It's 75 not out for Elite debutant Jack Wood
It's 75 not out for Walsall's Jack Wood as he claimed the West Midlands vest in his England Elite Championships debut year.
The Wednesbury Boxing Club fighter now goes forward looking to shake off a reputation of being the 'nearly man' of national competition,
He's reached the semi-finals of the old junior ABA and the now-defunct Clubs for Young People tournaments, plus a Schoolboys final, but hasn't claimed a top title.
The 20-year-old reached the three-quarters-of-a-centruy milestone of unpaid contests with a split decision points victory over Owen O'Leary, from Coventry's Bell Green, in Sunday's 60kg area decider.
They clashed at the Newidgate Social Club in Bedworth, with Wood now waiting to find out if he will box or get a bye through this weekend's national pre-quarter finals.
He bossed most of proceedings against O'Leary after setting a steady pace in the first round, with his punch combinations starting to land more freely come the second.
After being told to step it up in the corner, Wood used right hands to the body to set up left hooks to the head, with the game O'Leary trying to battle back.
Both went hell-for-leather in the third and final round but Wood's success through lefts saw him home with the judges, leaving trainer Stuart Grainger satisfied.
He said: "We could have put Jack in the Elite last year, but we didn't think he was ready. He's proved that he is now.
"Owen has been about a bit and is no mug, he's a decent lad but he couldn't handle Jack. It was a pleasing performance from him.
"Jack seems to be getting better and better as he gets older and maybe this could be his year. He deserves to be a national champion."
Finals weekend will take place at the Echo Arena in Liverpool where the quarters, semis and final will be staged day-to-day from April 24 to 26.
Old rival Luke McCormack, who beat him in the 2012 national semi-finals of the CYPs, is seeded at the weight and is preparing for Merseyside, on what could be a revenge mission for Wood.
Grainger said: "Jack would be well up for that, Luke is a top fighter but we haven't heard a lot about what he's been doing over the past few months.
"We often wonder what would have happened had that result gone the other way."
Pleck's Liam Etheridge, the 2013 CYP champion and three-time national finalist, bowed out of his Elite area decider without boxing.
The 21-year-old planned to drop down a weight and had been paired with talented Brummie Galal Yafai, brother of professionals Gamal and Khalid, but couldn't make 49kg.
Wolverhampton's Lauren Johnson, who has switched clubs from Walsall Wood to Wodensborough, has walked over to finals weekend at 75kg.
'The Black Widow,' 30, was famously crowned a national champion by first round stoppage on her competitive debut in the comparable old senior ABAs three years ago.
