De la Mare left jumping for joy after his ‘best moment’

A tough East Wales side inflicted a 7-1 defeat on the red corner in the February Fury open show, with the 25-year-old truly rising to the occasion of his first big bill-topping appearance at Beau Sejour and preventing the visitors making it a clean sweep.

He defeated former professional Jamie Way via a split decision in a cruiserweight contest that earned fight-of-the-night status.

‘I’d probably say it’s my best moment as an amateur,’ the delighted victor said afterwards.

De la Mare, who already has 15 years in the sport, enjoyed several dominant spells in what was overall a close contest.

He established his jab early on against a much older and even more experienced opponent, using his reach advantage effectively in the first two rounds before a close finale where both boxers landed some big shots.

The Guernseyman’s fighting spirit got him through and left him jumping for joy in victory.

‘I’ve had an extremely hard week – just personal issues – so it was really good to get out there and really try and come back and get myself a win,’ he added.

‘It’s been a while, but it’s a privilege to top the show and finish off with a bout-of-the-night win boxing a very experienced lad, probably the most experienced I have ever fought.’

The affable fighter, who is now also a father, currently has his sights on the amateur championship ladder and a few Box Cups before hanging up the gloves.

Immediately beforehand, Tommy Teers had suffered a unanimous points loss in a great super-flyweight contest against a tough opponent in Louis Merryweather, who made it very hard to get good hits in.

The night in general could be characterised by battling losses – even when Ruslan Gogercaks suffered second-round referee stoppage against Ricky Barrett.

At light-middleweight, Gogercaks returned from a long absence and generally performed well but was caught by two major blows, subjecting him to a count in the first round before being put down decisively by a left hook in the second.

Light-welterweight Scott Little also gave away a lot of experience to Ethan Jones but put up a similarly valiant performance in defeat.

Jay Wilson’s lightweight battle against Buddy Froud proved a particularly entertaining highlight.

It was an out-and-out war that raged from the first bell and could have gone either way, but judges gave the Welshman the nod.

Amalgamated Boxing Club head coach Ben Duff praised his team’s performances as a whole but admitted it was a ‘tough night’.

‘We didn’t get the match-up right with a couple of the bouts, which I have to take responsibility for,’ he added.