by Wayne Gardiner
Portsmouth University Boxing Club showed why they were last year’s British University Team of the year by dominating the English University Championships for the 3rd year running.
With only 8 boxers competing due to illness in the squad, the Portsmouth squad still walked away with 3 Golds and 3 Silvers confirming their status as number 1 in the country for another year.
The first boxer to compete was a new addition to the squad – loud but hugely entertaining “Little Dan” Syed Fahat, making his debut for Portsmouth at 54kg. Little Dan gave his all and pushed hard showing the kind of will and heart that is the central pride of the club, Little Dan lost on a close points decision in the semi final – but left his mark on the 54kg category as one to watch for the future.
Another fresher to join the squad this year was Callum “Lights Out” Lewis. Callum dominated in his semi final dropping his opponent in the first minute with a crushing left hook rear hand. The bout should have been stopped then but the ref allowed it to continue until Callum land yet again two more powerful shots sending the opponent reeling back to his corner. In the final Callum had a cagey opponent who just would not settle into the bout – Callum took his time and then began to find his flow also dishing out another standing count whilst earning his first ever Gold medal for the club.
Hisham “Chips” Al-Abadey is also a fresher, but has actually been with the club for a couple of years prior to coming to University. Hish was in the Open class category of the event, which is of a very high standard and was demonstrated by his opponent in the semi finals. Hish had drawn the currently ranked no.3 in the country (Olympic contender) Ryan Cunningham, now this was going to be a test. Hish took his time and started to land some very credible shots in the opening round, during the second and third rounds Hish took a bit of a lesson especially on body shots from the England Rep. In the fourth round Hish pulled out everything he had, landing solidly and accurately pushing the surprised Cunningham around the ring and convincingly taking the last round. Hish did not get the decision but got a hell of a lot more than a medal from this experience.
Rupish “no doubt” Nayee is also a fresher and another real potential for the future. Rupish came against last year’s English and British university champion at 57kg “Massally”. With a distinct height difference Rupish knew this was going to be hard work, but stuck to his game plan and landed some awesome shocking combinations especially with the left hook. Rupish lost on a close point’s decision, but done himself proud.
Bash “The Model” Natwari came against a stocky aggressive Brunel Uni boxer in the final. Both boys landed some incredibly powerful shots right from the start. It looked like this was going to be a street fight in the ring – but then Bash stepped back and started to use his technique and movement to land cleanly making his opponent miss and pay for the error. Resulting in a unanimous Gold medal win for Bash
Coaches Comment: So much of an improvement – nice to see you smile too
Ryan Colquhoun is also a fresher at Portsmouth this year – but he is also one of our newest Scholars due to winning numerous titles through his junior boxing years. Ryan was competing in the 81kg open class category and came against a solidly built 27 year old experienced boxer from up north. The bout was at a high pace with Ryan landing clean long rangy shots and his opponent making a fight of it throwing low blows and everything. The bout was a mess to watch but an education for Ryan welcoming him to the senior ranks. Ryan took the silver and a lot of positives from the bout.
The last boxer to make his mark on the Championships was Kingsley “King” Walker our first ever Scholarship boxer. Kingsley was meant to box in the open class 60kg category, but due to the withdrawals of certain boxers – nobody was left to box him. Not to be outdone for the weekend Kingsley stepped up a weight category and shouted a warning to all. Kingsley not only dominated the category but took them apart, the semi finals was a chess match of a bout with Kingsley exploding in the last round to take the victory in style. The final saw a 64kg boxer look nervously across the ring and then wish he was not there. Every step the boy took Kingsley landed incredible punches moving gracefully and earning his title with a smile.
We are still number one and the club is growing at an incredible rate – the freshers this year seem to be pushing hard to get a place in the squad – which even though takes around a year, does not seem to be disheartening to any of them. After winning 10 out of 11 on the home show and then busting up the English Champs – we should be on for another highly successful season.
For more information email: boxing@upsu.net