Chris heads for Commonwealth

From the archive, first published Wednesday 23rd Nov 2005.

TEENAGE boxing sensation Chris Jenkins has become the youngest boxer from Wales ever to be selected for the Commonwealth Games.

The 17-year-old Cwmgors Boxing Club prodigy was selected in the flyweight berth for the March 2006 Melbourne, Australia, games after giving a mature display in beating the British Four Nations Champion in convincing style.

Chris, who hails from Maes Yr Hendre in Garnant, beat Lee Lewis of Aberdare by a margin of ten points in only his second four-round bout. With the first round shared, Jenkins began to dominate in the second after landing a crunching left hook to the body midway through the round.

The third round saw Jenkins deliver two more left hooks to the body and switched to the head with a right cross which had Lewis in trouble on the ropes, where Chris again picked up some valuable points.

The fourth was a carbon copy of the previous round with the Cwmgors boxer dominating right up to the bell when he was given a standing ovation from the knowledgeable crowd.

Chris then had to endure a nail-biting week-long wait before the team for the Commonwealth Games was finally announced.

On November 21, Chris travelled to Ireland as part of the Welsh team to box in the multi-nations tournament before heading off to Lanzarote in January for a week of warm weather training. In March he's off to Thailand before the final stop at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

Meanwhile, Chris's older brother, Ian, will box in Bristol on Saturday (Nov 26) in the semi-finals of the British Championships after returning from Ireland with a good win under his belt against a very tough opponent.

Ian boxes Tom Finnegan of the Bexley club in London in what should be a battle of wits, with two stylish boxers facing each for the first time.

Not to be outdone, the third member of the Jenkins family, Kerry, also travelled to Ireland where he stopped his opponent in the second round with a display of fast one-two's followed by left hooks against a heavier and more experienced boy.

If Kerry keeps up this progress he will surely win the Welsh title this year. Cwmgors Boxing Club hold their annual show at Cwmgors Rugby Club on December 2.

This is a boxing and buffet show with tickets priced £10. Buy early as numbers are limited.

For tickets, contact Ronnie on 01269 825655 or 07886 943977, or any other member of the boxing club.

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Blood, sweat and tears

From the archive, first published Wednesday 12th Oct 2005.

BOXING fans crammed into Brynaman Rugby Club on Friday night to savour a line-up of the highest quality. The country's leading young pugilists headed to the Amman Valley as the Cwmgors club hosted the prestigious Welsh ABA semi-final box-offs. Leading the assault were local stars Shon Davies and Leon Trott, both of Towy ABC. Gorslas light heavyweight Davies looked confident and composed against the RAF's Ian Aldridge. Displaying his devastating power, he caught his opponent with some cracking shots and had Aldridge in real trouble in the fourth as he split his nose with some fierce hits. But in the end the decision went against him and the RAF man took it with a shock 19-12 majority decision. The result was tough on Davies, who had displayed real maturity against a tricky fighter. On another night, he could easily have won by KO. Leon Trott came up against a tough fighter from Merthyr in Robbie James in a frantic welterweight contest. The Betws thriller made a good start and landed some solid early punches. He seemed to have James in trouble a few times, but the durable Merthyr fighter recovered and came scrapping back. The start of the third round was vintage Trott as he unleashed an arsenal of devastating blows to delight the packed crowd, but again James toughed it out and lived to fight another day. It was all-out attack from the Towy fighter and in his relentless pursuit of an early finish, he was guilty of letting his guard drop and was caught by a few flailing shots from James, who took the win with a 23-16 points decision. Cwmgors starlet Chris Jenkins, although through to the finals via a default semi-final win due to the non-appearance of his opponent, was disappointed not to be able to take to the ring in front of his home fans. Two of his young stablemates did get the opportunity to show their promise, however, as Cwmgors ABC products Jamie Lee and Kerry Jenkins fought a no-holds-barred exhibition. It was an impressive display by both fighters, who did their club proud with a bout of no little skill that warmed the crowd nicely for the evening's main event.

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Coup for fight fans

From the archive, first published Thursday 29th Sep 2005.

AMMAN Valley boxing fans are in for a real treat next week.

