Nine to fly the flag for Birtley in junior national showpiece event
TOP Tyne club Birtley will have nine boxers going into the big weekend of the Junior National Championships at the Magna in Sheffield.
Shaun Huddart, Jay Conway and Rhys Deehan won through in the quarters at the JD Dome in Hartlepool .
They will be joined in Sheffield by Josh Robson, Lee Rodgers, Brandon Morrison, and Jack Dryden, who all suffered from their opponents ‘ late withdrawals.
Birtley’s two girls, Natalia Johnson and Sophie Wright, are not scheduled to box until the semi-finals on Saturday, with the finals due the following day.
Huddart was a unanimous points winner at 44kg Cadet Class One against L Cunningham from the City Of Hull club.
Birtley head coach Graeme Rutherford said: “This was a good performance from Shaun who dominated behind his jab and walked Cunningham on to right hands.”
Conway won on a 4-1 split against K McBaid (Jimmy Egan’s) at 52kg Cadet Class One.
European silver medallist Rhys Deehan took a unanimous points victory against old adversary Blaine Lambert (Laisterdyke) in the Junior Class Two at 50kg.
Rutherford added: “Lambert is a former national champion and both had boxed in the NABC Championships in October.
“The fight saw the same pattern with Lambert chasing and looking to outwork the more accurate and precise punches of Rhys, who was stopping Lambert in his tracks with back hand and lead hooks.”
Birtley’s Ali Shah dropped a 3-2 split to J Boston (Steel City).
The Senior Elites get underway at the Hartlepool JD Arena on Saturday when Birtley will have Jake Slater, Issac Milburn, Joe Laws, Ben Rees, Hannah Shields, and Hanna Robinson all weighing in.
Calum French and the McCormack twins Pat and Luke are flying to Australia for a 10-day training camp before the Commonwealth Games start, while Thomas Hodgson leaves today for the European Under-22s.
Cyrus Pattinson was the British Lionhearts’ only loser when they defeated Italia Thunder 4-1 in the WSB in Milan. Pattinson was stopped in the third round by Mirko Natalizi.