Junior Championships 2021: Magnificent seven for West Ham and Newham (round-up)
November 2, 2021 | by Matt Halfpenny
London clubs West Ham (pictured above) and Newham each secured a magnificent seven titles at a bumper edition of the England Boxing National Junior Championships 2021.
With the Covid-19 Pandemic forcing all national events to be scheduled into the final four months of the year, Junior Development Class A and Class B boxers competed alongside their Cadet and Junior Open counterparts – rather than at a standalone event – in one giant spectacle.
And it was an occasion the capital’s boxers rose to in style with Powerday Hooks (two winners), Rainham, Bodyshots, Fairburn (Musa Sheikh, pictured below) and Finchley also enjoying successes, in addition to the East End duo.
But there was plenty of successes for boxers from all four corners of the country, too, with boxers from no less than 65 clubs claiming national titles in one of the four categories.
That included successes for every one of England Boxing’s 11 regions, from Cambois Miners and Sunderland (Laylie Heath, pictured below) in the North East, to Golden Ring, Southampton on the South Coast.
West Ham’s success was in stark contrast to the Schools Championships in September when they had a number of finalists, but did not register a single champion.
This time there was plenty of cause for celebration in a stellar weekend for the club as Frank Middleton, Joshua Jarvis, Harry Penny, Luke Rodda, Charlie Brown, Riley Murray and Anthony Connors all finished Finals Day as number one in the country.
Newham, meanwhile, ensured they ended the weekend as the joint most successful club, with Arthur Mattock, Jimmy Doherty, Emmanuel Buttigieg, Paddy Rooney, Joby Smith, Matty Attrell and Charlie Cooper all prevailing.
“What’s been great to see is that the majority of those who won European Schools titles were here competing at this event, meaning they have continued and successfully made the transition to the higher age group,” said England Boxing’s Development Coach, Amanda Coulson.
“What was also pleasing to see was that these boxers were being pushed hard – and in some cases beaten – by other boxers who have developed their skills during the time competition has been locked down by Covid-19.
“We now have a very talented core of Junior boxers and it will be interesting to see how they have moved on again by the time the next England Boxing National Junior Championships come round in March that will, Covid-19 permitting, help us select a squad for the Junior European Championships 2022.”
Open Class champions were rewarded with a championship belt, while Cadets and Development Class A and Class B boxers won a gold medal.
Finalists in all classes picked up silver medals and losing semi-finalists bronze medals, while all boxers received an England Boxing certificate in recognition of their efforts.
Those who won Open Class titles are now being invited to train with the England Talent coaches at a Junior Champions Day on Saturday 13th November (boys) and Sunday 14th November (girls).
Female boxers of the tournament, as selected by the team of watching England Talent coaches, were Fay Brown (Development Class A, Cambois Miners, Under 46kg), Gabby Strange (Development Class B, Wimborne, Under 70kg), Nancy Shepherd (Cadet, Kent Gloves, Under 54kg) and Emily Whitworth (Open Class, The People’s Gym, Under 54kg).
Male boxers of the tournament were Jayden Hook (Development Class A, Billericay, Under 54kg), Harvey Orriss (Development Class B, Guildford, Under 60kg), Louis Szeto (Cadet, Gemini, Under 46kg) and Leighton Birchall (Open Class, Sharpstyle, Under 46kg).
The female bout of tournament was Abby Briggs (Hunslet) v Madison Adkins (Bodyshots Redditch) in the Open Class category, while the male bout of the tournament was Denaeo George (City of Leicester) v Thomas Varey (Sharpstyle), also in the Open Class.
Click here for full results.
Click here for video highlights.
