WGC boxer Tom Cox's loss was hotly-contested by his club

WELWYN Garden City Boxing Club are pushing ahead with plans to grow and develop after securing a home for the forseeable future.

WGC boxer Kyran O'Neill will learn a lot from his ABA experience

As first reported in the WHT, the future of the Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council Club of the Year was under threat with their base at the Hyde Sports and Social Club being deemed unsuitable for training.

However, with Cllrs Colin and Irene Dean backing their cause, the council agreed a five-year lease of the premises with the family-friendly club, and improvements have been carried out ensuring a safe and well-maintained venue.

And the club is set to celebrate their good news by holding a home show, at the Hyde Sports & Social Club, on June 2.

Tickets will be £10 adults and £5 U16s, with boxing scheduled to start at 2pm.

Scheduled to feature on the show will be the first ever girl boxing representing the club.

Jade Phylpers has been training for over a year now and is looking forward to some fight action.

WGC were also represented at the Junior ABA semi-finals recently, with both Kyran O’Neill and Tom Cox unlucky to fall to defeats.

Cox lost out 37-29 in his fight, but the defeat didn’t go down too well with WGC BC coach Martin Calvert.

“We are all absolutely gutted. Tom was down after the first couple of rounds, but he came back brilliantly in the third to be only two behind, and then had an even better fourth,” he said.

“How they didn’t score him well ahead after the fourth is beyond me; we all thought it was a really, really bad decision.”

O’Neill fell to a narrow defeat, 26-24 in his four-rounder, with Calvert accepting that loss.

“It will be terrific experience for Kyran; he has only had 13 fights whereas his opponent had 30,” he added.

“There are a few things he needs to work on, but he’s got to realise how inexperienced he still is, and just how far he can go - he’s a superb talent.”

Summing up the feel-good atmosphere at the club, Calvert added: “Both our lads performed great, they were real crowd-pleasers out there and had a lot of support.

“They both worked so hard, and the whole gym are very proud of them.

“We’re all now looking forward to the live show.”