It might have felt a long way from the Grand Garden Arena, but on Friday night some of Cambridge’s top boxers experienced the thrill and glamour of a big-ticket fight night as they took on representatives from some local club and university teams in the annual Town vs. Gown event.

With twelve bouts spanning three rounds to come, there was a palpable sense of excitement as the packed Guildhall, suitably decked in all the furnishings of a Las Vegas superfight, anticipated the arrival of the first boxers. And what followed certainly didn’t disappoint.

David Wen of Magdalene, up first against Rhiannon Lobo of Imperial London ABC, produced a storming third round, landing several quick-fire combinations in a frantic display, to win unanimously.

The subsequent two bouts were a slightly more sobering affair from a Cambridge perspective; Steve McGregor, President of CUABC, suffering a knock down in the first round and requiring a medical officer; and Pete Westcott, up against a heavier opponent, showing admirable resolve and no shortage of courage but suffering some severe blows to the head on the way to eventual defeat.

But the university's fortunes were set to change.

First, Harry Davidson, after a tight first two rounds, came out on top as the smaller boxer successfully traded punches in the third with Paolo Trofa of Ruislip & District ABC to get his opponent on the ropes. Billy Fitton, with a raucous Downing following cheering every punch, got a straight one through to the chin in the third against Hongo Wei of Nottingham University, and snatched a split decision victory in an evenly contested fight.

And, in the final bout before the interval, Theo Alli of Peterhouse put in a storming performance against Luke Thomas of the Royal Engineers Boxing Club. Moving in and out with great speed, and timing his counter-punches perfectly, it was a convincing win, and Alli’s roar as he leapt from the canvas left no doubt as to how he felt about the bout.

Cambridge's success took up where it left off after the interval. Matt Ashford of Sidney Sussex came up against Luke Cameron of Nottingham University, with the Cantab landing some big punches, reducing his opponent to a stationary defence by the end of the second round and winning unanimously.

In a real highlight of the evening, Ed Hezlet, only recently converted to the sport and one of a number of Cambridge fighters experiencing this sort of intensive competitive boxing for the first time, caught the crowd’s imagination with his response to some big hits in the first round. Having suffered several fearsome strikes to the jaw, it seemed only a matter of time before he would hit the canvas, but he showed great spirit to cling on, and his stirring flurry of punches in the third round secured a unanimous victory that was greeted with a standing ovation from an enthused audience.

In a more measured affair, Borna Guevel, an experienced member of the Cambridge team who has not fought competitively for some time, gave a nicely balanced performance, looking for the counter as his opponent swung forward and often getting the final punch through in their exchanges; he took a deserved win.

Mark Adamson of the Royal Engineers put a brief halt to the run of Cambridge victories. He and David Williams both took some heavy blows, but it was the Cambridge man who came off worse, and, after a particularly stinging jab, he was defeated by a technical KO.

The penultimate bout, an all-university concern with Mike Keebler of St John's taking on Stefan Nigam of Caius, gave the largely student crowd the chance to engage in some tribal fun. In a scrappy affair, the more creative elements of the two boxers’ techniques was only further testament to their passion, but as Stefan tired it was Mike who took the win.

In many ways it was a case of the best being saved till last, at least from a Cambridge perspective, as Jas Birk of St John's took on Dale Hughes of the Royal Engineers. The Cambridge man, with a rock-solid defence giving him the platform to move forward and execute some rapid combinations, quickly moved on top. Flooring his opponent twice in the second round, he took victory by technical KO, and the embrace he exchanged with his coach post-fight spoke volumes about the hard-work behind such a complete performance.

Thoughts now turn to the 108th Varsity Match, to be held in Cambridge on 1st March. This will have been invaluable experience for new and older members of the team alike, and positives aplenty can be taken into the final month of training for CUABC.