Adam Earnshaw wins Northwest Region 32.5KG Minors schoolboy title

Adam Earnshaw won the Northwest Region 32.5KG Minors schoolboy title

Adam Earnshaw, 12, of Hamer Amateur Boxing Club, won the Northwest Region 32.5KG Minors schoolboy title with an unanimous points victory over Wes Holding of Leigh ABC at The Light House Venue, 12 Centenary Park, Cornet Way, Salford M50 IRE.

Right from the first bell Earnshaw set the tone of the contest with a crisp one-two combination to the chin of his on-coming opponent before stepping out of range with sharp footwork.

Holding continued to move forward while Earnshaw led him into constant traps by allowing his opponent to throw his punches before stepping out of range by half a step then springing back into the action with very fast counter-punches.

This continued throughout the round with Holding hoping to connect with his big right-hand punch while the Rochdale boxer was content to step back and reply with fast three and four punch combinations to take the round.

In the second round it was Holding who connected first with a solid right hand punch to the chin, but as he continued to move forward hoping to land more punches, Earnshaw turned him on the ropes with cunning ring craft before unloading swift combinations to his opponents head.

The Hamer boxer continued to use the ring to his advantage throughout the rest of the round while using bright and inventive footwork before unloading fast combinations as his opponent persisted in his pursuit of him.

In the third and last round the now desperate Leigh boxer upped his rushing tactics to try and get to Earnshaw, which resulted in the Rochdale boxer nearly falling out of the ring.

Earnshaw held onto his opponent, hoping not to fall out of the ring, but it was he who was reprimanded by the referee for holding.

Both boxers began to slow down as the round edged towards the finish, and worried that the referees warning would count against him, Earnshaw began to push forward for the very first time in the contest taking the fight to Holding whilst maintaining his classy footwork and sustained combinations right up until the last bell.

It was enough to give Earnshaw the fight and the championship title.

Hamer head coach Steven Connellan said: "That was a very good performance by the young lad.

"Adam had lost to this opponent earlier on in the season, but thoughout the season I knew that he was gaining invaluable experience in other competitions and it showed in this contest because Holding was never in the fight."