Boxing's first Isle of Man Challenge trophy is heading back to the East Midlands after a select team from the region triumphed over hosts Manx ABC on Saturday evening.

In the atmospheric surroundings of the Villa Marina's Royal Hall, the visitors were in impressive form winning 12 of the 14 bouts between the two sets of pugilists.

Preventing a 'blue-wash' were junior Harley Suwinski and team captain Tom Murray.

The latter brought the night to a crackling crescendo with a gutsy light-heavyweight victory over Alfahyid Hafiz.

Both men traded shuddering blows in the early part of the three-round contest that was later voted bout of the night by show sponsor Fitness Pod.

Nevertheless it was Hafiz that made the early headway, giving Murray a swollen right eye in the first few minutes of the elite match-up.

Such was the swelling that ringside doctor Muhammad Iqbal was called by the referee to determine whether the Manx ABC talisman could continue.

After a short delay, Dr Iqbal passed Murray fit to carry on in the second round and he soon began to get a foothold in the fight.

By the third and final round Murray was in the ascendancy, his tireless performance matched by a vocal home crowd.

With the result in the balance, Murray pushed to the final bell his relentless efforts earning him a standing ovation from the Royal Hall and the ringside judges' split decision.

Suwinski was Manx ABC's other winner in another hard-fought junior bout with Joe-Lewis Wilshire.

Like Murray, Suwinski had to show his resilience as he was the subject to an early barrage from Wilshire that resulted in the island fighter receiving a standing count from the referee.

Suwinski recovered well, but Wilshire still seemed to have the edge until he was docked a point by the referee.

The decision gave Suwinski a way back into the fight and he produced a big final round landing some clean hits on his opponent.

Both fighters fought themselves almost to a standstill by the end of the six-minute contest, but the island fighter had done enough to tip the ringside judges' split decision in his favour.

The evening kicked off with a bit of history as Stanley Fick became the youngest person to represent the club when he took on Sam Watkin in a non-competitive skills bout.

Fellow Manx ABC youngster Ronan Philbin continued his apprenticeship with a skills bout against Frankie Rigan from the Birkenhead Venture club.

Rigan's fellow Merseyside boxer, Cormac Farrell, guested for the hosts in the first of the evening's Challenge Cup matches against the East Midlands' Ijaaz Khalled.

Khalled showed signs of what was to come as he secured the judges' unanimous decision.

Louis Graham was the next Manx youngster in action against Rayan Khan.

The taller Khan's reach gave him the early advantage before Graham enjoyed some success with his jab.

Khan stepped up the tempo in the second round, and Graham was given a standing count before the referee stopped the fight in Khan's favour at the start of the third and final round.

Drew Suwinski was next up to try and blunt the East Midlands' good start against Ethan Kettleborough.

The pair initially produced an old-fashioned 'tear up' before a scrappy junior encounter developed that saw both tied up in the middle of the ring.

Suwinski had his best round in the third, but it was Kettleborough who had his hand raised after the final bell.

Josh Duggan was up against it from the off against Harlan Murray who came out of the blocks quickly landing a flurry of punches.

Duggan boxed his way back into the contest, but was given a standing count in the third round as Murray sealed the victory.

The East Midlands side continued to underline their class as the evening continued.

Isobel Priestley stopped Manx ABC junior Amy Hawood in the first before team-mate Dara Bailey's fight with Leighton Forbes was brought to a first-round conclusion by the referee.

Xander Sutherland was the next to feel the full force of the visitors as he was beaten by Alfie Atterby.

After an even start Sutherland was caught by a couple of Atterby's dangerous hooks that resulted in a standing count being issued to the Manx fighter.

Atterby continued to edge the contest and despite tiring in the final round he held on to claim the judges' unanimous decision.

Keelan Redfearn started the second half of the night against the Midlands' Tommy Collins.

The latter produced an impressive performance versus the Manx youth, landing some big hits which forced the referee to issue two standing counts of eight to the islander in the opening round.

Redfearn began to find his range, but the referee stopped the bout in the second.

Alisha Craine made a frantic start to her lightweight contest with the East Midlands' Charlotte Spenser.

Craine held the centre of the ring well in an even opening round. The Manx fighter's measured and efficient style was in contrast against the frenetic approach of Spencer, but it was the English boxer that claimed the ringside judges' unanimous decision.

Crowd favourite Pedro Cardoso was next in action against southpaw Emmanuel Appiah.

After a scrappy start both fighters began to find their range in the second round, Appiah landing two big blows that rocked the Manx ABC light-middleweight.

A standing count followed in the third before the fight was stopped in the final round after Cardoso had been knocked to the canvas.

Light heavyweight James Drewery and heavyweight Adam French also met opponents in good form.

Drewery was stopped in the first round by Abel Ondaye, while French received a bloody nose from Elliot Harris as his fight was also brought to an abrupt end in the opening few minutes.

The Manx ABC will be back at the Villa Marina in October for their second show of the year. More details soon.