Ellis leads the way as Burton Park ABC go from strength-to-strength

Rising star Ellis Panter is leading the way for Burton Park ABC after they secured three titles in the England Boxing Schoolboy Championships and National Junior Championships - the club’s 14th, 15th and 16th national crowns.

Panter won his third national crown when he defeated Westree ABC’s Tyrone Cross, also a three-time national champion, by unanimous decision in the Under 66kg final.

Panter, with a record of 26 wins from 28 contests, controlled the pace, setting up Cross with super fast counters.

All the hurtful punches came from Panter as he shook Cross in the third with two power shots.

Lauren Mackie (U54kg) was the club’s first female boxer to reach a national final, despite having been the youngest of the four semi-finals.

She met Emily Witworth in the final and took the bout to her, landing crisp jabs and straight right hands in the first round.

Mackie took the first part of the second round as she continued to work at a high pace, although Witworth gained momentum and got her timing back as she caught Mackie with swift counters.

Mackie again set a high pace in the third but Whitworth landed some big shots which were the telling punches as she just took the decision.

Martin Doran (U48kg) boxed in the semi-final and lost out in a close bout with Pinewood’s Zane Hammed.

Hammed was far taller than the Burton boxer so Doran had to work his way in with great footwork and head movement, making his opponent miss and pay at times.

Hammed also had a ‘make them miss, make them pay’ style but with a longer reach was probably just outscoring Doran.

Other Burton boxers in action at the Junior Championships Yusuf Hussain (U63kg) and Charlie Hamilton (U60kg) unfortunately went out in earlier rounds.

Those efforts came after Burton Park had gained two titles at the Schoolboy Championships in Newcastle.

Three of the club’s boxers - Elijah Smith (U28kg), Gary Sigery (U32kg) and Preston Wills (U44.5kg) - advanced to the semi-finals and finals weekend.

Smith produced a brilliant performance in his semi-final, outboxing his opponent and ensuring that four of the five judges gave him the decision.

Taking on a boxer from West Ham in the final, Smith was controlling the ring and countering well in the first round and the next two followed suit as he won the bout by unanimous decision.

Sigery also claimed title glory.

His semi-final opponent pulled out at late notice to send him straight into the final against Jack Saker from Chelvaden.

From the opening bell, Saker looked sharp and moved well, landing straight punches.

Sigery, who lives in Ringstead, started to land his counters using second and third phased attacks.

Once Sigery found his timing, the Chelvaden boxer was on the back foot and constantly under intense pressure, and he went on to lift the title by another unanimous decision.

Wills boxed Ben Tokeley from West Ham and he set a rapid pace in the opening round, which took Wills by surprise as he was concentrating on accurate clean shots. He found himself having to bring it back as he upped his own work rate, landing lots of clean punches.

The West Ham boxer seemed to go up another gear, taking Wills out of his comfort zone in the second and leaving the third as the decider.

Wills found a second wind in the third to deal with the fast flurries but he took a clean straight left as he peeled off with the referee giving him an eight count in the final seconds of the round.

With a three to two split decision going against the Burton Park boxer, that final shot really had a telling impact on the contest.

Nonetheless, three more national titles shows the club is going from strength-to-strength.

And head coach Wayne Sharp said: “The last 18 months has been a very frustrating time for our club.

“Also, due to some personal circumstances I've had to downsize the club and focus on a smaller group of 16 boxers.

“I’m very proud of the way all our team of boxers and coaches have worked very hard to achieve this success.

“We now look forward to starting the process again in the new year as we move towards 2022.

“Ellis really is the pride of the club. He’s down to earth and an inspiration to the whole club which I’m sure he gives others a drive to succeed, especially the younger ones.

“Jamelle Hooper is now leading the charge in the Youth Championships, which is now under way. He boxes in the quarter-finals in two weeks time.”