Boxing News – June 27, 2019

http://www.boxingnewsonline.net JUNE 27, 2019 lBOXING NEWSl 41

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Must have been good to take it out

of the judges’ hands?

Most definitely. If that first round had

gone to him I wouldn’t

have complained either.

I had to do what I had to

do. I had to adjust and

overcome, which I did.

In general what has

boxing done for you,

how has it changed

your life?

We’re quite fortunate

that we’ve got a full time

training programme [in

the Army]. Our set up in

Aldershot is similar to GB, in terms of diet

and nutrition, strength and conditioning,

IT took four finals for you to win the
elite championships, how do you
feel?
Fourth time is the charm. Persistence is
key. If at first you don’t succeed, second
and third, try the fourth time.
Did doubts come into your mind.
Obviously Cheavon Clarke (who beat
him previously) is doing really well,
but did losing to him and others ever
get you down?
It kind of riled me up. Taking nothing
away from those boys, a win is a win. But
some of them bouts I felt like I should have
won. But I’m a firm believer that everything
happens for a reason. It probably just
wasn’t my time. Take for instance Frazer
Clarke, when he was in the super-
heavyweight scene he had people like Joe
Joyce, Anthony Joshua beating him. The
first time he won [the ABAs], he beat me
in 2015 when he won it in Liverpool. So
I took a little bit of that, a little bit of faith,
hard work and dedication. It’s amazing
where it will take you.
So before you moved down to 91kgs,
you were a super-heavyweight?
I came through as a 16 bouter [to
the final], my first elite championships
in Liverpool. I fought people like Fayz
Abbas who lost to AJ [Anthony Joshua] in
the finals in 2011. In the semis I fought

Declan Fusco and then in the final I had
Frazer Clarke and that was my first loss.
So you’ve had a very hard path
through amateur boxing?
Very. It’s challenging. It just goes to
show the love for the sport I’ve got. I’ve
got love for this game. Without boxing
I don’t even know where I’d be.
Talk me through the knockdowns
and the knockout against Thomas
Pogson in the final?
I haven’t stopped someone in a long
time. I think it was just due to timing.
Being precise and being patient. Because
the first round was a bit close... I caught
him with a good left hand and I saw him
wobbling a little bit. Then I just saw red
and I just went for the kill.

The Army’s Natty Ngwenya

on finally becoming a

national champion

QUICK-FIRE Q&A

psychiatrist and all that stuff. We’ve got

it all. So there’s no reason why our lot

shouldn’t be medalling down here.

It’s inspiring for

people... It’s recruiting but

not just for the Army but

for the sporting world

in the Army that people

don’t know about.

I’m in the Grenadier

Guards. I joined the Army

just to get out of trouble. I

was a young boy in south

east London getting up to

no good and it got to a

point where I had to turn

my life around. I joined the Army in 2009

and I’ve never looked back since then.

FOURTH TIME LUCKY

PRIDE:

Ngwenya finally has

his hands on the

national title

‘I SAW HIM

WOBBLING A

LITTLE BIT.

THEN I SAW

RED AND JUST

WENT IN’

MISSION

2019

OLEKSANDR

KHYZHNIAK

FROM Ukraine

STANCE Orthodox

TITLES World and

European

A man to watch in

the 75kgs division is

Ukraine’s Oleksandr

Khyzhniak, the

reigning World

and European

champion. He put

Finland’s Muhammad

Abdilrasoon out of

the European Games

in his first bout and

then controlled all of

the rounds against

Armenia’s Arman

Darchinyan to reach

the final eight.

Falling by the

wayside in Minsk

though was Italian

veteran Clemente

Russo, formerly twice

a World champion

and a four time

Olympian. He made a

return to the sport,

boxing at super-

heavyweight. But it

proved short lived as

Croatia’s Marko Milun

eliminated him after

his first contest at

the tournament (turn

to pages 42-43 for

more).

Another big name

super-heavyweight

to be dumped out

of the tournament

was Mihai Nistor.

The Romanian, the

first man to stop

Anthony Joshua, lost

a unanimous decision

to France’s hitherto

little known Aliev

Mourad.

Photo: ANDY CHUBB/ENGLAND BOXING