Big win for Jerry-Mike for the Top Yard Club who can turn young lives around

​The 14 year-old went up into a new weight category of 52kg to take on George Howard from Norwich ABC in the in the Regional Final of the National Association of Boys and Girls Clubs competition in Harlow, Essex.

Connors took the step up in his stride though and immediately showed the extra power behind his punches.

The local lad was fluid and strong in his attacks and scored frequently.

His opponent was reluctant to engage as he felt the extra power of Connors in all three rounds and The Top Yard boy won comfortably by unanimous points decision.

This was a classy performance from Connors who had plenty left in the tank and now looks forward to boxing in the next round this weekend.

His brother Patrick Connors and clubmates Ismael Arif and Westley Smith will also be involved.

The NABGC Boxing Championships is an event that features young boxers from all four countries of the UK.

The championships have attracted many future, British professional World Champions.

The Top Yard Club prides itself on giving youngsters a purpose. Their recent National Development Champion Ismael Arif (15) insists boxing has kept him out of trouble.

Arif told the BBC: "It’s really important for us to do something. It gets the mind off things going on at home or any personal stuff.

"I had to sacrifice a lot to get here, like spending time with friends, my diet, cold runs in the morning. It is a very hard journey, but It is teaching me to be a better person.

"In Year 7 to Year 9, I was immature and troubled, and made silly life choices.”