PHOTOS:
James Probert in Welsh team
James Probert
James Probert with John Phillips and dad Nathan
James Probert is just 13 of age but is already highly regarded in Welsh Boxing circles as a current Welsh Schoolboy champion from Pembroke Amateur Boxing Club – and someone who is already hot favourite to add a second title in January when the 2014 championships come around again.
Following in family footsteps
That he should already be involved at such a high level at such a young age should come as no surprise because boxing is very much in the family, going right back to the time when his great-grandfather was also a champion.
There are also uncles and cousins who have been involved in the ‘Noble Art’ but it is his father Nathan who has exerted the major influence on his boxing development.
Nathan had an amazing total of 87 bouts with Pembroke Amateur Boxing Club, 56 of them at the top level in senior boxing, with four years as a regular member of the Welsh team. He is now coaching the talented young boxers at Pembroke ABC alongside Andy Edmondson but made sure at the outset that he didn’t push his son into following him into the ring. James’ mum Rachel also gets involved at the club, helping to look after young girls like Lacey Smith when they travel to tournaments at other clubs, and also helps with anything else that needs doing at the club.
Like a duck to water!
James was eager to go to the boxing club from the time that he was a nipper but Nathan finally allowed him to join when he was eight years old – and took to the training like a duck to water. Before long he was working on the pads and soon started gentle sparring under the coaches’ careful gaze – and at ten years of age had his first bout on a show organised by the Premier Amateur Boxing Club of Swansea.
He boxed Sean Mitson of Gwynfi ABC and did well to win on points, as he did in his second contest, and since then he has had 16 bouts and won the majority of them. When he took part in the Welsh Schoolboy Championships last year he served notice of intent in a cracking semi-final against John Fisher of Pontypridd, which he won
comfortably. This took James on to the final against old rival Mitson and he boxed really well to win on points with a 17-8 score to show his superiority on the night.Coveted Welsh vest and ‘Best Boxer’ in local show
This success not only earned James his coveted Welsh vest but qualified him for the British Finals at Motherwell in Scotland. Neither Nathan or James are prone to making excuses but the immensely long journey by road took more out of James than either might have anticipated.
“He wasn’t quite as sharp as he might have been,” said Dad, “but he still only lost by a single point against the eventual winner and had to settle for a bronze medal instead of being British champion.”
But James was soon back in the thick of things in training and his commitment paid off as he caught the eye in a recent feast of amateur boxing, organised by Chris McEwan, in the picturesque setting of Pembroke Castle. A large crowd squeezed in to the huge marquee set up in the castle grounds and James not only beat his opponent Ryan Marinos (Cardiff) but was awarded the ‘Best Boxer of the Night’ trophy which was presented to him by top amateur boxing referee John Phillips, of Narberth.
“I was very proud,” admitted young James, “and it was a great show for our club.”
Fitting reward for hard work
It was fitting reward for James, who is also a very good cross country runner and has played rugby, football and basketball in school, but now has to devote a lot of his spare time to boxing. In the build up to the championships he will train five nights a week, with his only days off being for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve.
“I’ll be sparring two or three times a week,” James told us, “and then ten minutes skipping to warm up, which is far harder then it looks!”
“We also go outdoors to do sprint work, and dad pushes us really hard in the circuit training sessions, “James told us, “where we do exercises like squat thrusts, burpees, press-ups, star jumps, sit-ups and lots more.
“We do work on the pads and the heavy bags, and I really enjoy the sparring because that’s when we really get one-on-one practice. Put it all together and the sessions are very hard but those of us who are going for the championships know it’s got to be done if we want to win a title.”
Deserved big boost for James
There has been another boost for James with a recent invitation to the Institute of Sport in Cardiff to be one of only three boxers from the Western Region of the Welsh Amateur Boxing Association to take part in development work there.
“It means even more travel,” said Nathan, “but James is up for it and so are we if he wants to take on the challenge.”
It sums up the commitment to amateur boxing in general from the Probert family – and to their club in particular. Despite being so young, James is certainly one who will carry the Pembroke Amateur Boxing Club and Pembrokeshire Flags with distinction ‘up the line’ – and we at PembrokeshireSport.co.uk wish this modest and likeable young man every success because he really does deserve to do very well indeed!