Malmesbury boxer lifts the Golden Gloves Schoolboy title (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Malmesbury boxer lifts the Golden Gloves Schoolboy title

MALMESBURY Boxing Club youngster Joe Hughes reached the pinnacle of his career when he annexed the National Golden Gloves Schoolboy title at Gateshead last Saturday.

Liverpool's Peter Gallagher (Kirby) had been tipped by local pundits to go all the way, but they hadn't reckoned on the tenacity, power and sheer determination of his keen opponent.

The classy Gallagher moved smoothly and fired off rapid combinations in the first, but failed to register as Hughes' tight defence and upper body movement denied the Liverpudlian an easy target.

In contrast, the 14-year-old Hughes crashed in thumping jabs and left hooks with comparative ease and varied his punches from body to head to take the first round by a clean margin.

But Gallagher showed his class in the second and staged a determined effort in an attempt to get back on terms, and Hughes' jab was not so dominant as the previous round.

By the end of the round, the gap between them had closed but with Hughes still in front.

The final session proved to be decisive, but Gallagher's desperate attempts to wrest the title were countered by tremendous punches from Hughes which rocked the Northerner's head back repeatedly.

The final minute evidenced the efforts of a long championship campaign for both boys as the pace slowed noticeably, but Hughes had done more than enough to lift the title.

It is expected that an England vest will beckon for the local lad in the forthcoming Four Nations Championships.

Not so lucky was clubmate Richard Sheppard, whose lack of experience showed in his clash with Lampton Street's Ryan Cowley in the 75kg final.

Despite starting aggressively and pushing his opponent back in the opener, Cowley began to get through in the second and forced a standing count towards the end of the round, much to the surprise of the Malmesbury lad.

Although Sheppard showed tremendous heart to continue to take the fight to Cowley, the North East champion's punches continued to penetrate Shep-pard's guard.

At this point, the referee decided he had seen enough and brought proceedings to an end mid-way through the final round.

Sheppard need not feel too disappointed with his brave performance, however, as the courage shown bodes well for the future when he has a few more bouts under his belt.