RICHIE ‘Hurricane’ Poole was Tenbury’s Christmas cracker at a festive boxing show in Hereford last Saturday night.

The 22-year-old from Tenbur y Amateur Boxing Club marked his competitive debut with a nerveless display and a unanimous victory.

He defeated Kristian Smart, from host club Wye ABC, in front of a 374-strong sell-out audience at thePoint4 in Hereford.

“Surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous and it was good to win,” said Poole, who has been training under Martin ‘Paddy’ Brennan’s guidance for just under a year.

Smart was also making his first appearance and the fight was explosive throughout the three-round showdown.

Poole, who lives in Cleobury Mortimer and is an ex-Ludlow College student, was the deserved winner on the night.

“I didn’t have any supporters watching me – because it’s only me in the ring and I just wanted to get out there and box,” said Poole, who works for a car leasing company in Rock.

Eddie ‘Boom Boom’ Kelly was the other Tenbury fighter, who appeared in the eight-card show.

The 14-year-old was involved in the night’s opening fight and proudly carried a Republic of Ireland flag around the ring before the action got under way.

Kelly performed well against a much taller opponent, Birmingham Irish’s Ryan Hatton. However, Hatton claimed a unanimous win after three well-contested rounds.