Bonito shows his class but just misses out in thrilling semi-final

The first round saw Bonito at his very best, unloading with fast, solid and heavy combinations and the Halsted fighter had Nihell on the back foot throughout.

However, in the second round, Nihell proved a strong, persistent boxer and young Bonito knew he was going to have his work cut out as both fighters kept the action close.

Points were picked up with eye-catching blows and both boxers, in turn, dominated the action throughout a tough display of quality and absorbing boxing.

Both boxers were in top form in the final round as they knew a win was vital.

And both men hit top gear as each in turn displayed every punch in the boxing manual – lead hands, back hands, uppercuts, left hooks and right hooks.

Confident boxing at its best was on display, but eventually Nihell switched to Bonito’s body with two short arm shots and slugged his way to a razor thin verdict.

The bout was by far the best fight of the semi-finals, with a close second involving Braintree’s Joe Bryant, who lost on a close points decision to a very tough and skilful opponent in Zoltan Csanadi, of All Stars ABC, and had the packed arena on its feet.

Head coach George Cook said: “These two boxers are two to watch for the future.”

Cook also thanked coaches Paul Turner, Richard Groves and the experienced technical coach Kipper Mackim for all the hard work they have put in at the gym preparing Bryant for the National Senior Development Class B Semi-Final Championships, where he received a bronze medal and is now ranked number three in the country.

Elsewhere, Joeseph Wiseman went head-to-head with a tough opponent from Dagenham Boxing Club.

Wiseman took the centre of the ring from the off but was eventually forced onto the backfoot as he struggled to negate his opponent’s long reach.

Although Wiseman had some success while slipping and rolling his opponent’s shots, he could not overcome his long reach and the bout went to the boy from Dagenham.