Liam Gould counts cost of ABA Schoolboys exit
Pressure told on Liam Gould as his first fight in the national quarter-final of the ABA Schoolboys tournament ended with a stoppage defeat inside the distance.
Gould, boxing out of William Perry ABC in Tipton, took a standing count in all of the three allotted rounds before the referee stepped in during the last session.
The 14-year-old, who attends Coseley School, had received a series of byes to progress past the West Midlands rounds and last weekend's pre-quarter finals.
That paired the teenager with Ben Rees of Newbiggin ABC in Northumberland yesterday afternoon at 57kg in Class One, for fighters born in 2000, yesterday.
They clashed at the Everton Park Sports Centre in Liverpool and Gould was answering a count from the referee in round one, then again in the second session.
Both combatants had taken some heavy shots with clubbing blows landed with defences neglected, which made for one of the day's real entertaining battles.
But the man in the middle had seen enough in the third round and made a dazed Gould again answer the count, before deciding enough was enough and calling for the bell.
