READING boxing referee Jeff Hinds must be pleased he doesn’t get paid by the hour.

Last Saturday he took charge of the televised heavyweight bout between Joe Joyce and Donnie Palmer at the York Hall in London – and it lasted for a mere 38 seconds.

Olympic silver medallist Joyce sent his 6ft 10in opponent crashing to the canvas with a slick two-punch combination and, with the American struggling to get back on his feet, Hinds stopped the fight.

Jeff believes it was the shortest contest of his career which now stretches to an amazing 1,444 bouts, the highest among all referees in Britain.

One boxer who did last longer in the ring last weekend was Nick Ive, who covered Reading FC when the Reading Post was around.

He courageously took part in a charity ‘white collar’ event in Southsea and outpointed his opponent, Clarke Morris.

But it came at a cost as he broke his hand and he has sensibly decided that his one-fight boxing career is now over.

Nick raised a lot of money for the Amelia Mae Foundation, which is for children and families affected by Neuroblastoma with close to £800 coming through his Justgiving page (which remains open) and nearly double that through ticket sales.

  • THATCHAM Town will take a 1-0 lead into their FA Vase semi-final leg against 1874 Northwich at Witton Albion FC on Saturday, but will hoping they won’t pay the price for squandering several chances in their home leg last Saturday.

Manager Danny Robinson admitted the Kingfishers were not “ruthless enough” in front of goal as they failed to add to Ross Cook’s fourth-minute penalty.

But the Kingfishers can still be pleased with their efforts, on and off the field.

President David Downs said: “The club received a lot of praise and compliments following the game. There was a great atmosphere among the crowd.”

The other semi-final saw Stockton, with the advantage of playing both legs at home, take a 2-0 lead over Northern League rivals Marske United. The final is at Wembley on Sunday, May 20.