Rising young boxing star Bradley Smith stands just one more win away from fighting in a top national final after storming through to the semis of the prestigious Golden Gloves competition.
The Shrewsbury & Severnside ABC ace, who turns 15 this weekend, travels to Liverpool on Saturday to take on Tom Aitchinson, of Liverpool’s Salisbury ABC, in the national semis in the class three 60-63kg section.
“I’ve just said to Bradley to make sure he enjoys it and makes the most of it,” said his trainer Colin Hough. “The way he is at the moment, he’ll give anyone a hard fight.
“Irrespective of what happens on Saturday, he can be very proud of what he’s achieved so far. Any opponent in a national semi-final is going to be strong. Aitchinson has a good record and Salisbury ABC have produced lots of champions over the years, but Bradley’s a handful for anyone at the moment.”
Midland Counties champion Smith, who attends the Priory School, breezed through to the last four nationwide after stopping Christopher Cooper-Goddard of Hull Boys’ ABC in the second round of last weekend’s quarter-final clash.
The Copthorne teenager proved much too strong for Cooper-Goddard as he eased to a victory more straightforward than he could have hoped for at this advanced stage.
Smith dominated round one to open up a 5-0 lead and continued to call the tune in the second round. Cooper-Goddard faced two standing counts before the referee stepped in to stop the contest in the local lad’s favour.
“Bradley was really on top and in the end his opponent was just overwhelmed,” said Hough. “Bradley was 5-0 up at the end of round one but I didn’t tell him that. Instead I told him it was close and he had to work harder, and that’s just what he did.”
Saturday promises to be a busy day for Hough for, as well as accompanying Smith to Liverpool, he is also hosting a Severnside dinner-boxing show at the Lord Hill Hotel during the evening (6.30pm).
“It will be hectic and I’ll probably be up at 5.30am to be at the Lord Hill for the delivery of the ring for our show,” said Hough. “We’ve got to be in Liverpool between 10 and 12 for Bradley’s weigh-in and I expect Bradley to be on at about 4.30pm – then it’s back to Shrewsbury for our show.”
