Aberystwyth ABC travelled to Wrexham to compete in the WABA Novice Championships for the first time in their history.

With a team of five boxers with only two bouts recorded between all of them, the Aber ABC coaches were hoping the boxers would gain valuable experience.

Four boxers got through the weigh-in. Unfortunately Steve Biggs didn’t make the weight – an oversight by the coaching team.

In the first session, Aber had three boxers: Cynan Evans vs Ben Owen (Ponypridd), unanimous to Evans; next up Ishmael Sadiqi vs Mason Hawks (Cwmavon), third round stoppage; then Sam Monaghan vs Sebastian Langavelot, unanimous decision.

All three made it through to the Sunday’s quarter-finals.

The second session saw Tommy Sherman vs Tommy Lloyd (Dyffryn), with Aber boy Sherman defeated on a unanimous decision.

However, Sherman can take a lot of pride in his performance; a big learning step as he now aims to go down to a lower weight division where he can be more competitive.

Sunday’s expectations had risen after Saturday’s results and the Aber trio did not disappoint.

Cynan Evans gained a unanimous decision against Leon Lawlor (Welsh Warriors), Ishmael Sadiqi gained a unanimous decision against Aaron Moore (Gelligaer) and Sam Monaghan gained a split decision against Robert Llewellyn (High Cross).

All three made it through to the semi-finals at Ebbw Vale.

Unfortunately, all three are in the same division , but this means Aberystwyth ABC will definitely have a finalist.

While enjoying what was a fantastic weekend for the club, the buoyant coaches reiterated the fact it’s still a learning curve.

The boxers are setting high standards as they start their amateur careers. Now is the start of the hard work to maintain the standards, they said.