It was mixed results for Banbury’s boxing twin brothers as they travelled to south Oxfordshire to compete at the finals of the Home Counties Development Championship on Sunday (October 6).

Banbury Boxing Club’s talented twins Chris and Johnny Taylor were in action again just two weeks after their dominating performances in Carterton.

This time the 16-year-olds travelled to Berinsfield ABC to battle it out against the very best development boxers in the home counties region.

Lighter of the two, Chris was first in the ring, against Hemel Hempstead’s Sydney Adams in the under 63.5kg category.

Coach at Banbury Boxing Club Ben Malcher, Chris Taylor, Johnny Taylor and coach Reggie Brown.

placeholder image — Coach at Banbury Boxing Club Ben Malcher, Chris Taylor, Johnny Taylor and coach Reggie Brown.

Both boxers came into the bout with reputations as aggressive and high-energy come-forward fighters.

Sydney initially took the centre of the ring and used his strength to push Chris against the ropes and land explosive hooks and uppercuts.

However, Chris remained calm under pressure, using head movement and defensive skills to avoid serious trouble.

The Banbury boxer grew into the contest as it progressed and landed several eye-catching counterpunches on the Hemel Hempstead teenager.

This led the judges to award Chris a 4-1 split decision, which saw him crowned Home Counties Development Champion.

Chris will now compete against 18-year-old Max Barnes from Bath, the current Western Counties Champion in the quarterfinals of the national competition next Sunday (October 13).

Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be for Johnny, who jumped in the ring shortly after Chris had been announced the winner of this contest.

Johnny faced the experienced Sherzaad Dildar from Leo’s Gym in Ware, Hertfordshire in the 67kg Home Counties Development Championship finals.

Spurred on by his brother's win Johnny wasted no time and ran to the centre of the ring to assert his dominance in the first round.

Setting a fast pace, Johnny attempted to overwhelm his opponent by cutting down the ring and landing heavy punches to the body and head.

Banbury coaches believed Johnny had done enough to take the first round, but Sherzaad was able to adjust to Johnny's aggression in the second and third.

The Hertfordshire boxer was able to take advantage of the large 18-foot championship ring and used clever footwork and counterpunching to claim the bout.

His smart boxing on the outside and ability to stay out of trouble saw Sherzaad awarded a unanimous decision victory.