Walsall Wood stars chase more national glory

Jonboy Williamson and Reece Zingal, both 13, will be representing the Brownhills club in the quarter-finals against the North East region in Newcastle on Sunday.

The pair have already come through their pre-quarter-final bouts against the North West contingent in Chelmsley Wood, although Walsall’s 11-year-old champion Josh Cooper lost a controversial split decision on Sunday.

Alll three youngsters were crowned Midlands champions in Digbeth recently, setting them on to national competition.

“It’s brilliant,” said Walsall Wood head coach Shaun Healy. “Little Josh is in his first year of boxing, he’s already had 15 fights, and won 11 of them. He’s left-handed, and he’s just different.

“Jonboy is such a tough lad, he beats them with his fitness and his power. Reece came off quite a few losses, and sometimes you think you’re going to lose a boxer, but he’s stood with it. We’re so proud.”

Should either of the boys win their bouts this weekend, they will progress into the national semi-finals. But as Healy explained, this promising trio are just the latest success stories to come out of an impressive amateur club.

“We must have had 70 Midlands champions over the years, and we’ve won eight national titles,” he explained. “We turn out Midlands champions year in, year out.

“Three-time national champion Dan Breeze (from Bloxwich) is our most famous fighter. He turned professional three years ago and went 10 fights undefeated but now fights bare-knuckle.

“We had Birmingham’s first ever professional girl boxer, Lauren Johnson. She’s from Willenhall and won a national title from our club. She’s now at Wednesbury professional gym but she started with us.

“Mason Holmes was heavyweight champion of the British Army. He actually used to lose most of his fights for us, he’s got loads of skill, but he’s got much fitter in the army and it’s paid dividends for him.”

Healy used to box at Pleck ABC in Walsall, but he’s been coaching at Walsall Wood for 25 years now and heads up an eight-strong team of volunteers.

And he prides himself on the welcoming atmosphere at the multi-cultural club where different cultures and ages mix and train with each other.

“We’ve got 18 carded boxers that actually box, but then we’ve got 100 members that come on different nights,” he explained. “It’s about a 50-50 split between kids and adults. The young ones range from seven upwards but there are some in their 50s who train.

“We’ve got no sponsors or backers, none of us get paid, not one penny, the subs pay the rent and the rates. Everyone is welcome, and everyone has a laugh. It’s a fun club with a friendly atmosphere.”

Healy’s son Daniel is one of the coaches who is mainly responsible for training the kids alongside Michael Farnell.

They will be the ones preparing the three youngsters for this Sunday.

“We’re going up to Newcastle the day before so they can have a good night’s sleep,” said Healy. “You don’t want to be travelling four hours and then boxing.”