THE Bonehill brothers, Anthony, aged 14 and 13-year-old Marc, showed the way in an otherwise disappointing start for Droitwich Amateur Boxing Club fighters in this year's Schools Boxing Championships.

In the West Midlands preliminary at Birmingham, John Hodgkins, 15, and Dean Conn, 13, were both withdrawn without a punch being thrown as they failed to make the weight, last year's national finalist Michael Pardoe, 14, lost on points, and Midlands champion Dan Bradley, 15, was stopped with a cut eye when he appeared to be well in front. Both the defeats were controversial.

Marc Bonehill is now through to the Midlands finals on February 4, but Anthony joins club mates William Jones, 15, an John Bray, 14, who both received byes, in West Midlands finals on Saturday.

Anthony Bonehill, who only just scraped in to the lowest weight in his age group and was conceding 3kgs, faced Donnington's Karl Hay and gave a blistering display, catching Hay almost at will with solid jabs and hooks. Hay was sensibly retired after the second round. Anthony now faces a more demanding task when he boxes Tipton's Gary Owen in the West Midlands finals.

Marc Bonehill was strangely subdued in his bout with Karl Bradshaw (Queensberry, Stoke-on-Trent). He started slowly and tentatively but picked up the pace in the second and third rounds to take the unanimous verdict.

Blistering attacks at the close of the second round and half way through the third won it for him but it was nevertheless a close run thing.

Michael Pardoe was up against old rival Daniel McDaid (Ironworks), who like Pardoe made the national finals last year, only at a higher weight. In a ding-dong battle both boys went at it hammer and tongs and it was almost impossible to separate them. In the event the split decision went to McDaid but many onlookers found it hard to believe, as throughout the first two rounds Pardoe had appeared to have the edge, particularly with his body punching.

Dan Bradley seemed well in control in his bout with Dave Chadwick (Walsall Wood), catching Chadwick with fast shots and showing neat skills in defence, until towards the end of the first round an accidental clash of heads left him with a small cut over his right eye. The referee decided to stop the bout because of the risk that the cut would worsen - much to Bradley's dismay and disappointment -- though he showed exemplary sporting behaviour in the ring.

This was the first time Droitwich boxers had been in the ring following the New Year break. Prior to Christmas John Bray and Michael Pardoe had travelled to London and had both given a good account of themselves,despite losing, at a prestigious Dinner Tournament.

Pardoe was back in action a week later in Merthyr Tydfil where he stopped the Welsh champion in the third round, and Marc Bonehill also enjoyed a good win on that show. Will Jones lost at Brierley Hill but his brother Dan, 11, won well in Shrewsbury. In his first bout, Will Evans, 12, lost narrowly at Northampton.