Packing a punch
Which of our 20 brave fighters prevailed at last night's CRN Fight Night 2017? Doug Woodburn and Amy Micklewright report on the blows landed at the event, which is now in its tenth year and has raised over £200,000 for worthy causes
Twenty weary warriors woke up this morning bruised and battered from last night's Fight Night 2017.
To mark the tenth anniversary of the event, a record 10 fights took place in front of a packed crowd at The Brewery in Chiswell Street. Photos of the evening can now be viewed on our Facebook page.
The black-tie event has raised over £200,000 for charity since its inception, and last night guests gave generously in the auction in the name of 17 worthy causes.
Following a champagne reception, the drinks flowed freely throughout the evening, with many revellers continuing the celebrations at the after-party in Beduin Bar.
Halfway through the fighting, the action paused as guests were treated to a three-course meal. A starter of crispy pigs head and smoked haddock croquettes was followed by a main of BBQ chicken tikka with Bombay potato and desert of light vanilla panna cotta.
1) Josh Forde v Andrew Stuart
The first fight of the evening, a cruiserweight contest, did not disappoint as SHI International's Josh ‘The Sledge-Hammer' Forde overcame Datto's Andrew Stuart. Forde had a strong first round, before damaging Stuart's nose in the second round. The fight was stopped in the third round.
WINNER: JOSH FORDE
2) Marc Sumner v Glenn Tucker
Next up, Tripwire's Glenn ‘Mother' Tucker narrowly prevailed over Robertson Sumner's Marc ‘Head Hunter' Sumner. Sumner had problems with the strap of his headguard in the second round and it was knocked off his head in the third round, and had to be replaced. Event compere Mark ‘The Burf' Burford declared it "one of the best matches I've ever seen at CRN Fight Night" as the referee scored it 29-28 in favour of Tucker.
WINNER: GLENN TUCKER
3) James Alliband v Myles Braham
Fight three saw Check Point's James ‘The Lion' Alliband matched against Myles ‘One Touch' Braham from Ingram Micro. Braham was very confident from the start, and knocked down Alliband in the first round.
Alliband confirmed to CRN today that he is okay despite taking a big right hook from his opponent in the first round.
"Training was fantastic and I will carry on with the boxing in the future," he said.
WINNER: MYLES BRAHAM
4) James O'Reilly v Jeff Hancock
This light heavyweight fight between Comms-care's James ‘The Hitman' O'Reilly and OryxAlign's Jeff Hancock was very closely fought indeed. The final score was 29-28, with Comms-care retaining its unblemished record.
WINNER: JAMES O'REILLY
5) Gavin Evans v Matt Cross
The original opponent of Gav ‘The Guvnor' Evans from Trend Micro pulled out, so Matt Cross (not channel related) stepped in. The fight was stopped in the second round.
WINNER: MATT CROSS
6) Griffiths Akai v Daniel Weston
Griffiths ‘The Silencer' Akai from e92plus was another brave fighter who had to fight a last-minute replacement after his opponent pulled out earlier this week. But he still prevailed against Weston (not channel related).
WINNER: GRIFFITHS AKAI
7) Paula Kastrouni v Claire Burrage-Edwards
The crowd rose to their feet to cheer on the two female fighters of the evening as Paula ‘Cast Iron' Kastrouni from Westcoast faced off against Blue Cube Security's Claire ‘The Bulldog' Burrage-Edwards. It was a brutal fight, with a high number of punches thrown, and Kastrouni prevailed 29-28.
WINNER: PAULA KASTROUNI
8) David Garfit v Kenton West
‘Dangerous' Dave Garfit from Commvault narrowly edged out Kenton ‘The General' West from Tech Data in this very closely fought eighth fight. West went down briefly in the first round, and was visibly annoyed with himself. The crowd were split down the middle, but the referee gave the victory to Garfit with a score of 29-28.
WINNER: DAVID GARFIT
9) Nicky Powell v Simon Jones
In this penultimate contestmon ‘Jack Knife' Jones from Mimecast prevailed against Agilitas' Nicky ‘Pretty Boy' Powell. With 30 seconds to go, the crowd were chanting for their favourites, with 87 per cent of the audience giving the victory to Jones.
WINNER: SIMON JONES
10) Anthony Lawless v Jimmy Froud
The final fight of the evening saw a strong first round from both boxers, with the audience vote split at 50-50. Jimmy ‘The Jibba Jabba' Froud from Zones dominated the second round, with Anthony ‘Jawless' Lawless from Metalogix going down in the third round.
Froud was one of the few fighters that was back in work today, having had only 45 minutes sleep last night after his victory.
Froud revealed that he shared a drink with his opponent afterwards.
"Anthony is such a great guy. There was no animosity there, which is exactly what this event is about. We are all trying to raise money for our chosen charities, and everyone was a winner.
"I would love to do it again. It was brilliant from start to finish."
Froud said he had dropped nearly one-and-a-half stone during his three month training regime and that the experience has changed his outlook on life.
"I haven't had a sip of alcohol in three months. I definitely won't be drinking anywhere near as much as I used to and will make some different food choices too, and will keep up the boxing - I've really got a thing for it."
WINNER: JIMMY FROUD
FIGHTER OF THE NIGHT: GAVIN EVANS