Fighting at the Barnsley Celtic Challenge show from MFA was Sid Pearson, Alex Yum and Chris Durham. All the lads had trained hard over the past weeks and were looking forward to getting in the ring.
Jon and Jonno Chipchase were up in Aberdeen, with Jonno fighting Rung Kharnpan a 300+fight veteran.
First up, Sid Pearson. Sid entered the C-Class fight with an injured rib, so had the initial plan of avoiding any kicks and stepping into his own area of the clinch.
--1--
Sid started well using successful low kicks and kick defence. Both fighters were fairly equal, with Sids opponent using jab-low leg combinations. Sid replies well throughout with kicks to both the body and legs. Brief clinching shows that Sids opponent is a scrappy clincher, preventing Sid from using his strong knees. Equal first round.
--2--
Round 2 and Sids opponent came out as the aggressor, using jumping front kick and punch combinations. Sid remains unphased. He tries to reply with body kicks but struggles to move in and land them, failing to score on the effectiveness of his kicks. Sid is knocked back with several punches, yet remains alert and defending himself. He throws a kick and starts a knee in reply, but, in my opinion, is given a badly called 8-count by the referee. 10-8 against Sid.
--3--
Round 3 starts straight into the clinch, with Sid landing some solid knees onto his opponent. His opponent is pressuring him, but Sid responds with some good turns to off-balance his opponent. Sid uses his front kick well. Going back into the clinch, it was evident that Sids already injured rib had taken a hit, yet he defended well and pushed through.
--4--
His opponent came out the aggressor, knowing Sids rib was hurt from the previous round. Sid took the pressure well, using good low leg defence and replying with equal force. Sid is cautious to commit to his body kick replies, wanting to protect his rib. This lack of effectiveness, when compared to his opponents effective boxing techniques, puts Sid behind in the scoring of the round However, he does land some well timed body kicks as his opponent steps in to commit to his boxing.
--5--
The final round started with Sid needing a high scoring round. Landing some good low legs, and stepping in to land well timed body kicks. Although the kick land clean, there is little effectiveness shown. Under pressure, he steps off and kicks, increasing his score above his opponent. A well timed front kick towards to end of the round knocks his opponent off his feet, this is a massive score, and in my opinion, it takes the round for Sid.

The judges determine the fight as a loss for Sid, however even with the 8 count against him the opponents coach came over and said how equal and good to watch the fight was. It was Sids lack of engagement in the final higher scoring rounds, and, due to his injury, his reluctance to move to his strong area of the clinch that I believe lost Sid the fight. However, anyone to get in the ring with an injury and perform as Sid did is an achievement. Bring on his next fight.
Up next, Alex Yum...