On tonight's episode, we preview Chatham boxer Moses Itauma's title bout on the Fury-Usyk undercard and a former Premier League star weighs in on the VAR-scrap debate.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome along to Invicta Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping
00:19up all of Kent's sporting action. I'm Bartholomew Hall and here's what to expect on Friday 17
00:25May.
00:27Who's staying and who's going? Gillingham reveals released squad ahead of the summer.
00:34From St Mary's to Saudi, local teams a fight at boxing's biggest event in a generation.
00:41And action replay with clips and pics sent in of you, the KMTV audience, getting active.
00:48But we'll start with a round up of the headlines where sitting born motorcycle racer Shane
00:52Byrne is suing Grand Prix organisers after he suffered a career-ending crash way back
00:57in 2018.
00:59The six-time British champion sustained devastating spinal injuries when he lost control of his
01:04bike on a corner at Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk. His legal team claim there should
01:09have been more protective measures in place at the part of the track at which he crashed
01:12into a tyre wall. The Kent-based racer is now claiming damages of up to £1m against
01:18organisers and track owners at London's High Court. The defendants argue it was the rider's
01:23own lack of care which caused the accident.
01:27Next Kent para-table tennis players Will Bailey and Ross Wilson have both taken a stride closer
01:32to this year's Paralympics with medal-winning performances at the Slovenia Para Open.
01:38Tunbridge Wells-born Will Bailey, who's already sealed his ticket to Paris, set himself up
01:42on a good run ahead of the summer by coming out top in the Class 7 category, where he
01:46beat two-time team bronze medallist Mikkel Dixler to gold. Meanwhile, Ross Wilson from
01:52Minster is yet to qualify for the Paris Games. He picked up silver in the Class 18 doubles
01:57alongside team-mate Ashley Facey.
02:00Chatham Town have parted ways with assistant manager Danny Kedwell. The former Chats player
02:05joined the club's backroom staff in 2021 after a short spell as manager at Cray Wanderers
02:10while still playing for the club. It comes after Chatham finished second in this year's
02:15Kidsmean League Premier Division, where they missed out on what would have been their third
02:18successive season in the play-off finals. The 40-year-old played 16 games for Chatham
02:23last season, where he got his last goal in a 3-1 defeat against Horsham back in April.
02:29Kedwell thanked everyone for their support and gave a special mention to chairman Kevin
02:32Hake in a post on social media. He's now become Ashford United's new manager.
02:38Now a friend of the show, Danny Brasenall, the Sevenoaks dad who made it his mission
02:41to cycle around all 92 English Football League stadiums for charity, has finally given the
02:47more than £14,000 he raised to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
02:52In the form of a cheque, a very large cheque, outside the hospital, Danny was given a tour
02:57after the presentation and invited along to a charity football match taking place at the
03:01end of the month at the home of Crystal Palace. Danny spent just a few weeks cycling from
03:05Carlisle to Plymouth, spanning more than 2,500 miles last summer.
03:11But from being a cycling novice at the very beginning, to taking on the challenge which
03:15is longer than the Tour de France, I caught up with Danny earlier to reflect on the whole
03:20event.
03:21To be fair, I still don't think it's sunk in really. So it's still a massive, massive
03:26challenge what I've done. And it's just crazy. Like I said before, it's a boy's dream to
03:32go to every ground in the country sort of thing, so in the top leagues. So yeah, it's
03:37really good. It was nice to have people supporting me all the way through, saying, oh, he's made
03:41£10,000, see if we can get to £11,000. And yeah, it just went up and up and up. So about
03:49£350 went straight to Great Ormond Street as well. So it's about just under £15,000.
03:54The money's just a great, great amount to raise and hopefully it can do a lot of things
03:58for a lot of children.
04:01Now just a week after Mark Bonner took to the helm at Priestfield, Gillingham has announced
04:05which players will be leaving the club and who will be staying for the next season. Four
04:09senior players have been made available for transfer, including striker Oli Hawkins, as
04:14well as current club captain Sean Williams. Our reporter Tony Mazzanichita has a round
04:18up of all the moves at the Gills.
04:22Following the announcement of new manager Mark Bonner, Gills have announced the squad
04:26he'll be working with from the beginning of his era.
04:29Former captain Sean Williams, who barely featured under Stephen Clement, has been released alongside
04:34striker Macaulay Bond, who spent last season out on loan with Cambridge United, where he
04:38linked up with former Gills boss Neil Harris. Oli Hawkins has been deemed available for
04:43transfer amongst three other senior players of the club, with the likes of attacking midfielder
04:47George Lapsley and left-back Scott Malone.
