LEON Willings returned to competitive action last Thursday and claimed a split decision victory on Runcorn ABC’s club show.

The Kingsway boxer, having been out of the ring for almost 12 months, took on Callum Hesketh of Coppull-based Jennings Community Boxing Academy and claimed a narrow win which on another day could have gone to his opponent due to the even nature of the contest.

Hesketh started the bout quickly, controlling the contest from the centre of the ring with sharp attacks whilst making Willings miss with his counters.

A little bit of ring rust was evident here and it took Willings the entirety of the first round to fully get into the contest, however the second round saw him warm to the task as he landed several crisp counters during a number of frenetic exchanges, with Hesketh also landing some good shots and continuing to prove a difficult target to hit with his upper body movement.

What perhaps proved to be a turning point came in the third, as during another fierce exchange Willings landed with a telling right hook which stunned his opponent sufficiently to force the referee to step in and issue a standing 8-count.

Sensing Hesketh was hurt Willings piled on the pressure, though to his credit the Lancashire fighter weathered the storm and fired back punches of his own.

The final bell brought to an end an entertaining contest which saw the arm of Willings raised aloft in victory by the referee on this occasion, however a rematch remains a possibility between two talented, committed and evenly matched boxers.