ENGLAND triumphed 8-3 over Ireland in the annual schoolboy boxing international staged in Ipswich.But, as always, the real winners are the many charities that will benefit when the proceeds from yet another successful event are handed over.

By Mel Henderson

ENGLAND triumphed 8-3 over Ireland in the annual schoolboy boxing international staged in Ipswich.

But, as always, the real winners are the many charities that will benefit when the proceeds from yet another successful event are handed over.

Last year close to £12,000 was distributed among almost 30 deserving causes.

Ipswich Amateur Boxing club head coach and general secretary, Frannie Peake, praised the generosity of fight fans.

He said: “We have been organising this event for over two decades and each year it seems to go from strength to strength.

“Not only is that down to the hard work of the committee in putting the show on, but also to our many sponsors and the crowd on the night who dig deep to boost our fund-raising efforts.”

It was at this event several years ago that Amir Khan caught the eye and he went on to win an Olympic Games silver medal in Athens two years ago, when he was still only 17.

Now undefeated in nine professional fights, the young man from Bolton is well on his way to achieving his ambition of becoming world lightweight champion by the time he is 21.

A capacity crowd at the Hotel Elizabeth, Copdock, was disappointed that Amir's younger brother, Haroon, was forced to withdraw from the England team. Haroon, 15, is tipped to follow in his brother's footsteps and be part of the Great Britain team at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, while many judges believe him to have even more potential than Amir at a similar age.

It was a convincing triumph for the hosts, with Wimbledon's Perry Lovejoy and Jezz Smith of Harrow getting the night off to a scintillating start with impressive wins in the first two bouts.

But Ireland's Joe Ward, who unleashed a flurry of punches in the second round to overcome Gerry Walsh, and Michael Glendenning, who edged the best bout of the evening against Derek Paintin, made the score 4-2 at the interval.

The visitors had only one success in the final five bouts, however, and it was English pair Danny Dignum and Joe Winson who recorded the most impressive wins.