Express & Star

Super Shay claims the area title by stoppage

Shay Hugman will be a feared fighter come the national stages of the England Development junior championships after claiming the West Midlands title in style.

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Hugman scored a knockdown and a standing count in three punishing rounds for Liam Taylor, waved off rising to his feet in the last session,

writes Craig Birch.

Taylor, from Tom Lowe in Stoke-on-Trent, was floored in the third by the same left hook-straight right combination that had forced the referee's intervention in the first.

The 15-year-old, from Walsall Wood Boxing Club, showed great power at the Wallace Centre in Stoke-on-Trent this week to win by stoppage.

The Brownhills School pupil now moves on to compete in the national pre-quarter finals, at the Newdigate Colliery Sports & Social Club in Bedworth on Sunday afternoon.

His next rival in the 50kg section of Class A is North-West regional rival Brendan Collins, representing Sandygate in Burnley.

Class A is for boxers born in 1999 who have had two to 10 bouts, while Class B incorporates 1998 entrants of the same experience.

Rugeley Police's Morgan Jones is also still involved after prevailing from a Staffordshire derby at 70kg against Jarrad Gower, from the Right Stuff in Stafford.

Jones rocked his occasional sparring partner with right hands on route to an unanimous points victory, although the game Gower hung in there until the end.

The victor will now tackle Patrick Harris, from Astley VIP in Wigan. Mohammed Khan, from Merridale in Wolverhampton, sits it out with another bye at 42kg.

But Harry Conlan, from Darren McDermott's Brooklands home gym in Dudley, was defeated unanimously on points by Warwick's Joe Horrocks at 52kg.

Christian Amendola and Josh Rafferty come into the Class B reckoning, after walking over the area decider, and have been matched for Sunday.

Amendola, from Priory Park in Dudley, was due to meet Ben Jones (Queensberry, Birmingham) at 54kg, but his opponent pulled out due to fitness issues.

So Amendola instead enters the competition against Sonny Wilson, from Timperley in Altrincham, with club-mate Sam Russell eliminated last time out.

Russell and Aston's Jaimeet Sandhu engaged in a great boxing bout at 63kg, which ultimately went the way of the Second City combatant unanimously.

Sandhu marginally beat him to the punch for most of the first two rounds. Russell was on top by the end of the third, but it came too late to sway the judges.

Rafferty, a product of the newly-formed City of Wolverhampton School of Boxing, will step through the ropes at 60kg with Tyler Stratten, from Ardwick Lads Club in Manchester.

Walsall Wood could yet have two fighters progress to the national quarter-finals with Ibrahim Khan already through, receiving a bye at 46kg.

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