National title for Hamer ace
THE glory days are back for Hamer Amateur Boxing Club after 14-year-old Shahruf ‘The Bengal Tiger’ Ali claimed victory in the Junior 44kg Open Class National Final.
Shahruf travelled to the Greenbank Sports Academy in Liverpool on Sunday to meet 16-year-old Cameron Paul of The Ring Amateur Boxing Club.
On the sound of the first bell the Hamer youngster stormed out of his corner to meet the former Schoolboy champion from London, in the centre of the ring and immediately set about him with powerful hooks to both the body and head.
Cameron, who is also an England boxing representative who had gone on to win the Tri-Nation gold and European gold, struggled with the Hamer boxer’s frantic pace at the start and began to use the ring while trying to keep his distance and find his range.
Shahruf continued to pursue his vastly experienced opponent behind a tight guard as he continued to land hooks while the southpaw, Cameron tried to land fast one-two punch combinations as the Hamer youth moved towards him.
It was a close first round but Shahruf’s work rate seemed to give him the edge. In the second round Cameron continued to circle the ring while looking to keep his distance with his long reach.
Shahruf kept to the centre of the ring and continued to pursue Cameron onto the ropes but by this time the older London boxer had found his range and he waited for the Hamer youngster to come forward, before landing a crisp right hook to the head, before spinning off, back out of range.
The pattern of the fight began to change a little as Cameron continued to land his right hook before moving off the ropes with swift footwork but towards the end of the round Shahruf began to move in close and land some more big hooks.
The Hamer corner believed Cameron had done enough to take the round so It was all to do for both boxers in the third and last round.
The one who wanted it most would take the title. Before the bell rang for the last round Shahruf was told by the head coach Steven Connellan to faint his attack and allow Cameron to throw his hook before stepping back inside with straight punches of his own, then attack the body and head with hooks.
The bell rang and Shahruf immediately forced Cameron into the neutral corner and began to land hooks to both the body and head after he had made Cameron miss with his counter-punch.
Cameron spun out of the way and used the ring to find some rest bite but the Hamer boxer instantly followed him into the red corner and began to land more hurtful punches and Cameron fell to the floor. The referee rightly deemed it a slip and allowed both boxers to
‘It’s been a long time coming for this small but famous Rochdale club’
continue. The London boxer continued to try and keep a distance from the Hamer warrior but he was beginning to tire by now and Shahruf took advantage of this and landed big hooks to the head and body on the sound of the last bell.
It was a tense moment while waiting for the verdict to be announced but when Shahruf’s hand was raised via a splitdecision, instant emotion of joy overwhelmed him.
Head coach Connellan said: “It’s been a long time coming for this small but famous Rochdale club.
“The last time Hamer won a National title was when the Connellan brothers won nine titles between them in the early eighties. We had come close on many occasions over the last couple of years with different home grown youngsters reaching the National finals and semi-finals but they didn’t manage to gain the nod from the judges. It’s a fantastic achievement by this talented youngster.
“Shahruf very nearly gave this sport up because of an aggressive and nasty health problem, but this strong-willed young man used incredible willpower to overcome the issue and now that he has won the national title, who knows what he might achieve in the future?”