A NEWPORT man has spoken of the shocking scenes at a boxing bout held in the Ice Arena Wales last night, when a “free-for-all” fight broke out between 100 fans in the crowd.

Andrew Collingbourne, 55, from Rogerstone paid £200 for a ringside ticket to attend the much-anticipated event at Cardiff Bay with his work colleague, Ieuan Haywood, 27, from Collingbourne Hennah Law.

They had been looking forward to seeing some of the world’s finest boxers, including Cuban WBA world super-bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux, and WBO world lightweight champion Terry Flanagan.

But Mr Collingbourne said they were left horrified when a brawl broke out between watching fans after Liam Williams defended his British and Commonwealth titles against Gary Corcoran.

According to Mr Collingbourne, children as young as six witnessed at least 100 men “throwing punches and head butts” as security staff struggled to manage the situation.

“I’ve watched boxing for 30 years and I’ve never seen anything like that,” he said. “It was as if the whole rink went up.

“There were children there, there were women there - it was an absolute free-for-all. It was just the fear that somebody was going to get really badly hurt, especially the children.

“We got the children out of the way and got them safe. I said to the police, 'We need to get sufficient numbers here'."

Fearful for their safety, Mr Collingbourne and Mr Haywood left the venue at around 11.15pm.

It was the first boxing event put on by promoter Frank Warren in Wales in three years.

Mr Collingbourne said that compared to the organisation in place for boxing events at the O2 in London, Wales’ capital city had a lot to learn.

“There has to be a risk assessment a fights where this is a potential for volatility amongst rival supporters,” he added.

“When the police arrived, they were really thin on the ground. If no-one ended up in hospital, it’s a miracle.

“When I went to the O2, the doormen were all extremely athletic and fit with microphones to communicate with each other. Last night was the Keystone Cops.”

St Joseph’s star and former British champion Gary Buckland ended an eight-month break from boxing by bouncing back with his 31st professional win among other bouts on the card, while Blackwood’s Craig Evans also ended a seven-month period of inactivity and reversed a three-fight winless run.

A spokeswoman for the Ice Arena declined to comment, while a spokesman for Frank Warren and Queensberry Promotions was also contacted by the Argus.

South Wales Police said no arrests were made.