First up was 17-year-old debutante Chris Ferns who had to give away age, weight and experience to get his club off to a flying start. Ferns boxed clever on the outside and didn't allow his opponent to bully or frustrate him as he gave his career the perfect building foundation with a convincing points win in difficult surroundings.

Derek Skinner had a daunting task as he was lined up against Davinder Summell who is the world number 12 at the age group above Derek and had been previously undefeated in Scotland. This was a close contest but Derek's grit and determination reaped the benefits for him to get the nod after three hard fought rounds.

In action for the first time in over 14 months, Chris Craig could not have had a bigger task, facing Paisley's Sean Dick, who is also a full time army soldier and a senior Scottish Championship bronze medallist this season. After a slow start as one would expect following such a lengthy lay off Chris soon dominated his adversary and won through with superior hand speed and thunderous body shots. This was Chris's first four round outing and it clearly suited the Kilsyth athlete.

Club secretary John McCluskey said: "You can't ask more than three from three. All had really tough contests and all had immense pressure on them as it was Chris Ferns first bout, Derek was facing a world-ranked opponent and Chris Craig has just come back after a couple of operations.

"I needed to see whether Chris was at the level I would have expected if he hadn't had the injury as the Commonwealth Games in Delhi are only two years away and the jackpot tournaments of London 2012 and Glasgow 2014 are looming. Selection for these happens well in advance of the events so we don't have time to waste going back to square one.

"Now we know exactly where he is, we know what we need to do to ensure Chris has the best opportunity for selection. This is not a distant, hopeful flight of fancy, we know who his competition are and it is up to us to make sure he peaks at the right time to impress the selectors.
We are also delighted to have expanded the coaching staff with the addition of John Heaney who had boxed at Croy Miners and has been coaching at the famous Zetland Club for the past five years. It's good to have fresh perspective and John has integrated into the team very well."

Five more Kilsyth boxers will be in action on Saturday in East Kilbride and a further five the following week in Moodiesburn as preparations for the Golden Gloves June 6 Show gathers a head of steam. The event has almost sold out at the moment so anyone wishing tickets, priced £15, should call Francis Connor on 07957 951563 or John McCluskey on 07840 051497 to avoid disappointment.