The BREED RECORD HOLDER is Ch & Irish Ch Winuwuk Lust at First Sight but the entire Boxer world knew him as Max.  His mother was called Pepsi and so our trusty chief kennel assistant Sally Shapland who had only just joined as at the time decided that Max was a good choice (as in Pepsi Max!) He was born on 7 February 2005, bred by Marion Ward-Davies, Julie Brown and Tim Hutchings.  He was sired by our outstanding producer Ch Winuwuk Lust in the Dust out of his own grand-daughter Ch Winuwuk Storybook.  His pedigree is classically linebred on some of the finest producers in UK Boxer history.

We were very excited about Max right from the very start.  He was the most beautifully made eight week old puppy and he never lost this as he grew.
His very first show was the Welsh Kennel Club in 2005 and although he only placed third that day we were so excited because we could see his potential so clearly.  He quickly started fulfilling this potential and by the end of the year he had secured his position as Top Puppy.  The photo of him winning Best Puppy at the Irish Boxer Club under Veronica Feaver is one that we particularly like from this time.
Indeed, that trip to Ireland was really memorable because at Belfast he went Best Puppy under Mandy Laidlaw, Puppy Group 1 under Zena Thorn-Andrews and Reserve Best Puppy in Show under Ben Reynolds-Frost.  We were amazed at how many folk from all breeds came up to us that day and raved about Max.  Many of them said that they had never seen such a great moving Boxer.
Into 2006, he was Best Puppy at Crufts under Ann Ingram and Andrew Brace
Then he was only 14 months old when Shirley Butters gave him his first CC and Best of Breed at WELKS.  He didn’t do anything in the group that day under Kari Wilberg but she was going to become one of his favourite judges!
In June he gained his second CC & BOB from Helen Banks up at Border Union
Then came the most magical day at Paignton.  Wendy Barrow gave him his third and qualifying CC, making him a champion while still a junior and then Zena Thorn-Andrews shocked us by giving him his first working group!
He then repeated this success with his next CC at Belfast where David Webb gave him BOB and Bob Gregory gave him the group.
Looking back at it, Driffield 2006 was an interesting show for Boxers.  Jeff Luscott gave Max his fifth CC with BOB and he awarded a record breaking 53rd CC to Ch Sulez Blackmagic so the picture taken that day contains two breed record holders.
At the end of 2006 Andrew Brace (together with Ann Ingram’s concurrence) awarded Max BIS at the London & Home Counties Boxer Club.  This confirmed the opinion they both had when they gave him Best Puppy at Crufts earlier in the year.  The six CCs that he won in 2006 were enough to make him Top Boxer. 2007 started well with the first of his five Boxer of the Year wins (under Feffie Somerfield, Norma Brook and Tony Watson) but the rest of the year was much quieter for Max as he matured.  However he did pick up a couple of tickets and he qualified for his first Champion Stakes final under Bob Gregory at East of England.
If 2007 had been a bit quiet then 2008 really was the year when his career kicked up a gear.  It started well with the CC under Jean Grandfield at Manchester.  He won a lucky 13 CCs in 2008 and at City of Birmingham he won the group under Kari Wilberg and went on to Reserve BIS under Frank Kane.
Just a week later he did the same at a very muddy Richmond, taking the group under Clare Coxall and Reserve BIS under Zena Thorn-Andrews.
He also won the group up in Scotland at the Working and Pastoral breeds under Brenda Banbury.  He was very comfortably the year’s Top Boxer as well as number 3 working dog and number 11 all-breeds 2009 was even more exciting as he won a massive 18 CCs from a whole range of breed specialists and all-rounders but the highlight of the year came early when he went BOB at Crufts under Rita Williams and Jenny Townshend and went on to become the first Boxer male to win the working group at this most famous of shows, selected by Robin Searle.
2009 was also the year when he scored his first BIS all breeds at Blackpool.  Having won the breed under Isobel Edison, Andrew Brace gave him the group and Robin Searle selected him as his BIS.  His grandmother, Ch Roamaro Scotch Mist of Winuwuk had come close for us at LKA a decade earlier with RBIS but Max had now achieved the ultimate.
He was also BIS at the National Working & Pastoral breeds in July under Elina Haapaniemi having won the breed under Karl-Erik Johansson.
He also had group wins under Monica Boggia-Black at WELKS, Carla Molinari at Windsor, Clare Coxall at Paignton, Kari Wilberg at Darlington (where he went on to RBIS under Peter Bailey) and Frank Wildman at SWKA (with RBIS from Ron James).
2009 had also seen him win the Boxer of the Year (this time under David Spencer, David Webb and Arthur Butters) and also qualify for the Champion Stakes under Jack Bispham.
Indeed, when the final tally was done he was not only Top Boxer but Top Working Dog and Runner Up All Breeds.  2009 also saw Max make the only foray of his career overseas when we took him to the European Winners Show in Dublin.  He went BOB under Ann Ingram which secured him his Irish championship and then he amazed us by winning the group under Michael McCarthy.  This meant that we were ‘kidnapped’ in Dublin for 2 days since we had to wait for Best in Show.
