(left) Tony Conquest is set to counterattack as he fends off Matt Jennings’ right hand. (0723802)

MATT JENNINGS’ conqueror is heading for the very top.

That was the verdict of Tony Conquest’s bullish coach, Jimmy Bush, after his man won a split verdict over Jennings to take the shine off a superb show in front of a sell-out crowd at Beau Sejour.

But what the crowd did not know is that the top-of-the-bill fight nearly did not go ahead.

‘I’d agreed to do three three-minute rounds, but when we arrived we found it was four two-minutes,’ said an unhappy Bush, still startled by the closeness of the scoreline of the cruiserweight clash.

Bush revealed he was ready to pull out Conquest, ‘but he [the boxer] was fine about it,’ so the contest went ahead and the Londoner showed just why he is rated third in the UK rankings.

‘He will turn pro after the ABAs,’ said Bush, who was annoyed by the judging.

‘I thought it was disgusting that last bout [Conquest’s]. He gave him [Jennings] a lesson for four rounds.’

As it was, Conquest won a split decision on a night that saw CI championship boxing return for the first time in 50 years.

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