A HOST of fighters from Winspers Kickboxing Gym strutted their stuff in front of a 300 strong crowd at Kidderminster Town Hall as they took on rivals from across the country on Sunday.

The gym put on a show, called ‘Kidderminster versus The Nation’, which saw the district’s best kickboxers test their mettle again high quality opponents from around the country.

The tournament also raised £300 for Kidderminster’s Ex-Servicemen and Women’s Trust and was watched by the fiance of Lance Corporal Richard Brandon, who died serving in Afghanistan.

Beacon radio presenter Jon Wyer kicked the show off before the action got underway.

Teenager Dominic Hill, 15, started the tournament by winning a tough opening fight in points to edge out an opponent from Halesowen.

Youth fighter Ryan Gifford, 11, was next to step up and claim a win for the home town after securing a points victory convincingly.

Newcomer, Sian Davis fought next in the women’s lightweight division against a rival from Redditch and made it three wins out of three after the referee stopped the fight.

Fifteen-year-old Connor Porter, who also coaches juniors at the gym, stopped his opponent in the third round and caught the eye of watching promoters.

Winspers coach Rachel Green was expected to have one of her toughest fights to date yet in the women’s lightweight division against the experienced Vikki Ranson from TS Kickboxing in Stevenage. However, the Wyre Forest fighter came out strong at the sound of the first bell and won on points.

Fan favourite and Bewdley Town FC player Craig Webb made his debut against a tall and strong opponent from Redditch in the men’s light-heavyweight division.

Both fighters came out swinging but a clean head kick from the Kidderminster man floored his opponent within the first 15 seconds.

Webb floored his opponent for a second time with a punch combination and despite his opponent’s determination to carry on, the referee stopped the fight in the first round.

Bewdley’s James Collings put on a great performance in the men's middleweight division, stopping his opponent from Stevenage in the second round with a beautifully timed punch combination.

The show ended with a raucous atmosphere as Michael ‘Morphy’ Clarke, who had made a memorable entrance accompanied by booming rap music, took on Lincoln’s Tom Smart.

Clarke fought intelligently and kept Smart at bay with his strong and quick kicking strikes and won the bout on points.

Barry Stone and Josh Hodson also made their debuts in the men’s middleweight and youths lightweight divisions respectively, and although they both lost, they both deserve credit for putting on brave displays. Both fights were closely contested and had to go to the score cards to determine a winner.

Winspers Gym are holding free training for the rest of the year, anyone interested can call 01562 865195 or email winspers@btconncet.com