BOXING came back to Skipton when Eastburn Amateur Boxing Club staged its first ever boxing dinner show at the Rendezvous (writes Chris Gorman).

A packed house recalled the days when hundreds filled the Drill Hall for professional contests.

The evening got off to a brilliant start for the home fighters, with two debutantes winning their bouts in the first round.

Weighing in at over 16 stone, Craig Burke got a knock-out in the first minute of his fight when a body-shot finished Liam McCrave of Harrogate ABC.

The super-heavyweight landed a superb left hook to the ribs, sending McCrave to the canvas. Craig took the win when the fallen boxer failed to beat the count of ten.

Silsden fighter Paul Newby awarded him the title of boxer of the night and believes the big man looks very promising for the future.

Also on top form was Kildwick's Paul Hobson, who started fast, landing an array of quality punches against Joel Mabbott of Unity ABC. His aggression was enough to force Mabbott to throw in the towel half way through the first round - an impressive feat, considering this was also Hobson's first fight under ABA rules.

Antony Smith stayed on his winning run with a hard-fought contest with Z Hussain of Unity ABC. Antony boxed a good first round with his opponent hardly landing a blow but the Sheffield boxer started counter-punching a lot better in the second round, leaving it all on a great final two-and-a-half minutes of boxing. However, the Eastburn boxer upped his game and got a unanimous decision from the judges.

The only let-down for coach Paul Doust was, oddly enough, Simon Wheater's brilliant display against Craig Skeldon of Doncaster Plant.

Wheater consistently out-boxed his opponent, forcing him to retire at the start of the third round.

However, when he removed his gloves it was noticed that he had no bandaging on his hands - failing to meet an ABA requirement and causing the fight to be judged a no-contest.