Varsity Boxing: Uni 2 – 1 Hallam

Photo: Tom Williamson

The University of Sheffield extended their Varsity 2014 lead to 5-2 after a thrilling night of boxing at the Octagon on Saturday.

The contest ended with a 2-1 victory for Uni after two dominant performances by Uni boxers Ray Khan and Jai Meyrick before Hallam’s Rikki Webster took the final round on points.

Following a number of warm up bouts, including a win for an old Sheffield uni student, Jordan Davies, the eagerly anticipated varsity boxing action got underway with Ray Khan from the University of Sheffield taking on Ben Otter from Shefield Hallam.

With both sets contributing to what was a cracking atmosphere, the fight started punchually at 10:30pm and at an incredibly fast pace with both fighters clearly keen to make an early impression. Otter started strongly and midway through the first round Khan was given a standing count by the referee, before Khan managed to finish the round strongly.

Joe Moylan (Hallam) and Jai Meyrick (Uni). Photo: Tom Williamson

Photo: Tom Williamson

Photo: Tom Williamson

Khan came out by far the stronger of the two in the second round, forcing Otter to the ropes and leading to a standing count of 8. As is customary at every varsity event, the chants began to ring around the Octagon from both corners. Even the referee was on the receiving end of some abuse regarding his allegedly portly stature.

Khan continued to impress and edge further ahead of Otter following a series of successful combinations. Despite a decent finish in the final round from the Hallam fighter, ultimately it was Khan who took the fight thanks to a unanimous judge’s decision and gave Uni a deserved 1-0 lead, much to the delight of the vocal home support.

The second and ultimately deciding fight was contested between Jai Meyrick from the University of Sheffield and Joe Moylan of Hallam. It started in similar fashion to the first fight with both boxers quick out of the blocks; ultimately as the round progressed it was Meyrick who impressed and exerted his dominance over Moylan who was given a standing count of 8 just before the bell.

Meyrick continued to press home his advantage in the second round with a series of combinations which forced a struggling Moylan into the corner on numerous occasions. Spurred on by choruses of ‘UNNNNAAAAAYYYY, UUNNNAAAYYYYYY!’ Meyrick took the fight in convincing style after another unanimous decision and secured the overall win for University – a knockout blow to the Hallam supporters.

Ray Khan. Photo: Tom Williamson

Photo: Tom Williamson

Photo: Tom Williamson

The final show piece of the evening featured Charlie Salmon from University of Sheffield and Rikki Webster from Hallam. The fight was an even contest with both fighters keen to end the night on a high. Despite a fine performance from Salmon, it was Webster who edged it after a split decision following 3 very close rounds. It was a result that could quite easily have gone Salmon’s favour.

Credit must go to all the fighters who put on a fantastic evening and in particular the 3 Sheffield Uni fighters who have helped consolidate our early lead in Varsity 2014.

Collecting the trophy. Photo: Tom Williamson

This year’s Varsity competition continues with Football and the opening ceremony at Hilsborough on Saturday 22nd March. You can check out the fixtures right here.

Come on uni!