ESSEX University heavyweight boxer Ryan Beck won a hard-fought bout to claim victory in his first-ever contest.

Beck (90kg) dug deep to take the decision over Trumpington ABC’s more experienced boxer Colin Hill, at Attleborough.

Beck has only been training for five months in the gym but has made rapid progress.

He has learnt a lot in a short space of time and this showed through three tough rounds.

Beck was overawed by the taller Hill, from Cambridge University, in the opening round and gave up ground too easily.

The Trumpington ABC boxer connected with straight punching, after Beck landed the first two left leads to head and body.

A heavy right hand then drove Beck to the ropes where he had to keep his guard up and come back into the fray with a solid right hand.

It was not a good round for the 26-year-old but he showed his mettle from the start of the second round.

Some straight left leads and hard rights backed his opponent up and Beck then take control with a powerful right and left hook that had Hill slightly dazed and on the ropes.

However, Beck could not capitalise on this with Hill holding until his head cleared but it was nevertheless a very good round for the Essex University boxer that evened the score up.

It was all down to the last round who won the bout and both boxers wanted the victory badly but it was Beck’s quality punching that seized the decision.

By holding the centre and coming off his left lead, the Essex University boxer found his distance and connected with some quality left hooks to the head.

That gave Beck the judges’ decision in a hard-fought bout, which served as a reminder of just how tough it is when you are inside the four ropes of the boxing ring, with the bright lights shining down on you.