Robustness was at the fore as Army boxers emerged with an impressive winning record from an exhausting showdown in their latest round-robin tournament.
The soldiers welcomed rivals from Merseyside and Cheshire, the Western Counties and Tyne Tees and Wear to their Aldershot base and claimed nine victories from 13 bouts as they fought over three successive days.
Head coach Sgt Chez Nihell (RAPTC) was obviously thrilled with the outcome and said the test came at the perfect time for the squad after an early season focus on boosting fitness levels within the group.
“We have changed the strength and conditioning programme to make it harder and we are reaping the benefits of that,” he told SoldierSport.
“Our boxers faced some top-class opponents, lots of which are ranked within the top ten in the country, and they showed a true warrior spirit.
“This format conditions them for the box cups and national championships to come.
“It means that fighting three times in three days will not be an alien concept, they have now boxed with fatigue while carrying a few niggles and injuries and have gone to dark places.
“I think this performance is testament to the programme we have put in place.”
Nihell singled out a number of individuals for praise, including Fus Matty Calderwood (RRF), who put defeat in the finals of the National Association of Boys and Girls Clubs Championships two days earlier behind him to claim a victory at his home gym.
LCpl Leon Moulds (REME) won two of his three bouts, while Spr Marley Devitt (RE) triumphed in all three of his contests in what were his first outings at middleweight.
“I was a bit nervous going into the opening bout,” the 27-year-old explained. “You have the thought that you could get beaten three times in three days, but once I got that first win, I rolled into the next one and was happy to be stepping in the ring.
“On the Friday I was up against a good kid who had won national titles, but I put him under constant pressure, and he couldn’t cope.
“The next bout was a bit of a war and I was too strong for him – I didn’t expect that. And on the last day I was up against a fighter who was bigger than me, but I used my footwork in and out of range to get the result.
“The move to middleweight has been a good one and this has given me a confidence boost. The strength and conditioning has ramped up and everything came together – if you haven’t got the fitness to last three rounds you can’t box.
“Last year I was feeling tired after each round but now I feel like I can do an extra round after every fight.”
Pte Kieran Cooper (RLC) posted a 100 per cent record from his two bouts, one of which saw him down ex-Royal Air Force star Luke Selby Grace – an opponent who defeated him at last year’s UK Armed Forces Championships.
He also stepped up to super heavyweight to overcome Clinton Achusim, who had earlier beaten teammate Sig Tobi Lawal (R Signals).
“It was a good win against Luke; I felt fit in there and wanted to be professional and get the job done,” the 28-year-old said.
“I spoke to Chez about stepping up to super heavyweight and he thought I could win so I said, ‘why not’.
“We watched his fight with Tobi and they had a war, with some heavy shots going in.
“I was giving away a bit of weight, but I gained the advantage of being fast and agile.
“I stuck to the gameplan and let him gas out; I knew I could go the full three rounds.
“He caught me with an upper cut and I took the count, but being as fit as I am I recovered after 20 seconds and finished the fight strongly.
“It could not have gone any better really.”
