Daniel crowned Scottish champ
O’Neils boxer bags gold in youth 75kg bout
A Rutherglen teenager has won the Scottish boxing champion title in his weight category for the third time.
O’Neils BC boxer Daniel McMurray, 15, put in the best performance of his career to overcome Renfrewshire’s Jason McCormack to take the 75kg title.
The Stonelaw High School pupil was at the top of his game at the Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility in Motherwell on Sunday.
And he proved to be too much for his opponent as the referee called a halt to proceedings in the third and final round.
His proud dad and coach Danny McMurray stood ringside and was delighted to see his boy clinch another honour.
He said: “That’s the best boxing we’ve seen from him.
“He was punch perfect from start to finish and we thought he was top class throughout.
“He couldn’t sleep the night after it with all the adrenalin.
“His PE teachers follow his progress and they are all pleased with how he’s doing.”
Daniel, of Rodger Drive, has represented Scotland in the Youth GB Three Nations competition and looks set to be called up to the Scotland squad this season following Sunday’s victory.
Scottish boxing stars such as Ricky Burns and Cambuslang man Scott Harrison both went on to secure world titles after winning domestic honours in their teens.
Dad Danny reckons his son has the potential to emulate either of those professionals’ careers and his latest victory could be the start of a long and successful route to the top.
He said: “If you win the Scottish then you are invited to the Scotland training camps.
“He’s won the Scottish open classes twice and obviously won the 75kg one on Sunday so he should be selected for it. These sort of fights were the first steps for boxers like Ricky Burns and Scott Harrison so this is basically how your career starts and progresses from.
“He hopes to go on to be a professional one day.”
And it was not just Daniel who did O’Neils proud at the weekend.
Eleven-year-old Kai Burrell bagged himself a silver medal to mark an outstanding day for the Cambuslang club. The youngster from Garrowhill just missed out on winning his respective final on points but Danny believes there is more to come from him.
He added: “It was very competitive and he had to go through a semi-final.
“He has bags of potential.”