The area has pulled off a major coup by attracting the Welsh Amateur Boxing Association semi-final box-offs. The prestigious event will be held at Brynaman Rugby Club on Friday, October 7.

It is thought that it is the first time that such a glittering bill has been held outside of the Cardiff/Newport area.

Three local boxers will be involved on the night - Leon Trott and Siôn Davies of Towy ABC and Chris Jenkins of Cwmgors. All bouts are senior 4x2 minute rounds.

The first bout gets underway at 8pm and admission is by ticket at £5 each. Organisers are urging punters to get their tickets early to avoid disappointment. To book tickets contact Brynaman Rugby Club or get in touch with Ronnie on 01269 825655 or 07886943977.

Cwmgors fighter Chris Jenkins is hoping to win a place on the Welsh Commonwealth Games team in the flyweight division.

Chris, the Welsh Youth captain, is making his debut at senior level. He will box the four round distance for the first time in his career against gold medallist Keith Spong of the Army.

Jenkins has just returned from Hungary where he competed in the European Youth Championships - rated next in line to the World Championships - against the Russian and East European countries and made an impact on the boxing fraternity with his skilful style and dedication.

He also won a silver medal at the Four Nations in Scotland and was considered very unlucky with some dubious scoring from the judges.

Jenkins proved his pedigree by beating the English champion at a weight above at the Englishman's home show in Ross on Wye.

Ian Jenkins, brother of Chris also from Cwmgors Boxing Club, has been selected to box for Wales against Norway at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, on October 14.

Ian, who has knuckled down to some serious training, is beginning to realise his full potential and could surprise a lot of people this year in the middleweight division. He is also entered in the Boys Club of Great Britain at the end of October.

Back in full training is brother number three, Kerry Jenkins, after narrowly losing the Welsh finals, along with Welsh champion Jamie Lee and Welsh runner-up Josh Jones.

Other to keep an eye on are silver medallist John Murphy and brother Anthony, along with newcomer Chris Jones, of Ammanford, a heavyweight who is a real a crowd-pleaser with a knockout punch in both hands.

Also waiting in the wings for the new season are three female boxers - Leanne Lewis from GCG at flyweight; Kerry Read from Skewen at welterweight; and Louise Morris from Garnant at middleweight.

A number of raw recruits such as Kieron Twoomey, Sean and Tom Lee, Nick Jenkins, Sean Lewis, Sean Griffiths and Jake Spowart are also showing a lot of promise for the future of Cwmgors boxing.

Cwmgors Boxing Club would also like to thank everyone who contributed towards a very successful 10-kilometre run.

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Chris packs a mighty punch

From the archive, first published Wednesday 20th Apr 2005.

A SET of talented young boxing brothers from Garnant are punching their way to the top of the game.

Christopher Jenkins, of Maes yr Hendre, won at Ross-on-Wye in what was the best bout of the night.

Brother Ceri has also been attracting rave reviews after his recent win at Wrexham.

Christopher, Ceri and their brother Ian are all members of Cwmgors Amateur Boxing Club, where they train under the guidance of Ronnie Morris.

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Local sports stars honoured

From the archive, first published Wednesday 29th Dec 2004.

GARNANT Golf club was the venue recently for a special presentation evening where awards were made to people from Cwmaman who have put the locality on the map with their sporting achievements.

Among those presented were members of the Welsh Kickboxing team, Robbie Jones (coach/team manager), Matthew Davies (Corfu-individual bronze medal, silver team); Joe James (Killarney, Welsh team member); Matthew Griffiths (Corfu Bronze individual); Gideon Evans (Corfu bronze individual); Daniel Fitzgerald (Killarney bronze individual); William Fitzgerald (Killarney bronze individual); Kevin Fitzgerald (Welsh team member, Killarney); Stephen Llewellyn (Killarney bronze individual); Simon Griffiths (Pisa, Italy bronze individaul), and Daniel Bowen (Killarney Welsh team member).

Also presented were the Welsh Boxing team contingent Ronnie Morris, Joanne Bromfield Robertson, and Christopher Jenkins (Welsh Champion four times, Bronze medalist NABC 2003, Silver medalist, Four Nations 2003; Gold medalist, Four Nations 2004, and British champion 2004). Garnant rugby player Ioan Cunningham was also honoured.

