European debut for teen boxer
Boxing on the big stage is becoming somewhat of a regular occurrence for a local boxer from Batley who last week travelled to Croatia to compete in the Schoolboys European Boxing Championships.
Fourteen-year-old Khalid Ayub, who boxes out of the Warrior Breed gym, flew off to the Baltic state with his coaches for the biggest competition of his career to date.
In a performance streamed around Europe Ayub was unfortunate to lose out on his European debut but impressed his GB coaches and the local team alike.
Adam Bham, from Warrior Breed, said Ayub had a lot to be proud of following the close contest and was looking forward to seeing him continue to develop as a boxer.
“Throughout the fight, Khalid displayed maturity beyond his years,” Adam said. “He has acknowledged the set back and maintained that he is eager to return to the gym and continue to improve himself and win more titles.
“The England coaching team have been left with high expectations for the future with further bouts lined up against boxers from Scotland and Denmark later this season, Khalid continues his training and will shortly join the English training camps once again.”
The European Championships is known to be the ultimate test for GB’s amateurs, with nearly all qualifiers being ranked ‘number one’ in their home countries.
The schoolboy division is hotly contested with representatives holding high hopes of reaching Olympic podium squads within four to eight years.
Khalid will be hoping to get back to winning ways when he returns to the ring with the national set up against opponent from Scotland and Denmark later this season.
