Dewsbury boxers pay tribute to trainer Keith Tate before KBW home show

Dewsbury boxers paid tribute to local trainer Keith Tate, who passed away after a short battle with stomach cancer aged 74 years old.
KBW boxer Saad Zaaman faced Training Cave debutant Luke Heaton on his club's home show in Dewsbury. Picture: Sam YoungKBW boxer Saad Zaaman faced Training Cave debutant Luke Heaton on his club's home show in Dewsbury. Picture: Sam Young
KBW boxer Saad Zaaman faced Training Cave debutant Luke Heaton on his club's home show in Dewsbury. Picture: Sam Young

Mr Tate founded the Cleckheaton Boxing Academy in 1975 and ran it for over 40 years and tributes have flooded in, including at the KBW Gym’s home show in Dewsbury.

Mr Tate — who nurtured the talents of Dewsbury’s former British super featherweight champion Gary Sykes and Robertttown Commonwealth welterweight champion James Hare — was given the traditional 10-bell salute during the evening.

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Another action packed night started off with two entertaining skills bouts between Reiss Sadiq (KBW) and Ajay Mitchell (H Hour) plus Plusahad Bashir (KBW) against Robin Moss (Hebden Bridge) when the young competitors showcased an excellent skill set of boxing which did their which did their clubs proud.

The first competitive bout of the evening was between Declan Shipley (Evolve BC) and Kane Lynn from Birstall’s Training Cave at 43KG.

Shipley made a fast start to the fight but Lynn boxed out of a high guard and kept his opponent at bay with his longer reach to earn victory.

KBW’s Bilal Patel made his full debut against Archie Harrison, from Freedom BC, at 56kg over three two minute rounds.

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Patel made a nervous start to the fight but once he settled, his eye catching combinations began to land cleanly.

Harrison tried his best to counter Bilal but the Dewsbury southpaw used his excellent footwork and head movement to avoid the blows.

The second round saw the same pattern with Bilal being the busier and more effective fighter.

Harrison stepped up his efforts in the third but the bout was awarded to Patel by unanimous decision.

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KBW’s Jerry Price made his long-awaited comeback after more than a year out of the ring as he met Jamie Walker, from Walkerfield BC.

Price showed some ring rust, missing with some of his shots and was not judging his distance and Walker took advantage of this and was able to land his own combinations.

The second round saw Price back to his best, landing some beautiful combinations.

Price picked his opponent with some perfect one-two combinations in the third and was awarded the 68KG bout by unanimous decision.

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Rizwan Aslam was representing The Purge club in Batley and made an excellent start against Panwa.

Rizwan used his long reach to keep Panwa off balance to take a unanimous decision.

KBW’s Sobaan Qasir made his debut against Faisal Khan, from Hammer BC.

Khan landed some excellent hooks but this was countered by Qasir’s long backhand.

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Qasir was able to pin Khan against the ropes and land his combinations both to head and body in the second round.

Both men met in the centre of the ring for the third and the final bell led to a standing ovation from supporters, with Khan awarded a split decision win.

KBW’s Danny Kelly faced Connor Tikki of Harrogate BC with the visiting man using his height and reach advantage in the first round before landing a telling right which resulted in the referee giving a standing eight count.

Kelly went on a full-scale attack and land his own telling blows but it wasn’t enough to prevent Tikki winning by a unanimous decision.

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KBW’s Saad Zaman bounced back from defeat in his last bout to make a winning return against Training Cave debutant Luke Heaton.

Zaman was surprised by Heaton’s ring craft early in the fight but did enough to secure a unanimous points win.

The final bout saw another KBW boxer making his long-awaited comeback as Adnan Khan returned after a year out with a knee injury as he faced Hareem Ali of Boston ABC.

Khan made a fast start to the fight picking the oncoming Ali with his jab and showed excellent movement to counter Ali’s shots.

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Ali attempted to throw body shots in the second but these were countered by Adnan’s effective cross followed by a hook.

Adnan stuck to his coaches instructions and continued to dominate the third round, thwarting Ali’s best efforts to earn a unanimous points decision on his return. It was another excellent home show staged by KBW, with local MP Paula Sherriff praising the positive effect boxing, and especially the Dewsbury club, has had on the local youth.

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