Finbarr O'Flaherty goes one better with TKO
Finbarr O'Flaherty is on a roll heading into the West Midlands finals of the England Youth Championships on Sunday.
Area honours in the first tournament on the England Boxing calendar for 2017 will be decided this weekend,
A single age range - born in either 1999 or 2000 - houses the fighters, who are split into weight classes before being whittled down. Bouts take place over three, three minute rounds.
O'Flaherty, from Priory Park Boxing Club in Dudley, returns to scene of his semi-final triumph by TKO last Sunday.
The 17-year-old made an impact at the Newdigate Colliery Club in Bedworth, which will also host the West Midlands deciders.
It followed on from his opening victory in the tournament at 69kg, a unanimous points win over Great Wyrley's Ryan Woolridge eight days earlier.
O'Flaherty got the job done inside-the-distance this time against Tom Ross, from the Tom Lowe gym in Stoke-on-Trent.
He posed immediate danger to his adversary from the opening bell, pushing Ross onto the backfoot and closing down the space to attack.
He wreaked havoc with the overhand right, which scored two standing counts around the middle of the second round. On the latter occasion, the referee signalled an end to the contest.
Now standing in his way is Brummie Hakeem Ali-Hussain, of O'Dells, with the two set to slug it out for a place in the national stages.
Walsall Wood's Hamzah Ahmed had to win twice last weekend at 56kg to make this weekend's showdown with the Second City's Lewis Coley.
Ahmed first bested Priory Park's Rahmatullah Sher in a box-off on Saturday, before repeating the trick against Tom Lowe's Wesley Griffith at Newdigate. Both were by unanimous points decision.
Amir Ali, from Windmill in Smethwick, went down fighting in a cracking contest at 64kg with Worcester City's Owen Cooper, who halted Darlaston's Regan Williams the previous time out.
Conna Hincks, from Merridale in Wolverhampton, was due to contest a straight West Midlands final but has withdrawn.
Hincks has fractured two bones in his left hand hitting the body bag in training, so has been ruled out. Scheduled opponent Aaron Bowen, of Triumph in Coventry, goes through by default at 75kg.
Those victorious on Sunday will go through to finals weekend at the Magna Centre in Rotherham, which stages the national quarters, semis and final from February 17-19.
