Basildon Freestyle Kickboxing club's biggest-ever fight programme proved a huge hit as a 600-plus crowd witnessed an action-packed evening at the Eversley Centre.

The highlight of the night was Basildon fighter Dave Jenkins' eagerly awaited title defence of his 64kg commonwealth crown.

The big crowd were not disappointed as a fired-up Jenkins traded blows with Fulham opponent, David Bailey, over seven rounds.

From the opening bell, the noise level nearly brought the roof off the Pitsea venue as 30-year-old Jenkins used his years of experience to full advantage.

After a fast and furious encounter, the judges declared that Jenkins had been the sharper of the two fighters and he retained his title to the delight of the crowd.

Two other Basildon stars put on strong performances with Scott Cameron and Ricky Judd taking the spoils in their respective fights.

Cameron, 18, proved he is back to his very best with a dazzling win over 30-year-old Grant Waterman. After five rounds of frantic exchanges, it was the Basildon fighter's sheer power and determination which earned him a points decision.

Young Judd elated the Eversley Centre crowd with a typically clinical display against Cambridgeshire's Scott Bloodworth.

Despite giving away 4kg to his opposite number, 17-year-old Judd used his lightning-quick feet and long-reaching jabs to wear down his highly-rated opponent.

Spurred on by a considerable fan base, Judd moved up a gear in the third round to land an accurate combination of hooks and jabs.

Bloodworth ended the round with a broken and bloody nose and the referee had no choice but to end proceedings in Judd's favour.

The evening proved a huge success for the host club with additional wins for David Sutton, Jay Anderson, Toni Clark and Zeki Barrudin.

New Towner Gary Brennan retained his Eastern Counties title after his opponent failed to show.

Basildon's Neil Burns won his battle with Michael Plant after a first round stoppage with Thomas Alan disposing of Daniel Flack to claim the Southern Area crown.

Best foot forward - Ricky Judd, right, lets loose with a right roundhouse kick. The Basildon fighter needed just three rounds to dispose of his opponent, Scott Bloodworth

Pictures: STEVE O'CONNELL

Proud trainers sing praises

Basildon Freestyle Kickboxing Club trainers Chris Day and Rob Judd were delighted following their club's first-ever staging of a title fight programmme at Pitsea's Eversley Centre.

The pair, who have seen their membership of several develop into a club boasting 120 fighters over the past couple of years, had nothing but praise for all involved.

As the dust settled at the Eversley Centre, Day said: "It really has been a huge success and the quality from the fighters has been excellent.

"I would like to say a big thank you to our cornerman, Andy Brown, for doing a fantastic job throughout the night.

Judd added: "The crowd was awesome . . . and we even had to turn people away at the beginning of the evening because we were packed to the rafters!

"It's a great boost for the fighters to perform on home soil and, through the Echo, we would like to thank all the supporters and sponsors who helped make the evening such a success."

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