KINGSTEIGNTON professional boxer Jamie Speight thought John Van Emmenis' post-decision plea to the referee was 'ridiculous', after the 21-year-old kept his unbeaten record intact with a points victory at Torquay's Riviera Centre.
Speight – who stepped up to lightweight for his third pro bout – was awarded a deserved 59-56 points victory over Bideford's Van Emmenis on Saturday having been the busier of the two throughout and putting some good combinations together.
The fight never looked in danger of finishing early, but the decision to rule in favour of the former Teign School student must have been quite an easy one for referee Grant Wallis to make.
It was also one that was greatly received by more than 220 of Speight's own fans – making up more than a quarter of the near-800 crowd – who willed him on throughout the six two-minute round bout with chants of 'There's only one Jamie Speight'.
The noise was deafening, and Speight was quick to praise his supporters. 'They were brilliant,' he said. 'I'd like to say a massive thank you to them all.'
One thing that the talented youngster wasn't happy about, though, was Van Emmenis' reaction immediately after Wallis had ruled in his favour, with the 28-year-old north Devon boxer approaching the referee as if to say he should have got at least a draw.
Speight said: 'That was ridiculous because you can actually see by the state of our faces who won the fight and who landed the cleaner punches.
'I haven't got a mark on me whereas he's bashed right up – he's got a big black eye and a cut underneath his other one.
'It was the hardest fight I've had, but I think I was in control.'
Promoter Keith Mayo – who revealed that plans are afoot to stage another pro boxing show in Torquay, possibly in the spring, with Speight likely to be one of the main attractions again – said: 'I thought Jamie did well.
'Van Emmenis put up a good show, but Jamie was the better boxer, quite easily, I thought.'
Speight hasn't ruled out a rematch but, in the meantime, his next scheduled bout is penned in for December 4 at Swindon's Oasis Leisure Centre, where, provided his opponent doesn't pull out of fighting him for a third time, he will finally get the chance to come up against Walsall's Steve Gethin.
Gethin is a journeyman of more than 60 paid contests and has previously boxed current WBA world light-welterweight champion Amir Khan, losing by way of knockout, in 2005.