Siobhan crowned Lochaber’s first female boxing champ
A little bit of sporting history was made at the weekend when mum-of-two Siobhan Duncan became Lochaber’s first female boxing champion.
Duncan annexed the Scottish Novice Female Welterweight championship after a gruelling final bout against Natalie Deans from the Edge boxing club.
Having seen Deans win her semi-final the previous day, Duncan decided she would put her height advantage to good use by forcing the smaller Deans onto the back foot by utilising straight punches from the centre of the ring and refusing to give ground.
These tactics led to an exciting opening round which the Lochaber boxer clearly won but Deans’s ferocity ensured there were some fierce exchanges as Duncan would sometimes battle at mid range rather than at length.
The Lochaber fighter used intelligence in the second round to adapt her tactics to keep the shorter Deans at the end of her straight punches, stepping back when her opponent rushed forward and then countering with hurtful blows from both hands.
Again winning the round, Duncan had to endure some solid punches from Deans as her low guard at times left her too exposed defensively. The third round was a real war of attrition because, while Duncan for the most part kept things at long range, there were times when the battle was fought at close to mid range.
Duncan again showed she was still thinking on her feet as she cleverly switched from body to head and brought in uppercuts when Deans, who had a very tight defence, occasionally lowered her head.
The bout was extremely hard-fought with Duncan, who celebrates her 32nd birthday this week, coming through the proverbial ‘gut check’ when things got tough and won all three rounds claiming a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards and claiming her first title.
A great achievement for someone who only started training last year but now works out four or five days a week, sometimes twice a day, incorporating sprint sessions into regime as well as her boxing sessions.
It’s also a real family effort for the Lochaber Phoenix Boxing Club representative as Duncan’s whole family help in looking after her girls Kayla and Carly on training nights to ensure she can attend the boxing club sessions.