Andy O'Neill provided arguably the most spectacular moment of the night when Hayes Amateur Boxing Club held it first open show of the new season, writes Terry Blackmore.

The Hayes fighter had a packed house at Hayes Working Men's Club on its feet within seconds of the opening round in his clash with Slough's Gavin Yip.

Yip is a tough cookie but the sound of the first bell had barely died away when he was hit on the button by a corking right hand and despite bravely trying to beat the count his legs were like jelly and the referee had no option but to stop the contest.

It was some start to the second half of the evening which featured the senior boxers and the crowd became very involved when Elvis Mandonbo, the host club's answer to Prince Naseem Hamed, stepped into the ring.

The tall, lean Mandonbo is undoubtedly talented and very flamboyant, maybe too much so as he boxes with his hands at half-mast and relies on his speed and footwork to keep him out of trouble.

Slough's Dan Hookey, a squat, sturdy, no-nonsense boxer who stands square and keeps coming forward, was his oposite and although it would be true to say that Mandonbo boxed Hookey's ears off, the referee, having already warned the Hayes man not to showboat, deducted him a point for doing just that at the start of the second round.

The crowd loved Mandonbo's style and he loves to play up to them, but it did not go down well with the referee and judges and Hookey was awarded a unanimous points decision, which was greeted with howls of derision by the audience.

Darren McKenna of Hayes edged the first of a four-round clash with Henry Smith of Camberley and he saved the judges from making a decision when in the second he landed a huge right which left his opponent unable to continue.

The final Hayes boxer into the ring was Ryan Toms, who landed some telling blows on Finchley's Will O'Reilly in the first round.

Toms rocked his opponent with some powerful combinations and followed that with more of the same in the second, forcing O'Reilly to take a standing count.

The Finchley man held out to the end but Toms was a clear winner and won by a unanimous decision.

The night had begun with fights involving junior boxers, led off by members of the Finchley and Fitzroy Lodge clubs, before Zammir Khan became the first Hayes boy to step into the ring.

Khan played his part in three very classy rounds with Finchley's Jordan Grannum but he lost a very close decision, which was not helped by being deducted a point for holding in the last round.

Martin McDonagh was next up, a bright prospect but he has been limited to only one previous contest and that was a couple of years ago, because of injury and an asthma problem.

Ewan Brown of Fitzroy Lodge was a strong opponent but McDonagh boxed behind a snappy left lead, building up a comfortable points advantage and that stood him in good stead as he tired noticeably in the third round, before earning a unanimous decision.

Hayes clubmate Josh Winward was pitted against Paul Smith of Camberley in the last contest of the junior section.

They are both seriously big lads for juniors, both nearing 17 years of age and they look and hit like men.

Winward can bang, as they say in the trade, but Smith seemed impervious to whatever was thrown at him and just kept coming forward. After three rounds in which Winward had landed some haymakers, Smith was still standing and still taking the fight to the Hayes boy, but Windward took a unanimous decision before an appreciative crowd.

His success helped Hayes to a record of six wins and two defeats from bouts involving club members, while five other contests featured fighters from outside the borough.

* New Hayes sponsor Eddie Howes also presented a generous cheque during the interval.

Howes, the club's vice-president and owner of Quickseal, which manufactures glass products including double glazing from its base in Bentinck Road, West Drayton, provided the money which will help Hayes buy new equipment for their new gym.

The club's next event is the Christmas Dinner/Boxing show which will be held at the Heathrow Thistle Hotel, Longford, on Monday, December 8.