A CAPACITY crowd were treated to a thrilling night as Evesham High School hosted the Vale's first boxing event in more than 10 years.

There were 13 bouts but the best was between Worcester Amateur Boxing Club's Adam Harper and Stoke's Nathan Heaney for the vacant Uni Box central inter middleweight title.

Harper started in typically aggressive style, attacking from a tight guard against the taller Heaney.

They were roared on by terrific support and round two saw Heaney land heavy hooks before a stunning final three minutes.

Both corners thought their man had done enough but Heaney got the nod.

The other stand-out bout was the Uni Box inter light heavyweight title clash between champion Tyler Denny and Thomas Hartnett.

Denny remained strong and saw out late attacks to take a close but fair points decision.

Uni Box central elite super heavyweight champion Karolis Baubkus (Kettering) lost his crown to the powerful Russ Henshaw, of Trinity ABC in Ilkeston.

Elite middleweight king Zaheer Asghar retained his title, while Joe Doyle (Droitwich) got the decision against Brayden Davies (Donnington, Telford).

Promoter Todd Reeves said: "The atmosphere in the hall was incredible, worthy of an ABA finals. The headguards being off made a difference and led to some tough bouts.

"I'm so pleased to have brought boxing back to Evesham. A big thank you must go to James Cox and the team at Evesham High School, who have been fantastic throughout the build-up to the event.

"I will certainly be bringing more boxing to Evesham this year."