The past 10 months have seen mixed fortunes for the county's professional boxers. For some, dreams have been fulfilled, while others tasted defeat or have suffered setbacks to their aspirations.

March

Unbeaten Hornchurch middleweight Jason Ratcliff put weeks of injury and illness setbacks behind him when he resumed his career with an impressive points victory against Martin Jolley at York Hall, Bethnal Green.

On the same bill, Grays welterweight Darren Bruce notched another equally impressive victory to maintain his unbeaten record.

Basildon welterweight Georgie Smith was also in winning form, knocking out John Green at York Hall in just over a minute to set himself up for a crack at the IBO Inter Continental title.

April

Dominic Negus, began the year as the Southern Area cruiserweight champion, and hopes were high that he would successfully be able to defend his title against the powerful Bruce Scott at Edmonton.

Unfortunately for Negus, after a titanic battle, Scott's strength won the day in the ninth round.

June

Georgie Smith had the opportunity to avenge his only professional defeat at the Southend Leisure & Tennis Centre when he met Rimvidas Billius to contest the vacant IBO Inter Continental welterweight championship.

It was to be Smith's night. He emerged a points winner - much to the delight of his many fans.

Romford's former Com-monwealth light heavyweight champion Garry Delaney beat Darron Griffiths on points - this time while boxing as a cruiserweight.

September

York Hall provided the stage for Delaney's light heavyweight brother Mark, Romford bantamweight Francis Ampofo, and Darren Bruce to show what they were capable of - and each of them responded with a victory.

The best performance of the evening was served up when young Barking featherweight Marc P. Callaghan burst onto the professional scene to secure an all-action points victory over Kevin Shiel.

October

The Broadway Theatre, Barking saw Dominic Negus's return to the ring. This time out, Negus shared top of the bill with Brockley's Kevin Mitchel but, sadly, Negus was to taste defeat again.

At the end of the fourth round, Negus complained of a headache and dizziness and failed to come out for the fifth round - a disappointing conclusion to a fight in which Negus was more than holding his own, but a sensible decision, nonetheless.

Back again in Southend, Georgie Smith's fans had filled the venue to witness their hero's first defence of his IBO Inter Continental title. Facing Smith was Scotsman Charlie Kane and, for the following 12 rounds, their fortunes fluctuated.

In the end, it was down to the judges. Unfortunately for Smith, they decided Kane had done enough to wrest the title from his grasp.

Jason Ratcliff, however, secured yet another impressive victory, this time over Sean Pritchard.

Darren Bruce took just 46 seconds to dispose of Sean O'Neil, and Marc P. Callaghan, in only his second professional contest, beat that to knock out Nicky Wilders in just 42 seconds.

December

A bill at the Grundy Park Leisure Centre in Cheshunt saw Darren Bruce secure yet another quick victory - 40 seconds this time - and Dagenham youngster Nicky Cook, a super bantamweight, had a more than impressive debut, defeating Sean Grant inside a round.

Tips for 1999

Look out for Jason Ratcliff and Darren Bruce. This pair look certain for title honours within the next few months.

Promising youngsters Marc P. Callaghan and Nicky Cook look to be good bets to build on their successes of 1998.

Georgie Smith will be desperate to get his career back on track, and will have the opportunity to do so with a Southern Area title shot later this month, and Dominic Negus will also be looking to resume his winning ways after a disappointing 1998.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.