By Benji Sampson
A Lymington teenager has brought a silver medal home in the England Boxing National Development Championships.
Lawrence Boxing Club’s Rhys Black, 18, fought twice over the weekend in Kettering, Northampton.
The semi-finals took place on Saturday, where Black won via stoppage over Essex’s Camaron Nicholson.
The referee stopped the contest on the advice of the ringside doctor after Black caused a nasty cut in the third round to Nicholson’s eye.
The victory propelled Black into the finals to face Owen Reid from Birmingham’s Aston Boxing Club on Sunday.
The two-time Southern Counties champion, Black displayed a brilliant effort in the final, scoring a knockdown in the second round on his opponent.
Having won 3 out of 4 bouts in the contest over a four-week period, Black has brought home a silver medal and will look ahead to the (Elite) National Amateur Championships in April.
“As a lad from a small gym in Lymington, I’m not supposed to be competing with these kids from the big cities. I’ve got nothing to lose in April and I’m coming for the gold,” Black said.
Both boxers showed tremendous heart and willpower to leave every ounce of energy in the ring when the final bell rang.
The scorecard results read a 3:2 split decision announcing Reid the winner. However, Black having done enough to win the favour of two judges showed just how close the fight was.
Black said: “None of this success in the championships would have been possible without my coaches, I owe them and my support a lot.”
The Elite championships are ‘open-class’ and the fights are contested over three 3-minute rounds. This will be a step-up in competition for Black.
Black’s trainer, Ross Clark is excited by the new eyes this achievement will bring to the club.
Clark said: “By making the finals, he has grabbed the biggest achievement out of this boxing club by a long shot. I really feel now kids in the area will look at him and see that it doesn’t matter who you are, they can do it too.”
By Benji Sampson
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