Young ring king bags title again
Parnez lands Scottish Open crown
Rutherglen b ox e r Shahzman Parnez has won the Scottish Open title for the second year in a row.
The 12- year- old champion at the 2004 50kgs weight division, controlled his bout with Southside Boxing Academy’s Csaba Szilagyi on Sunday, February 26.
It was Shahzman’s second title win of the season, after taking victory in the Western District championships two weeks previously, which means he is set to represent Scotland in a British boxing tournament in April.
The youngster, who lost his gran, grandad and three other family members in a bus crash in Saudi Arabia this year, fought valiantly at the Ravenscraig Regional Sports Centre in Motherwell.
In the championship size ring, Shahzman used his good fast footwork to avoid the smaller hooking opponent. He moved back into attacking position with fast one-two straight combinations and he continued those attacks throughout the three rounds. One judge out of the five thought the Southside boxer was a worthy winner who never lacked in courage coming forward.
But Shahzman won by majority and will now wait to see if he will be representing Scotland in the Three Nations competition coming up in two months time.
Proud coach Archie Durie said: “I’m pleased for him and his family. I’m very proud of Shahzman, who has trained through personal tragic circumstances. He’s been training really hard for this so it’s much deserved. He was in the bigger ring but he used his fast feet well and controlled the fight from the start.
“We’ll need to wait to see if he will represent Scotland. If he is accepted, he’ll be fighting the champions from England and Wales at his weight category.
“To win two titles in two weeks and by putting himself into contention to box for Scotland is a great achievement.”