Workington Amateur Boxing Club said it as a fabulous weekend at Leigh Sports Village for the Manchester Box Cup.
Last minute withdrawals, change of opponents and long durations between bouts didn’t unsettle any of Workington’s six pugilists and every one of them battled for every round of every contest, coming away with two golds and five silvers overall.
Kane Shepherd stepped up in weight due a late switch of opponent and didn’t let the size difference affect the performance, as he was constantly close up to his opponent, throwing regular combinations and was unfortunate to not get the nod after three great rounds of non-stop work.
Kayla Dryden was asked to box in two finals over two days, due to last-minute withdrawals and put in super efforts in both.
In the under 48kg final, Kayla got revenge on her home show opponent, collecting all three rounds from the judges to secure gold.
Boxing on behalf of the North West Warriors women’s squad, also against Merseyside, on day two, Kayla stepped up to the Under 50kg final and again put in all the work for three rounds.
But her opponent was able to sneak the victory with her slight weight advantage on a split which to be fair could have gone either way against the Merseyside opposition.
Marshall Miller secured a gold medal with a well drilled and confident three rounds using her combinations and ring graft to great effect against a game opponent.
Marshall was also competing for the North West Warriors women’s squad versus the Midlands.
Leon Emerson put in a mammoth three rounds of non-stop work against a very strong and front foot opponent. This didn’t however stop Leon getting his own work off when he got the opportunity to do so and never gave up to the final bell.
Elliot Murray performed superbly against a equally skilled and experienced operator who both put on a nice technical performance, scoring the shots whenever getting the opportunity presented it’s self and a close contest resulted in a silver for Elliot.
Finally of the all the competitors, there was Cayden Shepherd who decided after 20-plus bouts it was the time to put on a career best performance against a more experienced and very quality boxer.
After two very close rounds, round three, Cayden came out with a point to prove and didn’t give his opponent, a second to get a single shot off, sticking to an effective game plan and doing it with a smile, Cayden secured the victory and the hearts of the watching in attendance.
The club gave a big shout out to coaches Joe Alan Dain and Graham for looking after, preparing and transporting the boxers and also the travelling shepherds, Drydens and Millers for supporting all the boxers all weekend.
Head coach Joe Dryden said: “What a fitting way to finish the season, with all boxers doing the club proud and setting the pathway for what will be a massive 2024/25 season after a little rest, we will be hitting pre-season hard.”