04:51Oli Hawkins, who suffered an array of injuries with his time at Gills, found last season
04:55his place in the team was under threat with the arrival of Josh Andrews in the first team.
04:59And now he's been put on the transfer market.
05:02And although Lapsley played 40 games last season, his services are no longer required
05:06by new manager Mark Bonner, who is looking to make space in the dressing room for new
05:10signings.
05:11New deals have been offered to both 40-year-old keeper Glenn Morris and young midfielder Dom
05:14Jeffries as their contracts are due to expire next month. This comes after Morris was replaced
05:19as the number one keeper by Jake Turner last season.
05:23After the sacking of Stephen Clements, he released a statement following his exit, stating
05:27I am disappointed to have left my position as I feel certain that the improvements we've
05:30made coupled with the positive recruitment this summer would have delivered greater consistency
05:35and ultimately the success that we all wanted.
05:38However, he also added I would like to take this opportunity to wish the club and its
05:42new management team the very best of luck next season and beyond.
05:46And in Mark Bonner's first press conference, he had to say this about his new squad.
05:50Obviously, my starting point is much less knowledge than everybody else's in some ways
05:55because I don't know the players yet, I don't know the club yet, I don't know many of the people.
05:59That's the exciting bit to do next.
06:01But I think we've got a clear picture of where we want to be, some of which we can say out
06:06loud right now, some of which we have to hold back.
06:08The one thing we've got is quite a bit of time.
06:10I mean, that will go really fast, but the best part is two months until pre-season starts.
06:15It gives us an opportunity to build and plan as best we can.
06:19And then secondly, me a chance to get to know as many people as I can, even though they're
06:23not here necessarily yet.
06:25This summer will be an active time for everyone associated with Gilles, with all the movement
06:28around the club.
06:29But fans should be excited with pre-season around the corner as they get to see a first
06:33glance at what Bonner will bring to the team as his tenure begins.
06:36Tony Muzanichita reporting for KMTV.
06:39Well, we'll bring you all the news as the transfers come in over the summer.
06:44Now, a hotly contested issue this week has been the future of VAR, with Premier League
06:48clubs set to vote on whether it should continue being used in the Premier League.
06:52Well, here in Kent, VAR has never had a place until now, well, at least somewhat.
06:57Opening this week, the Ballers Football Arena at Bluewater Shopping Centre features high-tech
07:02cameras that allow for instant replays and end-of-match highlights to those using its
07:06indoor pitches.
07:07So all of those in-game debates between you and your mates can finally be put to rest,
07:11right?
07:12Well, one of the clubs, well, one of the ambassadors behind the project, former Brighton player
07:16Bobby Zamora, gave us his insight on whether VAR should stay at the opening night.
07:22VAR.
07:23Do you know what?
07:24I have my personal opinion.
07:25I like it.
07:26I understand it.
07:27I get it.
07:28It's the 21st century.
07:29We're going forward.
07:30I would like to see each club have three challenges.
07:34So if there's an incident in the game, or two challenges, if there's an incident in
07:37the game, you can call upon VAR.
07:40If not, let the referee rep it as they want to, but you as a manager, as a team, make
07:46the decision.
07:47It's your fault if you miss a chance, your fault if you make a good VAR decision.
07:52Once your opportunities are used, they're finished and done.
07:55Well, you heard Bobby's take there.
07:57What's yours?
07:59Just head over to Invicta Sports' X page and you can tell us what you think.
08:02It's KMTV Sport.
08:04We'll be running the poll until Monday's show, where we'll be showing all of your comments
08:08and, of course, the results of the poll.
08:10You can vote either yes to get rid of VAR, no to keep it, or other.
08:14Maybe you want to change how it's used, like Bobby Zamora.
08:17Well, as I said there, once the results come in, we'll be sharing it on Monday's show.
08:22And, of course, on Monday as well, we'll have a full feature on the opening of the Ballers'
08:26Dome.
08:28Maidstone shooter Bill Wilson's life hasn't always been this way.
08:32Becoming a British champion doesn't happen overnight.
08:35In fact, he only actually picked up shooting after going through rehab for a life-changing
08:39injury six years ago.
08:42Sport has always played a huge part in Bill's life, from becoming a member of Ashford Rugby
08:46Club to a skiing instructor, and even an advanced motorcyclist riding across the globe.
08:52All those things came to a very abrupt end on the 1st of May 2018, when I had an unfortunate
08:58accident in Holland.
08:59I fell down some stairs and I was taking my mother out to see the Tulip Festival and yes,
09:06in the blink of an eyelid, your world's changed.
