Trio still in Senior Development reckoning
Three Black Country fighters are still in the reckoning as the England Development Senior Championships reaches the national semi-final stage.
Club-mates Conah Walker and Louis Brown, plus Solomon Dacres, are one fight from the final of Saturday's next round,
Walker had been due to take on Nathan Samuels in Class A - two to 10 bouts experience - at 75kg in a fight that would have divided Wolverhampton's Merridale Boxing Club.
The two operate out of the same gym and were set to contest the West Midlands decider. Samuels withdrew with a thumb injury, making Walker the area champion by forefit.
There was still no time for the 20-year-old to rest on his laurels, though, as he travelled to Bedworth's Newdigate Sports & Social Club to compete in the first national stage on Sunday.
Thomas Hill, from Karmand Centre in Bradford, seemed tailor made for his come forward style, as a toe-to-toe war soon ensued for three rounds.
They traded punches at will as Walker threw the kitchen sink at his opponent, but there was no getting Hill out of there. It went to the cards, where Walker's hand was raised by unanimous decision on points.
He improved his unpaid record to 10 wins without reply and Merridale are quietly confident he will now go on to claim the national crown.
He now joins Brown - who benefitted from a bye at 91kg in Class B (11 to 20 contests) - for action at the Dearness Valley Leisure Centre in Mexborough, Doncaster, on Saturday.
Brown definitely will step through the ropes this time as he's been paired with Marcin Lerwicki, from Skerton in Lancaster.
Warley's Dacres is at super heavyweight in Class A (91kg plus) and faces fellow Midlander Roman Lee, from Spire in Chesterfield.
Dacres scored his third straight unanimous victory in the competition last weekend over, Al-Mohammed Hussein, from Sileby in Leicestershire.
It was win No 10 overall for the 21-year-old, who used to play professional rugby for Moseley, since he swapped the oval ball for gloves, vest and a headguard.
Previous Development scalps for Dacres have come in the form of Walsall Wood's Daniel Pullinger before exacting revenge over Tamworth's Rafal Zmarzly, who put him out of the competition last year.
Another Black Country heavyweight bowed out of the tournament in the quarter-finals, but Antony Woolery again displayed his power.
Woolery scored a first round knockdown on route to a unanimous success over Wolverhampton's Michael Fietko in Class A's 91kg previous phase.
And a left hook to the chin dumped Kirkby's Luke Wilkinson on the canvas 30 seconds into the bout, but Woolery nearly punched himself out looking for the stoppage.
It led to a unanimous points defeat in what's likely to be Woolery's last appearance for Richie Carter's Golden Gloves in Wolverhampton. He's now expected to turn pro at cruiserweight.
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