Sold out in just ninety minutes

THE biggest indoor sporting event of the domestic calendar took just 90 minutes to sell out. All 804 tickets for Saturday's big open show at Beau Sejour flew out of the door and such was the interest in the annual Amalgamated Boxing Club promotion that had there been the space, the event would probably have drawn a bigger crowd than the Muratti Vase final.

The ticket rush gave Paul Ferbrache, who has been responsible for three previous open shows at the centre, enormous satisfaction.

'We sold every ticket in an hour-and-a-half. We put them on sale at 8.30 and by 10 we didn't have any left.'

Among the 804 will be a dozen boxing fans from Manchester, who will be in the Sir John Loveridge Hall to not only cheer on the North of England select team but the two lads on the bill from the Centurion club run by Steve Walshaw, who is in charge of the visiting team.

Walshaw said: 'There are 12 blokes from the Canal Duke pub who support my club. They heard the show is that good that they wanted to come.'

The Amalgamated BC expect to be able to add a 16th bout to the bill with new super-heavyweight Steve Owen ready to add his weight to an already impressive line-up.

Owen made a winning debut in an all-action bout recently at St Pierre Park.

Topping the bill - fingers crossed - will be cruiserweight Matt Jennings.

He is paired with Bolton boy Neil Smith and Walshaw promises a tough bout.

In time, local juniors James Woolnough and Callum Pearson could find themselves topping the bill and their coach is pleased that, for once, he is able to find the latter a fight.

'Because of his age and his size, he's been difficult to pair. But he's going to be another Jennings. He's already sparring with him.'

Walshaw reports that the visiting team is drawn from many clubs including Stockport, Lancaster, Penrith, Preston, Stalybridge and Borshaw.