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10/03/2010
England come out on top after difficult start
The first ever mixed team of youth boxers has just returned from Germany after taking part in a round robin tournament, braving long journeys and 6am blizzards in the process.
England National Coach Mick Gannon said: "This was a great learning curve for the England team, who, with the exception of the female boxers were all boxing 3 x 3 minute rounds for the first. The team showed grit and determination after a slow first two days, but they kept to their game plan and came out on top as champion nation."
The team were met by the host nation in Frankfurt and taken to the National Sports Training Centre in Heidelberg, before they set off for their first tournament, four-and-a-half hours away in the village of Wittenhofen, close to the Alps.
First up on a thirteen bout bill was Carly Weallans, boxing German girl Claire Lamada.
Carly was too strong for her opponent, using the bout to try a number of different tactics and winning easily on points.
Next up for England was Connor Nixon, who boxed well against a very skilful and strong Erik Sokolov. Connor couldn't match the pace of the German and lost on points.
Henry Thomas proved too powerful for Mohammed Maher of Germany, who couldn't handle the angle and pace of the English boxer's attacks and Thomas won comfortably on points.
Shafiq Asif didn't appear to concede a point in his contest against Erkan Bozkaya of Germany, but the final result was 7 points to Germany's 5 - in a decision that appeared erroneous to the English team.
Sam McNess came up against a very strong opponent in Thomas Vahrenhold, and although he stayed with the German, Vahrenhold cleverly stole points between the exchanges.
Johnny Saunders learned a hard lesson as gave his all in the first three minutes f his bout against Irishman Chris Blaney. Blaney held his ground and Saunders realised that with two more rounds to go he was finding it very difficult to keep up the pace, eventually losing on points.
Lerrone Richards had a good bout against Simon Stromeyer, keeping his German opponent at long range. It was difficult to pick a winner, but the decision went to the German.
Day one results
Carly Weallans beat Claire Lamada (Germany) pts
Connor Nixon lost to Erik Solokov (Germany) pts
Henry Thomas beat Mohammed Maher (Germany) pts
Shafiq Asif lost to Erkan Bozkaya (Germany) pts
Sam McNess lost to Thomas Vahrenhold (Germany) pts
Johnny Saunders lost to Chris Blaney (Ireland) pts
Lerrone Richards beat Simon Stromeyer (Germany) pts
Coach Les Brooking (back) and his father, referee and judge Keith -
making representing England a family affair!
On day two the teams boarded a coach for a two-hour journey to the village of Pforzheim.
Ruth Raper looked as though she was going to comfortably out box Germany's Maker Klunis, but a points decision told otherwise.
Connor Nixon came up against a very strong boxer in Chris Phelan of Ireland. Phelan had beaten the world champion on the previous evening, but Connor matched him for the first half of the bout before he started to run out of ideas and lost on points.
Henry Thomas had too much ammunition for Ireland's Michael McDonagh, who he'd lost to on a previous occasion, winning this bout comfortably on points.
Shafiq Asif made sure after the previous night's decision that he used all his gears and boxed Germany's Philip Nsingi to a standstill, winning on points.
Sam McNess's German opponent Arayk Marution was the most explosive puncher of the tournament, and Sam weathered two rounds of heavy blows. In the third round Sam was determined to take the German on and throughout the round kept Marution on his back foot. He still had a long way to try and catch up though, and Marution won on points. Sam was due to box Fergal McRory on Sunday, but the Irish boxer was stopped with a cut nose so was unfit to box.
Johnny Saunders had learned his lesson from the previous night and was more economical with his power in his bout against Germany's Denis Radovan. It was a very close bout, with Saunders narrowly losing on points.
Germany's Islam Sulimanov had just come back from a tournament with a win over the world champion under his belt, but this did not perturb Lerrone Richards, who rocked the German in the second round with a powerful backhand shot. Richards failed to monopolise on this, however, losing on points.
Day two results
Ruth Raper lost to Maike Kluners (Germany) pts
Connor Nixon lost to Chris Phelan (Ireland) pts
Henry Thomas beat Michael McDonagh (Ireland) pts
Shafiq Asif beat Philip Nsingi (Germany) pts
Sam McNess lost to Arayk Marution (Germany) pts
Johnny Saunders lost to Denis Radovan (Germany) pts
Lerrone Richards lost to Islam Sulimanov (Germany) pts
The third day's boxing took place in a marquee in the small town of Schriesheim, just outside Heidelberg.
Carly Weallans boxed Germany's Maker Kluners, who was very strong and determined but didn't have an answer to Carly's strength and skill. This was another comfortable win for Carly.
Ruth Raper was determined to keep Germany's Claire Lamada at long range, and she did so throughout the bout, winning comfortably by five clear points.
Henry Thomas hurt Germany's Benedict Probst early on in the bout and the German survived three rounds of onslaught from Thomas before the Englishman was declared winner.
Shafiq Asif's Irish opponent Michael O'Reilly was determined to stay at the same pace as 'Chubzy', and this he did for the first half of the bout, until Asif stepped up another two gears, leaving the Irishman in his wake and winning comfortably on points.
Germany's Vjaceslaw Spomer's style suited Johnny Saunders. The German wanted a toe-to-toe battle, but in each round Johnny went ahead, taking a points decision.
Lerrone Richards' bout against Thomas Holland (Germany) was nip and tuck all the way through, but Lerrone's grit, determination and constant attacks in the third round made him a winner by two points.
Day three results
Carly Weallans beat Maike Kluners(Germany) pts
Ruth Raper beat Claire Lamada (Germany) pts
Henry Thomas beat Benedict Probst (Germany) pts
Shafiq Asif beat Michael O'Reilly (Ireland) pts
Johnny Saunders beat Vjaceslaw Spomer (Germany) pts
Lerrone Richards beat Thomas Holland (Germany) pts
Final points tally
England - 30 points (Champions)
Germany team 1 - 29 points (2nd)
Germany team 2 - 27 points (3rd)
Ireland - 23 points (4th)
The team
Mick Gannon BEM, National Coach
Alan Keast, Midland Counties coach
Les Brooking, Western Counties coach
Keith Brooking, Western Counties R&J
60kg Carly Weallans, Newbiggin ABC - Tyne Tees
60kg Ruth Raper, Lynn ABC - London
51kg Connor Nixon, Wombwell ABC - Yorkshire
57kg Henry Thomas, Darlington ABC - Tyne Tees
60kg Shafiq Asif, South Bank ABC - Tyne Tees
64kg Sam McNess, Repton ABC- London
69kg Johnny Saunders, St Mary's ABC - Southern Counties
75kg Lerrone Richards, Repton ABC - London