Sharpstyle youngsters box cleverly to claim a number of successes

Nelson Birchall claimed his third national title with victory in the NABGC (National Association for Boys and Girls Clubs) 50kg section.

Birchall was up against Arbi Maka from West Ham ABC with both boys producing a fine fight at the Bridlington Sports Centre.

Another Sharpstyle fighter reaching a final was Levi Barnes in the 57kg competition.

He fought Aaron Jones of Premier ABC Wales but lost on a split decision.

Barnes had beaten some good fighters on his way to the final but nerves took hold of him against Jones.

As the NABGC competition drew to a close, Sharpstyle boxers Jake Abrol and Frank Varey competed at the Riviera Box Cup in Torquay.

Both boys took care of their first bouts in dominant fashion, Varey stopping his opponent in the third round and Abrol forcing the referee to wave his bout off early in the first round.

Abrol added another Box Cup gold to his ever-growing collection with a clear unanimous win in the final against a strong, but limited, opponent.

Varey’s final had the attention of everyone at the venue as he was up against his England team-mate, Muhammad Ali, with both boxers looking to take the 52kg slot.

Varey boxed outstandingly in the final and was too sharp for Ali, winning by a unanimous decision, as well as taking the tournament’s best junior boxer award.

Further afield, Sharpstyle saw seven of their boxers travelling to Lisbon for the 2019 Odivelas Box Cup.

Taking place over the weekend of December 6-8, a host of countries from across Europe had fighters in action.

Sharpstyle came away with five of a possible seven gold medals and, once again, Varey won the best junior boxer award.

In all, November and December have seen Sharpstyle boxers take part in 38 bouts and claim 33 wins.

Head coach Andy Abrol said: “Our team is a small team of 10 boxers that have gelled together over the last five years.

“They are the number one boxers in the country at their respective age and weight so each fight they have is against very good opposition.”

Although the club will be closing for a well-earned break over the Christmas period, there will be no rest for one of Sharpstyle’s young stars, Alice Pumphrey.

Her Christmas has been put on hold as she prepares for a five-day tournament in Serbia on January 14.

She is part of the England Boxing select team of females competing in the Serbia International Cup.

Countries from all over the world enter the competition, making it one of the hardest events in which to compete, but Pumphrey is confident that she can return home with gold.

Next up for the Sharpstyle team is a home show at the Layton Institute on Saturday, January 25.

That is when they will take on Ireland’s current number one amateur boxing club, Olympic Mullinger.