Liam Etheridge as good as gold for Pleck

Liam Etheridge was as good as gold for Pleck Boxing Club as he brought home the West Midlands' only top honours from the Haringey Box Cup.

[gallery]

Europe's largest event for unpaid pugilists again reached its climax at the Alexandra Palace in London last weekend, writes Craig Birch.

Some 296 bouts were staged between the 500 entrants over three days, with Etheridge using the annual competition as his platform back to glory.

The 21-year-old flyweight has been a national champion before, going all of the way in what is again the Clubs for Young People championships three years ago.

Etheridge has since become a senior boxer alongside training to become a plumber, which forced him to miss this year's England Elite tournament as he was working away.

His day job has now brought him closer to home, so he's back in the Pleck gym he's been a part of since first lacing on the gloves aged 10.

Two spotless victories in the 52kg senior division at Haringey landed him a gold medal and gave him the impetus to get cracking again.

He said: "I've felt spot on recently, I've missed the sport and going to Haringey has gave me the hunger back. It's opened my eyes to what I can achieve.

"I've always dreamed of boxing for England and winning an ABA title and I'm stopping amateur until that happens. I've got another two or three years.

"I'll turn pro, in the end, with a good grounding. I've had 83 fights and won about 60 of them. I love Pleck and it's like my second home.

"I've got the skills to beat anyone at my weight. I'm a back-foot fighter and a precise counter puncher. When my opponent makes mistakes, I'm there to punish them."

Etheridge was true to form in the 52kg final against Ryan Gibbons, from the City of Hull, last year's Haringey winner at the weight.

The fresh Gibbons came in fresh after a bye and was outboxed, while first opponent St Ives' Jack Smith was completely schooled 24 hours previously.

Both victories were unanimous on points against southpaws, with combat against left-handers a recurring theme over the course of the two days.

Pleck entered two other prospects at Haringey, with Ryan Talwar also reaching the 60kg youth final before retiring with the result gone.

He was pulled out after two rounds with world-rated Irishman Paddy Donovan, from Olympic Galway, having been docked a point earlier in the session for holding.

Talwar was in the decider by virtue of a unanimous victory over Londoner Tommy Smith, from West Ham Boys, where his jab and combination punches were effective.

Club-mate James Beech faced an equally difficult test in the highly-rated Gary Culy in the 60kg senior ranks and fought though a bloody battle, before going down unanimouly.

Beech had fought back from losing the first round to claim the second, before he was sliced open above the right eye. He saw out the distance defending the wound, though.

[interruptor]