Highland Boxing Academy claim first titles of 2024/25 boxing season at Scottish Development Championships
Highland Boxing Academy took two champions home from the opening weekend of the 2024 Scottish Development Championships.
Teenagers Ethan Hoult and Alexander Russell became the club’s first gold medallists of the 2024/25 season.
The Development Championships are split into different categories based on weight and experience, with Hoult victorious in the 50kg A Class and Russell coming out on top in the 54kg B Class.
Club head coach Liam Foy was delighted with their outcomes, especially as both fighters had to overcome adversity in their finals to have their hands raised.
“Ethan started a wee bit slowly in the first round, he was a wee bit flat-footed, but after getting him back to the corner we got him to set up his attacks a little bit better,” Foy explained.
“He did well in the second and third rounds to get the split decision. It was close, but we were confident he had done enough.
“It was great for him. He’s a young lad, only 15, and it was his first title for the club – and our first title for the season.
“Then we had Alexander Russell (14), who won by unanimous decision in a high-quality boxing match. Credit to both of the boxers.
“The referee paraded both boxers around after the fight, which never really happens, but Alexander came out on top.
“They were both long in range, and the majority of the fight was in close but there was no grabbing and holding. Alexander’s variety and work rate was enough to give him the decision on the day.”
While Hoult and Russell became champions, they were by no means the only HBA athletes to step into the ring last week.
In fact, across nine bouts the club were victorious in six of them, with others due to return to the championships this weekend in their own bids to become champions.
Taylor Rattray won two bouts last weekend to earn a spot in the semi finals this Saturday, while 12-year-old duo Luka Kushch and Troy Stewart each progressed into their own semi finals after winning their competitive debuts.
Alexander McClymont, Luke Urquhart and Ralf Mihalkins will also enter the fold this weekend, with the first two starting off with quarter finals on Friday, meaning that if everyone is successful there could be six more champions to come for HBA.
“Going down for the first weekend of the tournament and winning twice as much as we lost means we gave a good account of ourselves,” Foy reasoned.
“Quite simply, I believe that they all can win individually – that doesn’t mean they all will win as anything can happen on the day, but I’m not going to be sending boxers down to the biggest tournament in the country without believing they have the potential to win.
“I’m looking forward to this weekend though. There’s a lot of boxing to come, so it will be busy.
“We’ve got two gold medals from the first weekend, which gives us a good foundation to get a good haul of medals from the first competition of the season.”