Ioan, from Twyn, won Welsh under-16 caps in 1999, Welsh under-18 caps in 2000 and 2001 and captained the side in 2001.

He was also part of the Welsh under-19 side in the world cup in Chile, South America, in 2002, captained the Welsh under-19s in 2003, and was capped for Wales under-21s this year.

Ioan is currently playing for Llanelli and recently represented the Barbarians against the Combined Services.

Alan Cockram and Tony Davies, employees of Carmarthenshire Council, also received recognition, while popular local GP Dr Frank Powell was honoured for his outstanding services to the community over many years.

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Chris robbed of gold

From the archive, first published Friday 20th Jun 2003.

THREE Cwmgors boxers representing Wales travelled to Edinburgh to compete in the four nations championships and returned with two silver medals and one bronze.

Garnant boxer Chris Jenkins won a silver medal but should have had gold but for an extremely controversial decision. Having won the silver by a score of 17 points to 9 against the favourite Rob Johnson of Scotland, Chris then boxed England's H Dainty.

A close first round ended with Chris beginning to hit home with some big right hands and solid body punching. The second saw Jenkins piling on the pressure and firing home some classic combinations with the English boxer having a standing count - Jenkins won the round with relative ease.

The third round was all Chris, who by now had Dainty retreating with hands held high trying to avoid the ferocity of his opponents' attack and again being rescued by the referee.

Then came the decision which was loudly booed by the crowed and prompted a strong protest from the Welsh team manager supported by the Welsh coaches and some of the other coaches, including the Irish and Scottish contingent. Most of the participating countries had Jenkins down as the boxer of the tournament.

The Irish champion closely beat Dean Jones who won a bronze medal. The Irish champion who won the gold stopped John Murphy, who beat an Englishman for the silver medal.

The boxing season now closes until October 1 but the gym will remain open during the summer for the grooming of the newcomers. Any person wishing to join and learn to box can turn up at the gym on Monday or Wednesday at 6pm. The gym is situated at the Cwmgors Village Workshops Units for a short period of time until completion of the new building.

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Fine display for Welsh champ

From the archive, first published Wednesday 28th May 2003.

WELL done Chris Jenkins of Cwmgors boxing club on his success in the Welsh Championship finals held at the Baglan Social Club, Port Talbot on Monday May 19, when he defeated Lloyd Grimes of Caerau boxing club, to become the Class A 42K champion of Wales with another fine display of boxing.

From the first bell Chris attacked the Caerau boxer with a two fisted arttack that had Grimes in defensive mode for the majority of the round, Chris then finished the round off with a fine display of accurate left jabs followed with some excellent right crosses.

Round 2 had the Cwmgors boy stretch his lead even further with some brilliant counter punching.

The third round saw Jenkins completely take over the bout with combination punches that would put many professional boxers to shame, and once again had the Caerau boxer in trouble until the final bell and to extend his unbeaten run further.

This win now means the Garnant lad will now represent Wales in the Four Nations Championships in Scotland against the English, Irish and Scottish Champions for the right to call himself the British Champion.

Cwmgors Boxing Club would like to congratulate Chris on an excellent season and wish him the best of luck in what appears to be a very successful future.

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Champion trio on form

From the archive, first published Saturday 24th May 2003.

CWMGORS Boxing Club held their final show of the season on May 9 at the Cwmgors Rugby Club.

Daniel Taylor was first in the ring against Joseph Thomas of the Premier Club in Swansea, and came out victorious with a fine display for a novice boxer with the judges awarding him an unanimous points win.

Next up was Joshua Jones who met the current Welsh champion Sean Egan from the Heads of the Valley Club, Ebbw Vale.

With Egan pressing for superiority in the first, he took the fight to Josh who had to defend for the full duration of the round.

The second round was evenly matched and Josh starting to get into his stride with some fine combinations, which had Egan on the retreat.

In the third round Josh was in total control, attacking Egan with some hard, well delivered combinations which had the Welsh champion in total disarray.

The crowd now sensing a victory for Josh were totally behind the Cwmgors boxer willing him on to a points victory and being awarded with the fight of the night trophy from the WABA judges.

