IT was back to the good old days for Torbay ABC on their return to Torquay's International Riveria Centre.

There was a buzz about the place, not least the dressing rooms compared to the two previous shows when the venues were switched, first to The Play night club and then Valbonne's.

And, of course, the no small matter of both new and renewed sponsorship and a crowd of around 400 meant the club emerged with a financial profit to help with the constant upkeep of their gym and equipment in Hele Road.

If there was a down-turn for matchmaker Dave Stacey, it was the lack of senior contests on the 12-bout programme.

There were four, including a winning start in his first appearance for welterweight Phil Jewell (Torbay) against Taunton's Ben Foskett. Plus a heavyweight clash in which Ollie Manley (Carl's Boxing Stable, Plymouth) lost a majority points decision to Lewis Foot from the Romford-based Body Shots ABC.

Frustratingly, Foot was one of only three to make it into the ring from Body Shots after the South East London club had originally promised to bring a team of 13.

It left gaps in the provisional programme that had to be filled with hours to spare - never easy with clubs reluctant to risk their boxers ahead of ongoing championships, and the nit-picking that goes on as to how many bouts someone may have had compared to their opponent.

"Fortunately, we had friends at other clubs who came to the rescue when so many Body Shots boxers dropped out," said Stacey.

"Taunton, Poole and Lympstone all sent along two , while Paignton ABC let us have three to add to the local flavour. In the end, most of the matchings worked out well with only two failing to go the distance."

One of those featured the Torbay club's Polish-born welterweight Kamil Tuzimek, who was left breathing like a fish out of water in the second round after taking a series of clunking shots to the body from Tom Herd (Combe Martin).

Paignton's Tyler Barwood, 14, delivered the other early finish, picking his way through Sidney Longford's longer reach to convince referee Nick Kendall shortly before the end of round two that the Poole boxer would only be absorbing further unnecessary punishment had it gone any longer.

Incidentally, Tuzimek's defeat tended to sum-up the host club's night apart from wins for Jewell and junior Gary Corbett, who unanimously outpointed Apollo (Torquay) ABC's Dan Taylor on Turner's ring debut.

Welterweight Mario Grendysa and juniors Joe Preece, Zane Turner and Josh Hatley were all on the wrong end of points decisions, though the Turner and Preece outcomes could easily have gone their way against Billy Stanbury (Combe Martin) and Yusif Safa (Body Shots) respectively.

The evening included a minute's silence in memory of Paul King, who passed away a fortnight ago at the age of 79.

Paul, a former chairman and president of the Torbay-Devon (Square Ring) Ex-Boxers Association, was a staunch supporter of amateur boxing despite carving his name in the professional code where he rose to sixth in the British welterweight ratings between 1951 and 1957.

RESULTS

Juniors: Josh Hatley (Torbay) lost to Harry Randell-Johnson (Lympstone) pts unan; Jacob Durant (Paignton) bt Tom Power (Taunton); Gary Corbett (Torbay) bt Dan Taylor (Apollo) pts unan; Tyler Barwood (Paignton) bt Sidney Longford (Poole) rsc 2nd; Joe Preece (Torbay) lost to Yusif Safa (Body Shots) pts maj' Alex Dubben (Apollo) bt Jack Lucas (Body Shots) pts maj; Zane Turner (Torbay) lost to Billy Stanbury (Combe Martin) pts maj; Dene Heckford (Poole) bt Harry Alford (Paignton) pts unan.

Seniors: Phil Jewell (Torbay) bt Ben Foskett (Taunton) pts unan; Kamil Tuzimek (Torbay) lost to Tom Herd (Combe Martin) rsc 2nd; Ollie Manly (Carl's Boxing Stable) lost to Lewis Foot (Body Shots) pts maj; Mario Grendysa (Torbay) lost to Jared Jones (Lympstone) pts unan.

TABLES are still available for Paignton ABC's dinner-show at the Berry Head Hotel, Brixham, on Friday, May 14. Tables of eight cost £300 (including a three course meal) and can be booked through Duane Barwood on 07971 528192.