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Charlene Jones, Graham Brockway and Mickey McDonagh
Merlins Bridge Amateur Boxing Club has earned a reputation for producing top-quality boxers and the latest proof of that fact comes with the news that two of its current young stars have made it into the elite squads drawn up to compete at a top international competition!
Charlene Jones (24) of Pembroke Dock, and Mickey McDonagh (17) of Pennar, have both recently been selected for their respective Welsh elite boxing squads for the Commonwealth Games, which will take place in April 2018 at the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Total focus and toughest training sessions ever!
Both are under the expert guidance of National Coach Colin Jones and spend four days each week in training four times a day, starting out with a run at 6am. Then there is another session, this time on conditioning, before lunch, followed by an afternoon session of gym work and then an evening involved in sparring.
They stay for three nights at the National Sports Centre, Sophia Gardens, and both agree that it is the most concentrated training they have ever done but they don’t stop there because for the rest of the week the pair are training in the gym in Haverfordwest with highly experienced and respected Merlins Bridge ABA trainer Graham Brockway.
True champions as their reward
Charlene Jones has won four Welsh titles and is currently the British Women’s 60kg champion, fitting reward for someone who never misses a training session and who has developed into a superb boxer who can always be relied upon to give 100%. At the end of the month powerhouse boxer Jones will take part in the British Women’s Championships, which will be staged in Scotland.
McDonagh has won six Welsh titles and has just retained the British 56kg title and has also received the terrific news that he has been selected for the Great Britain Potential Squad for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. So when he finishes his four days training in Cardiff, then he has to travel to Sheffield for more punishing sessions for the remainder of some weeks.
Help needed to keep going
Next month, McDonagh will be representing Wales in the Youth European Games, which are taking place in Russia. It’s a huge commitment for any young talented boxer, and McDonagh has the potential to go all the way in what is an extremely tough and physically demanding sport – but he is totally committed to his goal.
At amateur level the money that they receive from the Welsh ABA barely covers their travelling expenses, so the talented boxers are appealing for any generous sponsor or donations to help with their on-going living costs as they pursue their lifelong dreams.
“I’m really proud of the pair of them,” said Brockway, “because they give so much despite the fact that it cannot be easy to keep going without more support. To have one boxer in an elite squad is brilliant, but to have two fantastic fighters is superb.
“I wish them every success as they are a credit to their families, our club, county and country.”