GOING FOR ITALY GOLD Brandon Murray (11) wants a World title in Tuscany
Brandon Murray took three titles from the English World Kickboxing Association (WKA) – and immediately set his sights on the World Championships in Italy in a fortnight.
The 11-year-old won gold in light contact in the ring, full contact in the ring and in boxing, all at under-40kg level, and best male fighter at the Ringsports event at Swinton in Rotherham.
That has given the Woodhead Primary pupil loads of confidence ahead of the Unified World Championships in Carrara Fiere, Italy, from October 25 to 30 – and he ‘s determined to come back with gold.
Brandon, a P7 pupil, said: “Kickboxing is going quite well, I’ve won a lot of trophies, I’m going to the World Championships soon and I hope to do well – I’m definitely getting a medal. It gives me a lot of confidence to go down to England and come back with four belts. I like kickboxing, but I’m thinking about maybe going into boxing in the future.
“I was buzzing to make my boxing debut down there. I usually use my hands and my feet but it was just my hands this time and I really enjoyed it.
“It’s not something I’ve really thought about but my brother Jamie is boxing now and my coach suggested I give it a try.
“It felt different but I would like more of it in the future.”
Last year’s World Championships in Benidorm was a source of annoyance for Brandon as a hip problem meant he couldn’t take part – and he admits it got disheartening for him. He said: “I wanted to go back into it but I couldn’t and now I can do a lot more things,” he said.
“I couldn’t do PE, jumping or running but now it has gone away and I feel a lot better.”
Mum Vicky said: “Brandon was miserable and stopped going to tournaments. Although he liked to watch Jamie, he found it difficult to watch and not take part.
“It will be nice for him to be a part of it. Tuscany is a very big tournament and it will be nice for Brandon.
“The last time he just watched because of his injury.
“Brandon only came back into the sport last May and the change in him has been phenomenal. He’s a mini professional fighter and a lot of people have been commenting on his Youtube channel.
“We want to try and generate a bit of interest in him because we’ve put in appeals for people to come up with sponsorship for him, but it falls on deaf ears – it’s mostly football teams which get that kind of recognition.
“Brandon has grown into a fighter that we think is something special, he’s doing really well and it would be great if someone would take a punt and fund him for a competition.”
Dad Brian says Brandon has his heart set on winning a medal.
He said: “Brandon is quite quiet, there’s no bragging about it all – but he is really good. He’s going out to Italy to win gold, not silver or bronze.
“We hope it all falls into place but it’s nice that we’re going there hoping that he comes back with a title.
“Honestly, it takes my breath away – it’s phenomenal to watch what he’s doing.”