BOXING is back. After a month without competing, Kings Boxing Academy were desperately seeking opponents for their tough contender, Sonny Dorrian.

Their match-maker, Derek Bradley, has been unable to volunteer so the task of finding opponents who actually want to step into the ring with Sonny was handed to Jon Cooper. 

‘Out of 14 possible opponents contacted – at least 10 of which have records spanning from 10 to 20 fights – not one agreed to box us,’ said Jon.

This is concerning but may be an advantage for the Development Championships where there will be no dodging the popular Teignbridge fighter. 

The club ventured to Tavistock ABC on Saturday to compete along with several supporters and two boxers on their debuts. First to compete was 30-year-old Jason Solamonsz (80.3kg) who weighed in light against his opponent, Vinny Day (83.8kg) of Tavistock ABC. Regarding the weight rule, both boxers took the fight. Despite Jason winning the first round and boxing with skill over three rounds, the decision went to the home boxer. This was a close fight and a clash of styles with both fighters agreeing to a rematch on neutral territory.  

The final fight of the night was Kings’ newest boxer (only seven months in the gym), 21-year-old super heavy-weight Jason Carcamo (110kg, 6’9”), up against Myles Radley (130kg, 6’8”) of Tavistock ABC. 

Kings Boxing Academy
Super heavy-weight debutant Jason Carcamo, left, and opponent Myles Radley. (Contributed)

Both giants stood above everyone, which enthused a great build-up to their fight as the home crowd had their preconceptions of a KO. Every fight fan loves big heavy-weights pounding each other in the ring and this fight was no exception. From the first bell the home fighter threw hard-hitting punches with rapid speed in hopes of knocking out the Kings’ fighter early but Jason defended well to ride the storm before stepping up his defensive skills to dictate the fight from mid-round. 

Jason commanded every round, throwing fast, accurate punches with full venom from all angles to suppress the hard-hitting Tavistock fighter. The second round saw Jason dish out flush-on-the-chin punches resulting in a standing eight count for the home-fighter. The third round was a thriller and had the crowd on the edge of their seats, screaming with excitement and cheering their fighter on. 

Jason stepped up a gear, dishing out punch combinations and scoring with hurtful shots. Late into the round, Jason landed two hard punches, sending Radley spinning and another standing eight count. How the Tavistock fighter stayed up is a credit to his fitness and resilience. The Kings fighter won by unanimous decision and was given a standing ovation. It is an exciting times for the club with their big heavy-weight who is just starting out and hungry to fight.