09:09Yeah, this is my biggest enemy and also my best friend.
09:15Now paralysed from the chest down, Bill turned to shooting whilst at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
09:21The secretary there, Damien Hinchliffe, said, you've got a good eye.
09:26When you leave, join a local club, which I did, Tubbs Lake, just outside Cranbrook.
09:31Really started sort of entering competitions in 2020, 2019, 2020.
09:36To my tally now, I think I've got 11 gold medals, four silvers, three bronze.
09:44Not wanting to lose track between training sessions, Bill quickly set up a fairly unconventional
09:49approach to home practice.
09:51So I'm stood here at the start point for what is Bill's homemade 10-metre range, also known
09:56as the hallway.
09:58And if you follow me through to the kitchen area, you can see past the doorway and the
10:03edge of the wall here is, of course, sitting at the end of the conservatory, the target.
10:10It might look like a narrow range, but for a champion dealing with margins of less than
10:14a millimetre, hitting the target is the least of his worries.
10:19My biggest competitor, actually, when I'm shooting, is me.
10:23I'm always pushing myself and I think that really is what pushes me, pushes me.
10:30I like to be the best at it.
10:31I'll shoot as long as my eyesight lets me, so I'm happy.
10:35It keeps me motivated, it keeps me focused and dealing with, obviously, my disability.
10:43And as long as I can do it, enjoy it, I will.
10:47Now with the wind in his sails and more than 10 British medals under his belt, the 61-year-old
10:52has his sights set on competing around the world.
10:56Bartholomew Hall for KMTV in Maidstone.
11:00Oh, it looks like I forgot to introduce that last piece.
11:02That was a piece from our website, of course, Bill Wilson, the incredible wheelchair shooter
11:07from Maidstone.
11:08I actually have a bit of an update.
11:10It was really great to meet Bill a few weeks ago and we've been talking ever since.
11:14Just a few weeks ago, well, actually, sorry, this week, he went to the Hampshire Air Open
11:18Championships and I can give you his results here.
11:21Now he took part in two competitions this week.
11:23He got in the first one 620.4 out of 654.
11:28Now that was a gold medal and a new paper target personal best for him.
11:31Then in competition two, he got 617.6 out of 654.
11:36That was another gold medal.
11:38The aggregate for both competitions, he got a third gold medal.
11:41Bill is really just taking them at the moment.
11:44The triple crown for Bill, who next goes on to the Gibraltar Open in two weeks' time.
11:49So very best of luck to Bill on that one.
11:51Time for a break now.
11:52I'll be back in just a few minutes with plenty more.
11:58Thanks for watching.
11:59See you next time.
12:00Bye.
14:58Hello and welcome back to Invictus Sport live on KMTV.
15:14Good to have you with us.
15:15Now, fight fans across Kent will be this weekend tuning in to Tyson Fury's history-making bout
15:21against Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title.
15:26And amidst all the excitement, 19-year-old prospect Moses Atalma will have the whole
15:30of the county behind him as the youngster from Chatham will take on the biggest bout
15:34of his career yet on the undercard.
15:38Even at 17 years old, it was clear Chatham's Enrico Atalma would go on to greatness.
15:43Here he is picking up a win which made him a youth world champion back in 2022.
15:49Now two years later and fighting under the name of Moses Atalma, he's in final preparations
15:54to fight on the undercard of one of boxing's most anticipated events, as Tyson Fury and
15:59Oleksandr Usyk go head-to-head in Riyadh to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion
16:05in almost 25 years.
16:08For Moses, after going pro in just January 2023, he's already accumulated eight undefeated
16:14fights, including six knockouts.
16:17The success has been catching the attention of some of the greats, including Tyson Fury
16:22himself.
16:23In fact, Atalma has been an important sparring partner for Fury on the route to the Saudi
16:28capital, with the latter praising the Kent teen and even describing him as the future
16:33of the heavyweight division.
16:34This Saturday, Atalma will face Germany's Ilya Mezenchev in the hopes of winning his
16:38first pro belt and becoming intercontinental heavy champion.
16:43Whilst Atalma is the favourite to win the belt, it won't be easy considering his opponent
16:47has more than three times the number of fights on his record, with the majority of his wins
16:51being knockouts.
16:53Speaking at the event's press conference this week, the pair's shared promoter Frank Warren,
16:58who's overseen the careers of boxing legends like Chris Eubank, described Atalma as his
17:03next rising star.
17:05But with just hours away from the first round this Saturday night, what is going through
17:09the mind of Atalma himself?
17:11I'm just getting ready.
