TWO Leamington boxers may have missed the final hurdle to progress into the final of the National Novice Championships, but their head coach has expressed his pride at their progress in the competition.
Fitzpatricks ABC pair Sean Leahy and Bella Madden travelled up to Doncaster on Sunday and both came close to securing a slot in the national finals.
Leahy came up against Joe Brown from Preston in what was only his fourth bout, while his opponent had a far superior record.
The Leamington boxer thought he had maybe done enough to take the win but the decision went to Brown following an impressive fight from both boxers.
“He done himself and the club very proud, all be it not getting the nod from the judges,” said coach Derek Fitzpatrick.
“It was a superb display from Sean and we thought he could nick the win. Both boxed very well and it was a very even bout.”
Madden was less fortunate as she came up against Hull’s Natasha Taylor and her defeat proved tough to take after thinking she had done enough to take the win.
“This was one of those decisions that left us shaking our heads with even Taylor looking shocked to her hand raised,” Fitzpatrick added.
“We were shocked and it seemed as though everyone else in the room was shocked too.
“But as a club we won’t let this blip set us back. There were far too many positives to take from these Championships, with Bella in particular shining bright.
“Myself and fellow coach Babs Kandola walked out of there feelin ten foot tall and proud of our boxers.”
