same from the 28-year-old. He controlled the fight and hurt his opponent with a big right.

The main difference in the final two rounds, was Wallace’s superior fitness. He kept the pressure on Little, catching him with a mixture of devastating head and body shots.

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It was a standout performance and a statement to the rest of the North East light-middleweight division.

David Binns coaches both and was delighted with each boxer’s performance.

He said: “Jay showed good boxing skills against a tough opponent, an experienced kid.

“I was dead pleased with Chris. He didn’t make the most of his jab on his debut but he did here.”