This Is Guernsey

By Aaron Scoones

GUERNSEY’S head boxing coach Graham Guilbert reckons that County Tyrone will be his team’s toughest ever opponents at an Open Show.

But he is confident that the Greens will be successful come the end of tomorrow’s sell-out show at Beau Sejour.

‘They’ll be the best yet,’ said Guilbert, of the Northern Irish.

‘They said they are coming over to box. They’ve got some experienced and strong lads, but we’re pretty confident that we can hold our own.

‘We now hold our own with the top London clubs.’

However, Guilbert did admit that he does not know too much about the visitors.

Their coach, Frank Gervin, who is a legend in the Northern Irish boxing scene, is keeping his cards very close to his chest.

‘Frank is a nice old bloke, but he’s cagey,’ he said.

‘We don’t know too much about them. They’re being very secretive.

‘We’ve matched the boxers but he won’t tell us too much, which is fair. I don’t tell them too much.

‘It’s as much tactical as anything else.’

Guilbert had been trying to glean some information about Matt Jennings’ top-of-the-bill opponent, Denver Jardine, but to no avail.

All the Guernsey camp has learned about Jardine is that he is similar to the island’s leading boxer.

‘We know he’s had the same number of bouts as Jennings and that he’s the same weight,’ said Guilbert.

‘It’s the same for them as well. We’ve not told them anything.’

The Guernsey crowd always goes mad when Jennings walks in for the final bout of the night.

But the line-up of boxers before him is spoiling the ever-partisan audience.

The popular welterweight James Woolnough has the penultimate fight and before him into the ring is Bradley Watson.

‘The Glamour Boy’ has dreams of basing himself in London and turning professional.

Watson had some meetings with boxing promoter and manager Mick Helliet earlier on in the year, but Guilbert has put his young flyweight’s professional plans on hold for the next year-and-a-half.

Watson is entering the national ABA Championships again in the new year along with Jennings, Woolnough and Gage Demore.

‘We’ll see how he gets on with the ABAs,’ said Guilbert.

‘He’s still going [to turn professional] anyway.

‘He got to the semi-finals last year and if he gets to the finals he’ll have a bit more bargaining power on the money side of things.’

A number of the top names in local boxing are also fighting including the pugnacious Scottish light-heavyweight Wayne Calladine, Tom Duff, Shane Le Patourel, who returns to the fold after a while out with injury, and the highly-rated Demore.

The lightweight reached the quarter-finals of last year’s Junior ABA National Championships.

‘Gage is looking good and he’s going to the junior championships again,’ said Guilbert.

‘He’s phenomenal at the moment. He’s come on so much.

‘He’s going from strength to strength.’

Guernsey have two debutants in their line up – Marco Silvestri, who is better known for his prowess on the softball diamond as a Great Britain player, and Daniel Kirk.

The welterweight has certainly impressed his coach.

‘He’s looking very good for a first-time bouter,’ said Guilbert.

The 800-plus tickets were sold out in a matter of hours when they went on sale at Beau Sejour a couple of Saturdays a go.

People were queuing for the tickets from 8pm the night before.

Guilbert said that they are in for a cracking night.

‘It’s going to be a good show,’ he said.

‘The atmosphere is going to be up there. A lot of Guernsey-based Irish people are going to be there.

‘The boxers love this one. They go mad for it. They train harder for this than anything else.’

Article posted on 23rd October, 2009 - 2.30pm