Two St Marys boxers bring National titles back to Chatham!

Two St Marys boxers were in action in Rotherham at the National finals junior development championships on Sat 10th Oct. First up in the class A under 75kgs, was 14 year old Karol Itauma (pictured above) against J. Dodd from the Golden Gloves Boxing club in Liverpool. From the start Itauma commanded the centre of the ring and forced Dodd back with combinations to head and body, forcing a standing count during the first round. Dodd gamely fought back and made it to the bell. However, it was more of the same in the second round and the outgunned Liverpudlian was rescued by the referee midway through the second round after issuing another standing count. With England coaches watching from ringside, they said they the Chatham based Itauma had impressed and was on their radar and they would keep their eye on the undefeated boxer. Next up was Kings hill based Johnny Payne in the class B under 60kgs category. With only four competative bouts behind him going in, he was an underdog against A. Whitefoot (Whitby, Yorkshire). The local Whitefoot brought had 8 win from 10 bouts and had clearly build a reputation for himself, with a large group of supporters to cheer him on. 16 year old Payne was told that he had to break the more experienced Whitefoots rhythm early on and try to silence his supporters. Payne followed instructions from his coaches to a tee and claimed centre ring by throwing combination punches. This unsettled the skillfull Yorkshire champion, who later came back with combinations of his own. With neither boxer willing to give any ground it led to some torrid exchanges in the first round and Payne looked to finish the first round slightly stronger. Whitefoot started fast in round two, before looking to get on the move whilst Payne pegged him back by returning fire with rapid combinations to the head and body. After two close rounds, the two 16 year olds picked up where they left off in round three, trading in the centre of the right like seasoned boxers. The crowd were willing both boxers on, the referee didn’t need to break the action once as the two boxers were nonstop working, throwing in excess of 100 punches between them in the final round. Payne made a late surge and now skilled Whitefoot was now getting ground down by the stronger Payne, with another strong finish in the most entertaining bout of the day. As the final bell sounded, the crowd were on their feet applauding both boxers for their entertaining battle. The judges were split in their opinions, but it was Payne who was awarded the points verdict. After all the hard work and training from early August, it was all worthwhile with both St Marys boxers who entered the competition, bringing the titles back down the and back to Kent. Itauma and Payne look like prospects for the future.