Double delight for Lochaber boxers
Cameron Whyte, Scottish junior 54kg champion, 2002
age group. LOCHABER Phoenix Boxing Club enjoyed one of its most successful Scottish schoolboy and junior championships at the weekend.
The club returned from the event in Ravenscraig, Motherwell, with more champions than ever before.
Fifteen-year-old Cameron Whyte from Spean Bridge became Scottish champion for an incredible sixth consecutive year with convincing points decisions over his two main challengers.
Eryk Gnylewicz of Forgewood Boxing Club was Whyte’s semi-final opponent. Upcoming Gnylewicz, who is creating a big stir in Scottish boxing and towers five inches over Whyte, presented problems for the Lochaber boxer.
Whyte, now closing in on 50 career bouts, used his experience to dominate the action from first bell to the last. Whyte’s opponent in the final on the Sunday was Byron Boxing Club’s Fawaz Aborode, the reigning Northern District champion. Smaller in height than Whyte, he possessed an incredible physical strength.
The opening round saw Aborode barrelling forward trying to engage with Whyte at close range with hooks. This round was fairly evenly contested but the Lochaber boxer’s punches were always cleaner and more precise.
Whyte has had more bouts than any other junior boxer in Scotland and it showed in the final. He took possession of the centre of the ring and forced the powerful Aberdonian onto the back foot in the next round.
While this put Whyte in range of his opponent’s powerful shots, it also enabled him to transfer his body weight with every punch, doubling the power on his punches.
Whyte turned the temperature up in the final round, controlling the centre of the ring and double phasing his attacks meaning Aborode lost his shape.
Whyte began to drill solid shots home and finished the round on the ascendancy to clinch another title.
Eleven-year-old Josh Dieguno was the only other representative from Lochaber in the championships and the youngster from Caol showed an aptitude, will to win and tremendous attitude which isn’t normally shown by a boxer of his age. Dieguno has found himself on the wrong end of points decisions in every important bout of his career, having been runner-up in two finals in the last year.
He has dusted himself off, however, and has moved down a division to enter the 2006 weight category at 34kgs.
Dieguno’s opponent in his final, Branden Clarkson, from Meadowbank Boxing Club, Edinburgh, was an all-action opponent who had an aggressive technique.
However, Dieguno displayed a lot of the fortitude and skill to produce the best performance of his fledgling boxing career.
The Lochaber youngster was very calm under pressure as he glided side to side and looked to land straight punches on his oncoming opponent.
While Clarkson showed a lot of determination, Dieguno matched this and displayed a lot of ring craft, honed through months of practice in the gym.
Towards the end of each round, the supreme fitness of Dieguno would be a feature as he attempted to press home an advantage and show no small amount of aggression.
Dieguno has never lacked desire and this coupled with everything he has learned from recent defeats at the final stages of competitions has moved him up to another level.
Coach Niall Clark said: ‘At eleven years old Josh has become a perfect example to athletes of any age that defeat should not be the end but only a step towards your next victory. And while his final was hard fought, there was no doubt he was the superior technician in the ring and was fully deserving to walk out of the arena as the champion of his country.’
Both these boxers and many more will be featured in Lochaber Phoenix Boxing Club’s next show in the Nevis Centre on Saturday April 28.
Tickets are available from the venue or from anyone connected with the club. Josh Dieguno, Scottish junior 34kg champion, 2006 age group.