Coree Clarke just gold at the Three Nations
Coree Clarke brought home the Black Country's only gold medal representing England in the Great Britain Youth Three Nations tournament.
The 17-year-old gunned for glory on a team captained by Darlaston's Benjamin Whittaker, of Wodensborough Boxing Club,
The Brummie fighter, who represents Warley, left his Welsh adversary hanging on by the final bell in Sunday's heavyweight final.
Rhys Jones had already survived a standing count in the second round, coming under fire as he tried to put the pressure on.
Behind on the score cards, Jones tried to trap him in the corner only for Clarke to ambush him instead, teeing off with a barrage of punches before the referee intervened.
Jones was allowed to box on but couldn't save the contest, Clarke's hand raised at the final bell by unanimous points decision.
The teenager was invited to compete as the losing 91kg finalist in this year's domestic Youth event, with England allowed to enter two boxers per weight as the host nation.
Youth champion Robert Squires dropped down to 81kg, too, which panned out with Clarke sitting out the semi-finals through a bye and then coming in fresh for the decider.
After success in his bout at the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham, trainer John Nash said: "He threw his last final away, really.
"He dropped Squires in that bout, but couldn't go for the kill as he was cramping up. It cost him a national title he should have won.
"But, credit to him, he's gone from strength to strength and bounced back with this victory, that will put him firmly in the mind of the international selectors.
"It's a great achievement for someone who has only been with us 18 months. He was a talented runner before that - he can run the 100m in 11 seconds."
Skipper Whittaker faced an all-English final and a repeat of this year's 75kg youth final, against team-mate and pal Zak Chelli.
Chelli exacted his revenge for that defeat, with a unanimous points call that left Whittaker feeling hard done to.
His game plan to counter attack backfired, as he failed to put his shots together with the same velocity that had worked so well on Saturday.
He scored a sensational semi-final win over Scotland's Willie Hutchinson, the European champion and hot favourite, by split decision after an exciting contest.
Akash Tuqir, boxing out of Merridale in Wolverhampton, fell at the first hurdle with a unanimous semi-final defeat to Wales' Micky McDonagh on Saturday.
Tuqir, from Hadley in Telford, is experiencing no luck after three national final defeats, although he won the Three Nations as a schoolboy in 2011.
The slick southpaw lost to Brendan Doard in this year's 52kg Youth final, although he was joined by Brummie Niall Farrell for England at the weight.
There was no stopping the formidable McDonagh, who went on to claim gold on a split decision against Farrell in the decider.
