Williams gives Edinburgh boxing a taste of victory

For the lucky few at the ringside tables on Friday night, Forthside Boxing Club’s annual gala began with a lavish three-course dinner. But even for the hundred or so watching from the gallery above the event, arguably one of the highlights of Edinburgh’s amateur calendar, was a veritable feast as fighters from seven local clubs met at Leith’s Ocean Terminal complex. Edinburgh University’s two representatives suffered mixed fortunes but put on a crowd-pleasing show for their lively supporters.

The event started with three junior fights but the first match to really whet the crowd’s appetite was between Forthside’s own Stuart “Sweetheart” Vass and University favourite Dave Warren. Having entered the ring to noisy chants from the dozens who had come down to support him Warren, in the red corner, started confidently. However, although the two southpaws looked evenly matched it soon became clear that Vass’s quicker hands could cause serious damage. Before the end of the first round Warren was on the canvas as Vass landed a straight left that saw the first of two eight-counts for the student fighter.

Recovering quickly, Warren came out much stronger in the second round, landing a flurry of jabs but in doing so he left himself far too open. Vass punished this immediately and the referee, after seeing the smaller man take numerous blows to the head, decided to stop a fight that was beginning to look like a serious mismatch. Warren protested, and both he and his fans were understandably frustrated by the stoppage, but the referee stood firm.

The crowd were left hungry for more and after a short break Edinburgh’s next fighter gave them exactly what they needed. Matt Williams, like Warren competing in the light welterweight category, faced only his second fight against another one of Forthside’s home-grown talents, Gary Sutherland. There was no sign of nervousness, however, as he came out of his corner to immediately dominate his opponent. Using his long left jab to good effect, Williams was landing punches all over the place and combined the jab with a smart right hook to put Sutherland on the ropes before the end of the first round.

Easing off slightly in the second round, Williams looked content to bide his time, goading the heavily tattooed Sutherland and waiting for an opportune moment to counter. The balance looked to be tipping in favour of the local boy as the third round began until a quick, powerful salvo from Williams left his opponent with a bloodied nose and, after another count of eight from the referee, saw victory handed to the University fighter.

For the Edinburgh supporters in the gallery, Williams’ victory was the high point of a great evening’s entertainment. By then the plates had been cleared from the ringside tables and the entire crowd had been well catered for.