BOURNEMOUTH and Poole have been putting themselves on the sporting map in a proud and proper way befitting the major resort of the south. For years now.

Eddie Howe's AFC Bournemouth and the Poole Pirates speedway team have been trailblazers for the towns’ sporting prowess, and the towns can be proud of them. Now we are being blessed with a number of boxing stars in the making to be proud of too.

Thanks to the ceaseless endeavours of many volunteers in the amateur ranks over the years, notably Poole Amateur Boxing Club, Bournemouth ABC, Parkstone ABC and others we have a groundswell of professional boxing talent to relish and look forward to.

This, in no small degree, is thanks to the expert and devoted life that former WBU World Middleweight Champion Steve Bendall is giving to the youth of the town. The rewards of all these bodies are becoming clear to see.

Following in the footsteps of 'Gentleman' Chris Billam-Smith, who is now a 10-round performer challenging for national honours, we have another true starlet on our hands in the scintillating talents of Lee Cutler, a middleweight with a real future, who has already gathered an army of fanatical fans. Manager Steve Bendall and life long Coach Kev Thorniley are running a stable that even the great Freddie Mills would be proud of.

Let the town revel and be glad of its growing nationwide reputation as a sporting hotbed of young talent, and let the men who are nurturing it, amateur and professional, be known and appreciated. Bournemouth owes them.

PETER SHAW

Victoria Road, Ferndown