The final Cwmgors boxer was middleweight Tommy Jones who shared the ring with Jamie Ambler of the Aberystwyth boxing club.

The bout started with the 6ft 3" Ambler teeing off with left-right combinations trying to keep Tommy at a distance.

The strength of Tommy was a bit too much for the gangly Aberystwyth fighter, however, who came in for a torrid time with Tommy staying in his face and hurting him with body shots and some fine uppercuts for the duration of the fight.

The Cwmgors boxer came away with a points win with all Cwmgors boxers getting the decision.

Chris Jenkins was presented with the Cwmgors Boxer of the Year trophy presented by Peter Allen, secretary of the Welsh Youth Committee, kindly donated by the Cwmgors Rugby Club.

Three Cwmgors boxers were in action in the semi-finals of the Welsh championships on May 14 at the Thomastown Social Club in the Rhondda.

Chris Jenkins, the unbeaten Class A youth, took on the British Silver medalist Daniel Harries from Swansea and displayed his talent in completely outclassing the premier boxer, who was widely regarded as the best 42K boxer in Britain having already won four Welsh titles.

Chris looked head and shoulders above his opponent in skill, balance, accuracy and speed of punch and went onto win the bout by a handsome margin.

Dean Jones carried the Cwmgors banner further by beating Jonny Dunn of the Trostre Club, Llanelli, by unanimous decision.

Ian Jenkins was unlucky to be drawn against Cornelius Price of the Prince of Wales Club, Cardiff.

And in only his eighth bout, Ian gave a gutsy display to go out on a narrow points loss.

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Line-up packs a punch

From the archive, first published Saturday 10th May 2003.

CWMGORS Boxing Club hold their final boxing tournament of the season at Cwmgors Rugby Club on Friday, May 9.

Featuring on the bill is Cwmgors schoolboy and Welsh finalist Joshua Jones who is up against the reigning Welsh champion from Ebbw Vale and should be a very competitive contest with Josh hoping to prove that he is the true champion.

Other Cwmgors boxers on the bill is the durable middleweight Tommy Jones, brother Dean Jones and hopefully Ian and Chris Jenkins from Garnant who are currently involved in the Welsh Youth Championships.

Good luck to Chris Jenkins who hopefully will carry on his very successful season and remain unbeaten after his brilliant performance in defeating the British Silver medalist three weeks ago. A Welsh Championship win for any of the boys means they will represent Wales at the four nations competition in Scotland.

Tickets are priced £10 which also includes a buffet.

Any person wanting tickets, wish to sponsor any of the bouts or any other information should contact Ronnie Morris on (01269) 825655 or any member of the Boxing Club. Limited amount of tickets available so please book yours early.

Cwmgors Boxing Club wish to thank all who helped them through a difficult time while their new headquarters are being built and hope to see them at the official opening later on in the year.

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Landfill cash boost

From the archive, first published Friday 25th Oct 2002.

WORK on a £410,000 sports pavilion at Parc y Werin, Gwaun cae Gurwen, will begin at the end of the month.

Neath Port Talbot Council have announced that funds from the Pwllfawatkin landfill site will fund a purpose-built sports pavilion to serve the local community.

It will house changing facilities and showers for four teams and officials, together with a multi-purpose room.

Local county councillor, Catrin Llewelyn, said the new pavilion would be of great benefit to the community.

"This is a positive facility," she declared. "The old site was in a state of disarray.

"But the proposed pavilion and multi-purpose games area provides an ideal place for children to play, even at night, because it has flood lights."

Cllr Llewelyn added: "I think this pavilion will improve the confidence residents have in their community."

The new sports pavilion will replace an old one on the same site which has been closed for the past two years because of its poor condition.

The new facility should be ready for use by May of next year.

Cwmgors RFC has been using temporary facilities in the nearby school and will continue to do so until the new pavilion is available.

The Cwmgors Boxing Club is also eagerly awaiting the new facilities, so that they can return to the venue.

Cabinet Member for Leisure and Cultural Services at Neath Port Talbot, Colin Crowley, said: "I am pleased that a start is now about to be made on the new facilities.

"The local community and sports clubs in particular, have been very patient waiting for this and have had to put up with difficult conditions in the process."

