Amazing achievement for the young boxers of Birtley
CONGRATULATIONS to Birtley ABC, a shining example of success who down the years have turned out great young boxing champions by the bucketful.
Their latest achievement – and quite an achievement – is gaining two silver medals and a bronze at the European Championships in Ukraine.
Three Euro medals at one meet is a first for any club in the United Kingdom, which speaks volumes for Tyneside ability.
The McCormack twins Pat and Luke both struck silver while Calum French claimed bronze.
“It’s a magnificent achievement, mind-boggling really,” said super coach Graeme Rutherford. “We were with the federations of Russia and Ukraine and they couldn’t recall any one club anywhere having such success.
“All three of the lads also qualified for the World Championships in Germany at the end of August which is brilliant.”
Pat McCormack, already well decorated, bombed through his early rounds beating a Lithuanian, Swede, Russian, and Ukrainian to finally confront the relentless style of Germany’s Abass Baraou in the welterweight final where, despite using his boxing skills to douse the German’s fire, he was edged out by a split decision but still had the considerable consolation of adding a second European silver medal to the one he secured in 2015.
Luke’s path through a United Nations of opposition saw him defeat boxers from Ukraine, Spain, Ireland, and Lithuania before a hard-hitting Armenian, Hovhannes Bachkov, took him out in a terrific light-welterweight bout.
Calum French claimed bronze at 60kg to make it a spectacular tournament for a Tyneside club which is now the envy of many country-wide.
“Both the twins probably had a harder route than most boxing top kids and to me it showed in the finals where their young age and the fact they haven’t operated at the weights for very long showed up,” Rutherford tells me. “Fatigue set in during the all important last rounds.
“There was no robbery or anything like that but on another day they could have got the nod in tight bouts.
“Still to get all three of our lads in the Worlds and for all three to come home with a medal both which has never been done before speaks volumes for the lads and the standard they continue to set for themselves.”
The words of pride and enthusiasm came tumbling out and there is no question of Birtley’s standing in amateur boxing. They have repeatedly set the benchmark for others to try and emulate.