Braid boxers give Tower Centre shoppers a surprise!

HUNDREDS of shoppers were greeted to the sounds and sights of amateur boxing on Saturday when Braid ABC took boxing into the heart of Ballymena.

In a bid to highlight what sport and in particular boxing has to offer in today’s society. the Ballykeel-based club set up the boxing ring in the Tower Centre and many of their junior boxers displayed their skills by putting on exhibition bouts much to the amusement of hundreds of shoppers.

The local community were most impressed by this publicity stunt which was substantiated by over 200 flyers being taken from the ringside table.

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Club chairman John O’Rawe, who had his two sons performing, said the response of the public had been phenomenal.

“Everyone was very impressed by what they seen and as a result many young people have shown a lot of interest in taking up the sport. It also allowed everyone to see the talent we have here at Braid ABC.

“We put on 6 exhibition bouts of varying degrees of skill, starting with the young beginners to the junior champions. We had some of the boys showcasing what sport has offered them.

“We would like to thank everyone who took time from their busy schedule to come along and support our young sporting stars,” added John.

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Braid ABC are now getting organised for their annual fund-raising boxing show which will be held on April 30 at Leighinmohr House hotel, tickets will be sold at 10 pounds.

Meanwhile, there was more reason for celebration for Braid as 12 Year old Cullybackey High School student James Fleck and 12 year old Dunclug pupil Corey Bradshaw have once again picked up gold medals at the recent Co Antrim boxing championships - their second title successes in as many weeks.

Fleck, fighting at 33kg, easily outpointed his opponent. This was extra special for James as he had narrowly been outpointed last year and is testament to what can be achieved from focus, determination and hard work. Corey is no stranger to picking up gold medals and this latest one takes his tally to 6 gold medals. Corey fighting this year at 44kg easily outpointed his opponent also.

By winning the Co Antrim championships this automatically qualifies them to represent Co Antrim whilst fighting for an Irish title.

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Both boys will now make the trip to the boxing national stadium to compete in the Irish nationals and this will be a great experience for them.

The Braid coaches want to congratulate james and corey on their championship wins and wish them all the best as they make the trip to Dublin.

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