Amateur trio reach junior ABA national finals

Connor Jones, from Lions ABC in Dudley, also reached his first national final in five years as all three made it a hat-trick of wins at Great Barr Leisure Centre.

The venue has staged the pre-quarter, quarter and Sunday's semi-finals and it's proved to be a happy hunting ground for Walsall Wood ABC fighter Stevenson.

He has blazed a trail at 71kg in the most senior of Classes - Six, for boxers born in 1995 - and has now took out George Parrish, from Beartown ABC in Cheshire.

Stevenson handed Parrish two standing counts in the third of four rounds, forcing the referee's intervention after a right hand set up a tasty left with defences down.

Parrish fell for the same move moments later after his hands came down as he looked to jab his way out of trouble, forcing the man in the middle to call for the bell.

Breeze was nearly as comprehensive a winner at 66kg in Class Five - boxers in 1996 - against Cory Fenwick, from Horden ABC in County Durham, in a points victory.

The West Midlands entrant worked almost exclusively with his jab and popped it out to negate Fenwick's attacks, turning his fists into screw shots for added effect.

He commanded the ring throughout the three rounds to record a unanimous points victory and safe passage into the two-time ABA Schoolboys champion's third final.

Jones will join him this weekend in his first final since the Schoolboys in 2008 after another unanimous points win that all appeared to hinge on the third and last round.

After two fairly even sessions, Lions trainer John Shakespeare berated and fired up the 17-year-old in the corner and he bombed back out to win the fight.

Jones then bit on his gum-shield and traded punches with James Thompson, from Wellingtons ABC in Middlesbrough, launching left hooks and right back hands.

He took shots along the way and had to brave against the Northerner, who reached a Clubs for Young People national final last year, to take the judges' decision.

But Wednesbury ABC's Jack Wood is out after a majority points loss despite a valiant effort against his nemesis Luke McCormack, from Birtley Boys ABC in Northumberland.

McCormack also put him out of the CYP national semi-finals last year and Wood was clearly to keen to avenge that defeat after taking the fight to the England international.

Wood got straight on McCormack and forced him to counter punch on the back foot, but struggled with the hand-speed of his talented adversary, particularly as fatigue set in.