The Royal Navy boxing squad destroyed a very strong Western Counties side 8-1 as part of a string of performances which has seen the sailors and marines also brush aside the best of Southern England’s amateur fighters.

In his Western Counties bout, new prospect MA ‘Tiger’ Khan (HMS Neptune) was too strong for A. Chanter, the Navy man’s devastating right hand bringing him a clear points win.

Senior Service bantamweight champion MEM ‘La Roche’ Boyle (HMS Monmouth) gave away weight and experience to his civilian opponent, but still ran out a winner after a tough non-stop encounter.

Welsh International and Combined Services champion Mne Alex ‘The Hornet’ Urrutian (42 Cdo) – ranked tenth in the UK – cut his tall opponent down with some devastating body punches, then finished the bout with a final assault for a superb points win.

Mne Stu ‘The Bull’ Elwell (FPGRM) took on Western Counties Champion B. Woodward, and the Serviceman took the decision after four gruelling rounds.

Mne Stevie ‘TNT’ Tighe (40 Cdo) moved from head to body with excellent combination punching., and his speed and pace were all too much for C. Welling, giving Tighe a unanimous points decision.

MEM Daz Houre (HMS Excellent) put in a fine performance by almost stopping his opponent by switching his attacks, which earned him a unanimous decision.

LPT ‘Mad Max’ Maxwell (HMS St Albans) made an impressive return to the ring this year when he knocked out Western Counties middleweight champion G. Stinchoube – a three-punch combination decked his opponent, and there was to be no reprieve.

England International Mne Mick ‘The Irish Hammer’ O’Connell sounded a warning to rival heavyweights as he took less than two rounds to stop Western Counties heavyweight champion J. Smith.

OM ‘Bazooka’ Suku was unlucky to not get the decision against a very experienced Bulgarian champion who guested for the Western Counties side while he waits for his professional licence.

The victorious squad then moved on to Portsmouth Guildhall for a nine-match card against the Southern Counties, which proved to be a closer contest.

‘ Tiger’ Khan opened proceedings against Commonwealth bronze medalist A. Raymond – a step up in class for Tiger, as Combined Service/Royal Navy Boxing Coach POPT ‘Q’ Shillingford wanted to see how he would compete at national level.

“Khanie did not get the decision, but his performance was exceptional, and he has come on leaps and bounds as he prepares for his national title bid next year,” said ‘Q’.

Two Command, or grass-roots, boxers supported the RN team match; CH Schubert (HMS Nelson) fought well, keeping his opponent at long range in the first round and dropping him in second with a right uppercut.

LOM Baz Neil (HMS Collingwood) started his bout full of confidence, but was caught cold with a right hand to the jaw and the referee counted him out on his feet.

Mne Luke ‘The Whirlwind’ Wilson (40 Cdo) boxed at a fast and punishing pace to run out a unanimous points win.

AEM Vaughn Perkins (HMS Heron) had a very close three rounds, and although the Navy man boxed well he ended up on the wrong side of the decision.

Mne Stu ‘The Bull’ Elwell showed excellent hand speed and accuracy of punching to subdue his tall and heavier opponent, gaining a unanimous decision from the judges.

‘Mad Max’ Maxwell had a very tough bout, with both fighters landing very heavy blows, but Max won the unanimous decision from the judges.

‘Q’ said: “I am very proud of Maxwell’s performance, as he is having to fit his training in and around his job as an LPT on St Albans”.

LAEM Dave McElwee (Sultan) boxed a clever bout, keeping his power-hitting opponent at bay with stiff jabs and hard rear-hand crosses which brought him a unanimous points decision.

‘TNT’ Tighe exploded into action with non-stop two-fisted attacks, quickly wearing his opponent down. By the third round Steve’s sustained assault was too much for his Southern Counties representative, who collapsed on the ropes after a particularly effective right cross to the body. The referee stepped in to stop the bout soon after.

Turning to purely Naval matters, a bloodied MEM ‘Daz’ Herron was cheered on by his older brother, LPT ‘Lee’ Herron, when he took the special welterweight winner’s trophy at HMS Nelson’s novice championships.

The marine engineer hopes to be joining his brother as a physical training instructor if he passes the PT course.

More than 30 entrants competed in Portsmouth for the championships, which saw HMS Temeraire win the laurels as the top boxing side, ahead of HM ships Neptune, Newcastle, Collingwood, Sultan, Grafton and Invincible.

OM Neylon, of HMS Collingwood, won the Best Boxer trophy, while Temeraire’s CH Stephens was named best runner-up.

The icing on the cake for the Navy’s boxing fraternity is the fact that HMS Nelson’s gym has just been named as the venue for the Inter-Services Boxing Championships, which will be held on February 9 and 10 next year.

Another major boost came when three RN boxers were invited to fight for places in the next Commonwealth and Olympic Games – Melbourne 2006 and Beijing 2008 – by England’s Amateur Boxing Association.

The three are OM Shaun Macdonald of HMS Invincible (Light Heavyweight), Mick O’Connell of 42 Cdo (Heavyweight) and Neil Suku of HMS York, (Super Heavyweight).

Meanwhile, ‘La Roche’ Boyle has moved to tenth ranking in England after taking on, but losing to, the country’s number five, Mark Brahnbart, in a close match in London – one judge scored the fight at 24-24.

After some cracking autumn performances, ‘Q’ now wants his fighters to keep their heads and keep up the training regime – and to help, the Navy lads have been stepping in the ring to spar with the best amateurs around, including a certain Olympic silver medallist.

“The lads are training very well however, they must not come complacent,” he said.

“I take them to England squad camps for sparring. The Navy team is sparring against boxers who are the best in the country.

“Urrutian found himself climbing in the ring with Olympic silver medallist Amir Khan.

“The experience for the Navy boxers is great and also lifts the profile of service boxing to the England team.”