Honour in defeat for Top Yard teenagers at the National Junior Championships

​The city teenagers picked up one silver and three bronze medals after competing strongly in high quality contests.

Two-time national champion Aamir Shirazi (15) came close to completing a hat-trick, but was pipped on points in his 46kg final by another talented national title holder Humza Malik from the famous Repton club.

Shirazi started well and used his ring craft and footwork to nick the first round before Malik started putting the Ken Stimson student under pressure.

It was nip and tuck in the final two rounds, but Malik won a close decision to inflict a first defeat in 15 fights for top prospect Shirazi.

Shirazi had beaten tough Bradford boxer James Smith from Rourkeys comfortably in his semi-final.

Top Yard clubmates Adam Javed (14), Claude Gray (16) and John Doe (15) all collected bronze medals after losing their semi-finals.

Javed’s achievement in reaching finals weekend was impressive as his 48kg semi-final against Conall Farrell from the Salisbury BC in Liverpool was just his sixth competitive fight.

Predictably experience told and Farrell won the fight on points after managing to avoid Javed’s potentially destructive power.

Doe was beaten in a close contest by Dylan Gray from the District Youth Club.

The pair shared the first two rounds with Gray landing some telling head shots before Gray edged the final round and with it the points verdict.

Claude Gray was always going to be up against it when fighting four-time national champion John-Joe Carrigan from Border City at 70kg.

This was a real crowd-pleasing toe-toe-toe affair with Gray punishing the favourite with some big body and heavy head shots before accepting defeat in a tight, explosive fight.

Top Yard head coach Bilal Javed was proud of his young boxers: “To have one boxer in the National Finals is amazing, and what all amateur boxing clubs strive for, but we had four!

"All the boys did the club and Peterborough proud by bringing home medals.”