FIGHTERS from two Flintshire clubs wowed the crowds at a big Thai Boxing night. The sold-out show at Chester Race-course witnessed top displays from members of Russ Williams' Thai Kick-boxing Centre in Caerwys, and from Mike Thomas' Thai Boxing Club in Flint. One of Williams' top pupils, Connah's Quay's Jamie Ricketts - who is both the British and Commonwealth Ladies champion - had her fight with Bournemouth's Denise Miller cancelled at the last minute, which gave Damien Robinson the chance to step into the limelight. Robinson, who is 6ft 6ins and weighs over 21 stone, simply had too much power for Cork visitor Shaun O'Reilly, as he stopped his Irish opponent in the first round - making it two wins out of two for the powerhouse. Williams, who is a former kickboxing world champion, also saw his North West Schoolboy title holder Ryan Collins - who's from Pentre Halkyn - see off Flint fighter John Ofland. And there was a win for Jimmy Parry, who beat his Liverpool opponent on points, while there were draws for Will Killow and Gareth Lloyd. Mike Thomas had a whole host of his fighters in action too. Two of the club's youngest members, Ben Davies from Holywell and Connah's Quay's Scott Woodward, continued their development with promising performances. Mike's daughter Beth had to settle for a draw against Warrington's Emma Cains, even though many in the crowd thought she had done enough to win it. There was a draw for Richie Postle, who trains with the club when he is not away working on the rigs. But there was disappointment for Dino Lommano and Matt Inskip. The 16-year-old Lommano was all set for his fight, only to see his opponent withdraw, while highly-rated Inskip lost out to a more experienced fighter. Instructor Thomas said: 'We were really gutted for Dino because he worked so hard for the fight. But the lad he was facing obviously didn't think it would be a fair fight and you have to respect the trainers' decision to remove his man. 'Matt's struggling to find someone to fight in his weight category, because people look at his condition and can't believe he's had so few fights. 'So he's giving a lot away in terms of weight and experience. But he's doing very well and we're all very pleased with him. 'All in all it was a very good night. As a lot of the fighters were from Flintshire, Chester and Ellesmere Port, there was a great camaraderie and I think the people who paid to watch it would have been very pleased, because there was some really good fights.' | 
