McNess ready to make his mark

Sam McNess will be following in his father footsteps as makes his professional debut on the Andy Ayling promotion at York Hall on Friday night.

The multi-titled former Repton and GB amateur is repeating the path of father Steve, who made the move from the Bethnal Green club into the paid game in the 1990s.

The 23-year-old McNess, an avid West Ham United fan, is trained by the father-and-son duo of Jimmy and Mark Tibbs at their base at West Ham BC.

And he cannot wait to make his debut in a four-rounder against Hull’s Paul O’Brien, saying: “I had a fantastic time in the amateurs and will keep the memories, but I’ve always wanted to turn pro.

“I’ve been training for six months with Mark Tibbs who with his dad Jimmy are probably the most knowledgeable team in British boxing. My dad is also there for me and he knows the business very well.

“I can box and fight, throwing plenty of combinations to head and body with nice tight hooks and uppercuts.

“My fans are looking forward to seeing me fight and I’m sure the London crowds will get bigger as I deliver exciting performances.”

The welterweight division excites McNess, who was reared on stories of John H Stracey, the Repton hero who became a world champion.

The feature fight on Friday sees light-heavyweight Miles Shinkwin face Hungarian Bela Juhasz, while another light-heavyweight, Anthony Yarde, looks forward to his second pro bout.

Big-hitting Yarde, who won his pro debut in just two rounds at Wembley in May and is trained by Tunde Ajayi at the Peacock gym, faces another four-rounder on Friday’s bill.

Former Commonwealth cruiserweight champion Tony Conquest looks to get back in the title picture with a good win on a show that also features unbeaten prospect Gary Corcoran.

Light-welterweight Billy Bird, light-middleweight Zack Davies, super-featherweights Boy Jones Jnr and Leon Woodstock, plus controversial flyweight Prince Patel are all on the promising bill.

n Goodwin Promotions return with a busy night of four-round action at York Hall on Saturday.

The bill features Robert Asagba, Ciaran Bates, Josh Kennedy, Jordan Joseph and Ashley Sexton, as well as Ollie Pinnock, Sohail Ahmad, Matthew Chanda, Max Lovell and Joe McCrory.

n Towering giant Christian Thun returned to his home in Germany last week after the best win of his career, beating ABA Elite finalist Natty Ngwenga on the Peacock club open air show in Barking.

And the six feet seven inches tall Thun, who works for his millionaire father’s engineering company, vowed he will be back at the Canning Town club he first joined as an east London student.

The 23-year-old will return with the aim of winning the ABA super-heavyweight title in 2016 after defeating the highly-rated Army boxer.

Ngwenga lost on points to Frazer Clark in this year’s Elite final, but had won all 18 of his previous bouts and had upset number two and three seeds Declan Fusco and Addas Ababi on the title trail.

The stocky, well-muscled Army champion had problems with his taller rival, who was able to score points at long range with his effective jabbing.

Thun also showed his durability and held his own in some lively toe-to-toe exchanges as he was caught by heavy hooks, but fired back with powerful shots.

The clash proved a real thriller with a split verdict going to the Peacock boxer who was also awarded a special belt as the best super-heavyweight winner on the day, while loser Ngwenga had to rush to Birmingham to act as best man at a friend’s wedding!

Other Peacock boxers in winning form at the tournament, which attracted a good crowd at the Barking United Services club, were Eugene Ugorji and Claudio Paulo.

Ugorji boxed well to beat tough Fisher rival Tad Magbagbusa and popular Paulo defeated Finchley rival Alex Zendra.

The east Londoner followed up by winning in Bangor, Ireland on Saturday as a guest for a Barking BC group when he halted the experienced Romanian Ben Tudoran in two rounds.