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Boxing bash has a mouthwatering bill

From the archive, first published Thursday 2nd May 2002.

CWMGORS ABC will hold an Amateur Boxing Tournament, with buffet included, on Friday, May 10, at Cwmgors RFC.

Local boxers on show will include Welsh champions Santtino D'Angelo, Ian Jenkins and Chris Jenkins, along with Martin Jones. Making his debut appearance for the club will be Joshua Jones.

Santtino, who is scheduled to fight Chris Evans of Fleur De Lys - the reigning Welsh Champion at a higher weight - will have a tough battle on his hands, now regarded as one of the most improved boxers in Wales. Santtino's commitment to his training this season has brought many rewards.

Chris Jenkins is back in the ring after his demolition of O'Sullivan.

Older brother Ian Jenkins is matched against Alex Herbert, also of Cwmbran, who is another tough customer. Ian will certainly have to be on his top form to see off Alex's challenge.

Martin Jones will be steaming into the ring when he tackles Luke Williams of Rhoose, who previously beat him last time out. Martin, who stopped his previous two opponents in emphatic style is hoping to reverse the decision on his home territory.

Cwmgors ABC debutante Joshua Jones will take on T. Kelland of Rhoose.

Also on the mouth-watering bill are two of the best female boxers in Britain. Rebecca Price of Newport is matched up against Lana Cooper of Bargoed.

The Jones brothers of Trostre ABC are also on the bill. Tommy, takes on Jonathan Evans (Fleur De Lys ABC) in a guaranteed ferocious contest if fought in the same context as their Welsh Final encounter when Tommy took the Welsh Vest from the former champion.

Younger brother Dean faces Shaun Cronin of All Saints ABC in Caerphilly, the nephew of former professional boxer Dennis, who fought Chris Eubank among other top names!

Two other Trostre ABC boxers, heavyweight Owen Harries and light-heavyweight Darren Tippler, have tough opponents in Alan Holloway (Rhoose ABC) and Paul McGann (Ebbw Vale ABC) respectively.

Other boxers on the extensive bill will travel from Cwmcarn, Gelligaer, Rhondda, Bridgend and Maesteg.

For tournament tickets phone Ronnie Morris on (01269) 825655.

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Boxing stars

From the archive, first published Friday 4th Jan 2002.

CWMGORS Amateur Boxing Club's new talent Martin Jones proved to be the star of the show at Trostre ABC's Boxing Tournament at the Sol Club in Llanelli. The Amman Valley schoolboy, who was making his boxing debut, impressed in the square ring as he caused the only stoppage of the night. Eager Jones leapt into immediate action and gave his opponent, Gareth David of Maesteg, a bloodied nose in the opening round. Jones remained in the ascendancy throughout, knocking his opponent down in the second round, before the referee halted proceedings in the third and awarded the fight to an elated Jones. Boxing brothers Santinno and Riccardo D'Angelo both enjoyed majority wins in their bouts. Santinno had an enthralling schoolboy match against Jonathan Lloyd of Gelligaer ABC. In the opening round D'Angelo's perseverance saw him land several heavy head and body punches. In a busy second round both fighters gave no ground, with D'Angelo's constant march forward and accuracy with the gloves winning him the fight in an entertaining third round. Brother Ricardo D'Angelo took on Carl Knott of Bargoed ABC in a youth contest. The first round was an even affair. During the second round D'Angelo persistently stuck at it and managed to get some point scoring shots through Knott's heavy guard. The third round was a heart-stopper, with smart combinations reigning in from both. D'Angelo deservedly hoisted aloft the winners trophy at the end of the tough contest. Chris Jenkins unluckily lost his bout against Nathan O'Sullivan of Gelligaer ABC. Nearly all of the spectators thought that Jenkins had won, but to their surprise it was O'Sullivan who impressed the judges and won by a majority decision in what was a brilliant schoolboy contest that drew a rapturous applause. Ian Jenkins' schoolboy bout against Daniel Evans of Cynon Taf ABC proved to be a painful experience for the Cwmgors pugilist as he received a bloody nose in the opening round. Jenkins managed a late surge in the third round, but it proved too late as Evans won by a majority decision.

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