PHOTO:
James Probert with proud dad Nathan
The British Schoolboy Championships were recently held in Manchester, where Pembroke Amateur Boxing Club’s talented young boxer James Probert came within a hair’s breadth of winning the title.
James lost by just a single point to Harry Peacock from Scotland, with some top pundits expressing the opinion that the decision could well have gone the other way.
Be that as it may, Welsh champ James shrugged off his disappointment and showed all his qualities in the ring as he then had a rematch with Harry in Merthyr at the Howard Winstone Cup, which was an international between Wales and Scotland.
Special competition – special performance
It was a junior competition in Merthyr but it was felt that the previous bout was so close in Manchester, as it was a split decision, that it was worth adding the schoolboy bout onto the junior event as a special feature – and James then won the fight on a majority decision to show his determination to gain revenge for his previous loss.
The Pembroke and Pembroke Dock home show was recently held in the Pater Hall in Pembroke Dock and although James was eager to turn out for his home club he was ‘up the line’ boxing against Ollie Watts from Heart of Devon ABC, who had just come back from Finland where he won a silver medal in the Pirkka Cup.
Another outstanding display
James again showed his outstanding technique as he used superb footwork and his outstanding jab to keep Watts on the back foot and gain a unanimous verdict from all three judges. It was an outstanding performance and one that was again recognised by the officials, who rewarded his skills by choosing him as ‘best boxer of the night’.
As a result of these sterling performances, James has now been selected for the European Championships in Hungary from June 28th - July 6t, and local boxing fans will wish him every success there.