17:12I just want to thank my promoter, Frank Warren, His Excellency Taki El-Sheikh and my manager
17:19Francis to give me this opportunity to box on this big stage and I'm definitely going
17:24to make the most of it.
17:26Plenty of first round knockouts in a row, are we going to get another one on Saturday?
17:29100%.
17:30Thank you Moses Atalma.
17:33But with all of Kent in his corner, the young prospect will be hoping this trip to Saudi
17:37Arabia is just one of the first steps of a career for the history books.
17:42Bartholomew Hall for KMTV.
17:45One man who will definitely be in his corner, Jerome Xavier, chairman and coach at Moses
17:51Amateur Club back here in Kent, St Mary's in Chatham.
17:54I spoke with him earlier this week to get an insight of what he thinks the youngster
17:58will go on to achieve.
18:00Jerome joins me now.
18:02Thank you very much for being here.
18:03Welcome onto the programme.
18:04First of all, can you just describe for me your earliest memories of Moses at St Mary's?
18:12Yeah, he was 10 years old and he followed his older brother to the boxing club, St Mary's
18:18Boxing Club Chatham, where his brother Carol, who's four years older, was training.
18:27And he kind of like came in and sort of followed him in and said that he wanted to do a bit.
18:33But my first probably memory of him was emotionless, that would be the word I'd use.
18:40He never really knew whether he was happy or sad.
18:45He didn't really give too much away.
18:47And so to me, I was thinking, because I've worked with lots of boxers and some of them,
18:52you know, their heart's fully in it.
18:54Some of them isn't, and they're kind of following a sibling or friends.
18:58We took him to like a skills bout.
19:02It was a, well, no, it was like what they call a gym show, so there's no decisions down
19:06in Hastings.
19:07I thought, well, we'll see if he really wants it.
19:12He went out and he proceeded to, he was way too strong and too talented and he came alive.
19:18That was when he came alive in the ring.
19:20And he, you know, he sort of, he threw a few jabs and then he threw a few backhands and
19:24he was really too strong.
19:25And the other boy, the other boy sort of started crying and we had to call it off normally.
19:29I was saying like, calm down, because there's meant to be no winner or loser or anything
19:34like that.
19:36And they had to kind of call it off.
19:39It was a bit of an interesting baptism, but yeah, from then he did well.
19:43Yeah, I mean, he is, we know he's a ruthless fighter.
19:47He's had such a lot of success since going pro in what was less than two years.
19:51I mean, you were actually in his corner for some of his fights in his amateur days.
19:57What was he like in the ring on his kind of flight up to going professional?
20:02Yeah, it's interesting.
20:04At first he was like very lean, you know, for a 10, 11 year old, he wasn't sort of,
20:09you know, muscular.
20:10He wasn't one of those boxers who matured muscularly very quickly.
20:15He was just quite tall.
20:16He had his first bout in Chatham, Laws of Leisure Centre, I remember actually.
20:21And because he was so, you know, tall and sort of heavy for his age, there weren't many
20:26people around who would add no bouts.
20:28We knew he had a bit of talent, so we took a bit of a risk.
20:30And someone come down from Leicester who'd had two bouts and won them both, so we thought
20:35this is a test, but, you know, there's no one else around basically, and he's got a
20:39bit of talent.
20:40And look, we often hear Moses say that he wants to be the youngest ever heavyweight
20:44world champion.
20:45Is that something that you could see him doing in the future?
20:48I've said since he sort of got to a certain age, I said the main person who I can see
20:53beating him is himself.
20:55If he didn't stay dedicated, which is really good to see that he has.
21:00He has stayed on that path because a lot of teenagers fall out of love with the sport
21:04and the dedication that it takes when they want to be out with their friends.
21:08But to be honest, he's done really, really well.
21:11So talent-wise, he's got the talent, but it's just put him in before that record.
21:17To beat the record, it would be a bit of a potentially rushing it a bit.
21:23And he's still got a decent chance depending on who holds the belts at that time, I'd say.
21:27But if he was to wait a bit longer, I'd say he's got a 100% chance of winning the world title.
21:32Whereas he might have a slightly less chance if it's early on in his career, if that makes sense,
21:39if he goes for the record.
21:40Because he's only got, I think, a year really, about a year to do that.
21:46And he's only had eight professional belts, I think, eight or nine.
21:50Yeah, absolutely.
21:51Let's talk about this Saturday.
21:53He's the favourite against Ilya Mezenchev.
21:57Although if you look at his German opponent's last fight and the weight that he had there,
22:01it may be a little bit more heavier than Moses will be weighing in this week.
