Derrylin Boxing Club hosted another highly entertaining boxing tournament with some thrilling contests to entertain the packed crowd at the Mountview, Derrylin last Saturday night.

The evening got off to a shaky start for the hosts when in the opening contest Pearse Mulligan was disqualified at the start of round two for leaving the ring.

Mulligan started brightly and looked to have just edged the opener against Reese Owens (Enniskillen BC) but the occasion got to him and he left the ring before the contest completed handing his opponent victory.

The Derrylin and Enniskillen rivalry continued in the next contest and the host's Brandon Cassidy used his height and reach advantages very well scoring with good right crosses to outpoint Mark Kells in a tough contest to score Derrylin's first win of the evening.

Derrylin's Ryan Copeland maintained his unbeaten record and scored his third victory in a tough battle against Michael McElroy (Immaculata Strabane BC). Southpaw McElroy caused Copeland many problems but the constant pressure and a standing count against his opponent saw the Derrylin favourite secure a majority points win.

Enniskillen Boxing Club finished their evening on a high when James McGrail scored a water tight majority points decision over Derrylin's Joe Gannon. Gannon making his debut matched his opponent punch for punch but the entertaining and very close contest deservedly went to the visitor.

Derrylin had three boxers represent the Tyrone & Fermanagh team against the Romford ABC side.

Despite conceding age and experience to his opponent, Aaron Burns was unfazed and put in a gutsy display to compete on level terms with Paul Claydon. But the Londoners cleaner and more eye-catching shots saw him earn a deserved point win.

Hanlon Crowley got Derrylin back to winning ways and scored his second victory over the talented Mohammed Sheeraz. Crowley narrowly beat Sheeraz in London last October but registered a clear unanimous points win this time in a very technical contest between two very skilful combatants.

With the team match tied at 2-2 it was up to Derrylin's Marty Reilly to secure victory against Conor Atkins. Reilly was in scintillating form and managed to get close to his very tall and well-schooled opponent.

The contest was an absolute thriller and had the crowd on their feet from start to finish. Both boxers landed with some quality heavy punches, Atkins notably with his cork-screw upper cuts and Reilly with his solid left hooks and body shots.

Reilly forced his opponent into a war of attrition and managed to outwork him on route to collecting a well-earned unanimous decision.

The evening finished on a high for Derrylin; with Sean Crudden in his final ring appearance after 20 years in the sport outworking Mantvydas Lukavskis (Dungannon BC) to earn a unanimous points decision.

Lukavskis was a quality opponent and last season won an Ulster Intermediate title up at Cruiserweight but Crudden started well and his bright start ultimately won the contest. Crudden landed with the cleaner shots in the opener to establish a good lead but in the next two sessions Lukavskis fought back gamely to put the decision in doubt.

However, all three judges saw Crudden as the victor and he now bows out of the sport on the back of two good wins both against Ulster Intermediate champions and gave the hosts their fifth win of the evening in the process.

The programme started with Derrylin nursery squad Conal McGovern, Harris Crowley and Mark O'Reilly in exhibition contests against opponents from Two Castles BC and also featured Andrew Ferguson and Dylan Maughan in tough battles against Gary Duffy (Immaculata Strabane BC) and Lawrence McCarthy (Clones BC) respectively.

Also on the bill was Nine Counties & Ulster Youth Champion Anthony Malanaphy who gave the crowd a taste of his talent in an exhibition contest with Noel McGrew (Clones BC). Malanaphy subsequently collected the club's "Boxer of the Year" award at the end of his contest.

Derrylin Boxing Club Head Coach Sean Crowley commented, "We wish to thank all the supporters and sponsors that made this event possible. Once again the club demonstrated that we have a great batch of talented boxers and some great prospects coming through.

Reilly and Hanlon did brilliantly to win their tough matches against high calibre opponents to secure victory for the county in the team match.

But full kudos to Sean Crudden he had to call upon all his years of experience to outsmart a quality opponent and finish his career on a win.

"Make no mistake, Lukavskis is a very talented boxer and it was a great win for Sean. I don't believe in giving my boxers easy matches (even after 20 years) and Sean had to really earn his win tonight and hopefully that makes it extra special when he looks back on tonight."