Exuberance of Youth for Idris Mohammed
Idris Mohammed will edge towards another West Midlands title if he can make it a hat-trick of wins in the England Youth Championship.
The Wellington Boxing Academy fighter competes for the third time in six days tomorrow night,
The tall and strong 16-year-old will go up against Finbar O'Flaherty, from Priory Park in Dudley, at the Irish Centre in Digbeth, Birmingham.
It's one of two box-offs Mohammed will undertake in a five-pronged 64kg having downed another Black Country boy, Ethan Collins, on Wednesday.
The Wellington prospect moves to within sight of more area honours, who reached the England Junior national quarter-finals and the National Association of Boys & Girls Clubs semis last year.
A single age range - competitors born in either 1998 or 1999 - houses the Youth hopefuls, who are split into weight classes before being whittled down.
Mohammed eased to a second unanimous points victory over Collins, from Brooklands in Dudley, in a bout specially arranged at Wolverhampton Boxing Club.
It added to his routine win over Sohan Akram, from Wayne Elcock's gym in Birmingham, at Donnington Sports & Social Club on Sunday.
O'Flaherty defeated Luis Martin, from Len Woodhall's Community Club in Telford, unanimously at Donnington and put him down in the first round.
A stiff left hook to the head dumped Martin on the canvas, but he got up and gamely clung on to see out the round and regain his senses.
O'Flaherty overly loaded up looking for the finish working off the jab in the second, as Martin looked to hold and smother his work.
The third brought the realisation that the bout was going the distance, so O'Flaherty stuck to his boxing to roll over on the cards.
Donnington's Ryan Tyrer joins him in Birmingham at the weekend and faces a battle of the southpaws with Priory Park's Sam Gwilt.
Like Mohammed, the 16-year-old is stepping up from the Juniors for this year and already has one under his belt in the competition at 56kg, on his home turf.
An unusually low number of entrants meant just four bouts were boxed at Donnington, with 13 young pugilists weighing in on the day. All contests took place over an allotted time of three, three minute rounds.
Tyrer entered a four-strong weight and was paired with old rival Liam Marston, from Salopian in Shrewsbury, for an all-Shropshire battle.
Marston was dropped in the first round but he got up and recovered well to see the bout out, but it was an uphill battle and he was downed unanimously on points.
Fellow left-hander Gwilt got up and running after a split decision win over fellow Black Country boy, Wednesbury's Vinnie Court, in Donnington.
Hadley's reigning European Youth champion Akash Tuqir walks over this weekend, with no opponent for him to box in the 52kg division.
The 17-year-old, who represents Merridale in Wolverhampton, is looking to claim a national club title in his last year competing as a Youth.
Husan Hussain, Wellington's first national champion in the England Junior tournament last year, also walks over at 49kg.