22:06How much of a challenge will it be for him to overcome his opponent?
22:10I've been coaching boxers at St Mary's in Chatham since 2011.
22:16We've been fortunate.
22:18We've had lots of national champions that I've been involved with,
22:22probably between the range of 15 and 20 in that time.
22:25But he is a one-off, Moses.
22:31He is a one-off.
22:32His speed, he boxes like a light heavyweight.
22:37He's got the speed of a light heavyweight and he's a heavyweight.
22:39And that is what his speed and technique liken him to a bit of a Cuban boxer.
22:44So, I'm confident, unless he gets hit by a punch from the gods, which hopefully he doesn't,
22:52I'm sure he's going to overcome everything that gets put in his way,
22:55as long as they don't rush him too much at the top level.
22:58And what's your advice to maybe a youngster who sees Moses rising up
23:02and some of these other names that maybe want to take it on themselves?
23:05Well, I'd say be dedicated.
23:08Get yourself to your local boxing club, try it out, have a go.
23:12The door's always open for new members at St Mary's Boxing Club in Chatham on Street End Road.
23:18But yeah, give it a go.
23:20It's a great sport, builds discipline, fitness, but you've got to be dedicated.
23:25And that's one thing, like I said, at that age of 14, 15,
23:29when Moses wasn't sure what route he was going to go.
23:33He stayed on that path and now he's reaping the rewards.
23:36So yeah, you've got to be dedicated because the rewards are out there
23:40and he's living proof of that at the moment.
23:42Absolutely. And just before I let you go, a quick word on the Tyson Fury fight as well.
23:46How do you see that one panning out?
23:49Very difficult. A lot of people are asking me because they know I'm a boxing coach
23:52and I'm quite knowledgeable. I used to box myself as well.
23:58You've got to go, I always say, you've got to back the Brit.
24:01You've got to back the Brit. We've got to support our own.
24:03I don't think enough people do that in our country with our sports stars.
24:08So I think a lot of other countries, Americans always will go with the Americans.
24:11So Tyson Fury, I hope he does it. It'll be great for British boxing.
24:15Hopefully set up an Anthony Joshua showdown.
24:18But Usyk, it's not going to be easy. Usyk is a quality class act.
24:22So I wouldn't be massively surprised if it did go the other way.
24:25But I'm rooting for Tyson Fury. Hopefully he brings it home for the Brits.
24:29Yeah, I think I agree with you there. I want to see that Anthony Joshua fight as well.
24:32Thank you very much for joining us, Jerome.
24:35Well, we've reached full time on today's episode,
24:37but there's just a few minutes of extra time to take a look at this week's Action Replay.
24:42It's the segment where we take a look at clips and pictures that you,
24:45the KMTV audience, have sent in of you taking part in sport.
24:48Let's see what we've got in store on this week's Action Replay.
24:51We start this week's Action Replay by taking to the skies
24:54as former Love Island winners and newly engaged Kai Fagan
24:57and Sanam Harinanam have taken on a 12,000 feet charity skydive above Maidstone
25:02as they become the latest celebrities to partake in the Action for Children sports challenge.
25:07From Maidstone to Margate, Margate Under-23s are crowned champions
25:10of the Southern Counties East Football League after their 3-0 away triumph to Bearstead,
25:15meaning that they finished the season top of the table, three points above second place Maidstone.
25:21And we end today's Action Replay at the University of Kent,
25:24where a student by the name of Emmanuel Fatemehin has taken second place
25:28at the men's 60 metres race at the BUCS Indoor Championships in Sheffield
25:33with an impressive time of 7.03 seconds.
25:36A big congratulations to Emmanuel.
25:39Well, that's all for this week's Action Replay.
25:41Don't forget, it could be you in next week's edition.
25:44Just send your pictures and videos on social media or to sport at kmtv.co.uk.
25:53Well, exactly as Io says, if you want to appear in next week's Action Replay,
25:57then you absolutely can.
25:58All you need to do is tag us in your clips and pictures on social media at kmtvkent
26:04or send us an email to sport at kmtv.co.uk.
26:07All you need to do is tell us what part of Kent you come from and what it is you do
26:11and you'll be right here on Action Replay.
26:13Well, that really is it. Full time on today's episode of Invicta Sport.
26:17If you want more from KMTV, you can watch all of our other special programmes.
26:21We've got the Kent Politics Show, Made in Kent, Kent on Climate and the Kent Film Club
26:25all available on our website. Just visit kmtv.co.uk.
26:29I'll be back on Monday with plenty more sport from across the county.
26:32But for now, goodbye.
26:37Bye.