Liam Etheridge staying in the amateur ranks
Walsall's Liam Etheridge today insisted he's in no rush to turn pro as the new national amateur champion pledged his allegiance to the unpaid ranks.
The Pleck ABC fighter was crowned a title holder in the National Ambition Boxing Championships last month and made a name for himself.
Etheridge dumped out three-time national champion Reece Mould at the semi-final stage, before defeating England international Thomas Kindon in the final.
Now the 19-year-old featherweight from New Invention, a sign maker by day, has set his sights on boxing for his country for the first time, rather than turn over to the pro code.
The talented teenager even has lofty ambitions of pushing for a place on Team GB at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
He said: "When the Olympics start, I will still be 21 and I want to turn pro when I am 22 or 23. Until then, I want to enjoy the amateur game as much as I can.
"I have had 75 fights for Pleck and the trainers are like parents to me, I was 10 when I first came to Pleck and 11 when I had my first fight for them. It's like my second home and I grew up there.
"I have grown up into a technical boxer, I plan my shots and get in and out, I am not a brawler. I can bang for my age and weight, too."
Scenes of elation filled the ring at the Heart of Portsmouth Boxing Academy on December 7, as Etheridge was given the nod in the title decider at 54kg in Class C, for boxers born in 1994 and 1995.
It was third time lucky for the former ABA Schoolboys and junior finalist as he, trainers Terry and Tony Leonard and his family quite literally jumped for joy.
Etheridge said: "Nine years I waited for it, but it eventually happened. I trained twice a day, three days a week, and it paid off in the end.
"There's a lot of people to thank for it, it's not all me. It's Pleck, too, and I think Tony and Terry were happier than me when the result was announced!
"It was a tough fight in the final, I boxed his head off for the first two rounds and then he came back strong in the third, but I kept my guard tight and stood my ground.
"It was a majority decision, which made me worry it was going to go the other way. But when he raised my hand, I jumped up and screamed."