2010 started with another Boxer of the Year success under Sigurd Wilberg, Paola Watten and Edna Woods but also disappointment at Crufts where it was not his year.
However he was back on track at WELKS where he took BOB under Pam Broughton and the Group under Steve Hall.  Marion was at the breed ring as usual that day to watch him win but she was not well enough to stay for his group success.  Very sadly, that turned out to be the last show she attended and on 16 May she very sadly died at the age of 86, leaving a massive hole in our lives.  The Scottish Kennel Club was taking place just a few days before her funeral and so it was with very heavy hearts that we made our way up to Edinburgh but we were in absolutely no doubt that she would have expected us to go.  That was such an emotional show for us since we did the double with Max and his champion daughter, Ch Rebkai Tale of Love at Winuwuk who had been made up at Birmingham National the week before Marion died.  Max went on to win the group under Terry Munro.  More group wins followed for him under Frank Kane at Three Counties, Robin Searle at Border Union, Margaret Wildman at Richmond, and Colin Reed at Driffield.  Together with his 16 CCs, all this success made him the top working dog for the second year running.  His most important CC of the year came at the Cotswold Boxer Club in December – it was his 55th and it gave him the breed record.  The judges that day were Marion Seeney and Jim Reynolds.  It was just such a shame that Marion did not live quite long enough to see it happen.
More Boxer of the Year success came at the start of 2011 (under Stuart Lockwood-Brown, Kay Palade and Stuart Mallard) and then he went BOB at Crufts for the second time under Eddie and Helen Banks.
Putting us back on cloud nine he also won the group for the second time at that amazing show, this time under Kari Wilberg.
He won another 10 CCs in 2011 including a very memorable day at Border Union where Sid Reilly gave him the breed, Frank Wildman awarded him the group and then Vandy Williams selected him for Best in Show.  It’s a long way to Kelso, but we certainly flew home that night!  His Group win at Border Union that day was his 21st in the UK which more than doubled the previous record for a Boxer.   He was Top Boxer 2011 yet again.
2012 was the year when Max would officially become a veteran but he was still looking amazing.   He won the Boxer of the Year for his fifth and final time under Paul Russell, Des Manton and Betty McDonald.  He would go on to qualify for the following year, but we decided that he would just be doing a lap of honour.  He won BIS at the Anglian under Edna Woods just before his seventh birthday and then he won BOB at Crufts for a third time from the Veteran class under Christine Ellingworth, going on to Group 3 under Jeff Luscott.
He won another four ‘veteran CCs’ that year under Kevin Fitzgerald, Paul Harding, Sue Searle and Dave Strachan and he also won three group placings! 2013 then saw his retirement from the ring but not before he had gone BIS at the Anglian under Jenny Townshend and BIS at the South Wales Boxer Club under Rosina Brace from Australia.  He then went to National Working Breeds on a scorching day in the summer under Fiona Godwin on her championship show debut.  Max took his 74th and final CC and BOB.  He then performed wonderfully in the Group to take second place under Paul Harding.  That was a very happy day for us!
Max’s show career was phenomenal and he enjoyed every minute of it.  Of course, we enjoyed it too.  It’s hard to sum up what was so exceptional about Max but he was a perfectly square, medium sized dog who was so well constructed which meant that his movement was incredible.  This certainly made him catch the eye of judges in the big ring.
But his breed type was also amazing with a smashing head and a fantastic expression.  However, probably above all else, we have to credit his perfect personality.  Max did not have a bad bone in his body, he had a wonderfully optimistic view of the world, he loved everybody and he loved to show.  While his show record made the headlines, we must not forget his massive contribution as a sire.  He was Top Sire in the whole working group in 2014 (emulating his famous father) and he was also the British Boxer Club Sire of Merit twice.  To demonstrate his remarkable influence, he was still the runner up top sire in 2018 and his son Ch Maromad Kiss the Girls at Winuwuk was in third place!
Max lived out his retirement years at Winuwuk Cottage, greeting everyone who came to visit.  Indeed, Max received many visitors throughout his life since everyone in the Boxer world wanted to meet Max.  It is no exaggeration to say that enthusiasts from as far away as Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, South Africa, Canada, the United States and across Europe made special visits to come and see him!
Max was such a fit and active dog and the day before he died he had his usual run up the field with his fellow house dogs, however at the end of January 2017 he had a bit of a funny turn after his breakfast and he slipped peacefully away in Julie’s arms at home.  He was nearly 12.  Our hearts were broken.  Our only comfort was the certain knowledge that Marion would have tears in her eyes on the other side as she welcomed her special boy home.   Max’s ashes now rest in the paddock at Winuwuk Cottage, in a place that he loved, marked by a weeping willow tree.  There will never be another Max.
Max’s final resting place