NORTHAMPTON ABC said goodbye to three of their former fighters ahead of their show at the Park Inn Hotel.
The funerals of both Colin Ward and Danny Kemp were held in the week leading up to the show and club stalwart Charlie Makepeace died days before. Ward served his amateur apprenticeship with the club and went on to share a pair of fights with Dave Proud and prove to be a stubborn opponent for Kirkland Laing during his 21-fight pro career, while Kemp was very much ‘Mr Northampton ABC.’ He boxed for the club in the 1960s and according to local folklore, he had around 400 bouts before concentrating on training.
John Morris, the former General Secretary of the British Boxing Board of Control who set up the club in 1953, said: “Danny was what amateur boxing was all about. He loved the sport, would box anyone and when he stopped boxing, he went into coaching the youngsters. Danny was coaching until near the end.”