Corus helps boxers sting like a hornet
25 Feb 2008
A boxing club that lists a Commonwealth medallist among its former members is continuing to uphold Port Talbot’s fine tradition of producing champion fighters.
Cwmavon Hornets Boxing Club is still going from strength to strength two years after the retirement of Darren Edwards following his bronze medal in the 2006 Commonwealth Games featherweight tournament.
The club - which currently has 20 members, 10 of whom are experienced competitors and the remainder novices – has been awarded a £250 community grant from Corus to help it buy training equipment for the large number of juniors coming up through its ranks.
Younger boxers include 12-year-old Ryan Wills and Ben James, 10, who are newcomers to the gym but both show a lot of promise - according to coach Dennis O'Keefe, a member of Corus’s Steel and Slab Safety team at Port Talbot.
“We were very pleased to get the Corus support,” said Dennis. “It’s allowed us to buy gloves, headguards and other vital training equipment – which can only help the club to continue producing potential champion boxers like Ryan and Ben.”
Other youngsters include 12-year-olds James Tobin – a finalist - and Richard Jones, who reached the semi-finals, in this month’s Welsh Schoolboys’ Championship. Another promising fighter is Kieran Irwin, also 12, son of club trainer Andre, who devotes a huge amount of time to coaching at Cwmavon Hornets.
And recent champions are Karl Hancock, who won the Welsh Novice Championships last November, and Daniel Carey – who won the 70 kilo category in the National Association of Boys’ Clubs Championships earlier this month.
Among the older boxers is Stuart Phillips, who began with the Hornets as a schoolboy and won many titles before taking two senior Welsh titles. Stuart then turned professional, eventually winning the Celtic light-welterweight title – which he aims to defend later this year.
Corus spokesperson Keith Farron said: “The club’s success can be put down to the dedication of its members, trainers and officials who spend a lot of their free time making it happen. Indirectly, if Corus is able to assist and encourage youngsters to take up sporting activities then it can only be good for the community as a whole.”
