Fairbairn BC entry Yaqobzai Isrurulla (right) defeated West Ham schoolteacher Tejan Massally at the North East London ABA Divisional championships

Eleven new champions were crowned at the North East London ABA Divisional championships at Dagenham on Thursday night, but Fairbairn BC entry Yaqobzai Isrurulla must wait until tonight (Thursday) to see if he joins them.

He defeated West Ham schoolteacher Tejan Massally to go through, but his final against Repton rival George Kean was held over until the Barking BC show at the East Ham Working Men’s Club on Thursday.

Kean had to box twice, beating Repton club-mate George O’Mahoney and then Peacock’s Claudio Paolo to reach the final, but ABA rules do not allow competitors to box more than twice on one day – so the final was delayed.

The powerful Isrurulla proved too strong for Massally, a Stratford languages teacher, in their semi-final bout at the Dagenham Park School on Thursday.

The taller Hammer tried to keep the bout at range, but it was the swinging attacks of the Fairbairn club hope that saw him move in front in a closely-fought contest.

Massally’s more accurate long-range punches convinced one of the ringside judges that he deserved the verdict, but with the other two voting in his favour it was Isrurulla who moved into the final showdown.

West Ham managed two champions – light-flyweight Jack Malik and bantamweight Lucien Reid – but both were walkovers with no opponents in their divisions.

A total of six divisions had walkover winners on the night when the whole championships consisted of less than 10 bouts. Peacock cruiserweight Daniel Mendez was one of the boxers through on a bye.

Apart from the welterweight section, the busiest was light-heavyweight where Repton BC entered a trio of international class boxers including Manor Park’s Umar Sadiq, who lost a controversial verdict to club-mate Mike Evans-Smith in their semi-final.

Sadiq was confident he had done enough to win a close contest, and one of the judges agreed, but the other two gave a majority verdict to Evans-Smith who went on to lose another tight verdict in the final against third Bethnal Green club hope Simon Lewis.

“I know I won the bout, but that defeat will make me come back stronger,” insisted Sadiq.

The winners go forward to the London semi-finals and finals at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, on Sunday, March 11.