Halesowen's Osama Mohamed starts championship with a victory
Halesowen boxing ace Osama Mohamed made an impressive start to his world youth championship campaign with a unanimous points win over Latvia’s Orda Alans.
Mohamed proved too quick and slick for his opponent over three dominant rounds last night in Alicante and will now face Ireland’s Conor McCrory in the last-32 of the light-welterweight tournament,
The Lions Boxing club star was one of the first England boxers to get underway in Spain, with a packed field in his weight category requiring the addition of a preliminary round.
But there never seemed any danger of the 18-year-old stumbling at the first hurdle, with Alans unable to follow up his aggression with any finesse and Mohamed always in control.
The tone for the bout was set in the opening seconds, the Latvian barrelling forward and missing with an overhand right which Mohamed quickly countered.
Gradually, the English fighter began to take command, remaining patient and picking his shots. By the third round Alans’ eagerness to make an impact saw him end up on the floor having lost balance after another ambitious, failed attack.
Mohamed took all three rounds on the judges’ scorecards, with the officials from Italy and the UAE ruling he had won the last by a 10-8 margin.
The former Windsor High School student is looking to cap off an excellent year, in what is the biggest tournament of his career to date.
Mohamed won bronze at April’s European youth championships and claimed gold at last month’s Brandenburg Cup. Winning a medal at the worlds would further boost his hopes of selection for the full-time Team GB squad.
