Retford boxer is crowned national schoolboy champion

Marcus Ellis, 14, battled his way through several rounds, fighting over four successive weekends, before defeating London lad, Yasir Mahmood, in the final at Manchester.

Mahmood, a strong boxer with the physique of a bodybuilder, came at Marcus like a bull. But the Retford starlet, who is a member of Huthwaite ABC, weathered the storm and hit back, landing counter punches and left hooks, which really rocked his opponent.

By the second round, Marcus had the measure of Mahmood, who became more and more frustrated. He landed the better, cleaner shots and although he tired in the third round, he used his feet to keep his London rival at distance and still struck with some good counter punches before being awarded the contest on a majority decision.

His road to the final had started in Cotgrave, where he beat Jacob Kershaw, of Hunslet in Leeds, on a unanimous points decision. It was only the Yorkshire boy’s second defeat in 11 bouts. Next up were the quarter-finals in Liverpool, where Marcus was pitted against an experienced local boy, Shay Johnston. In a nip-and-tuck contest, Marcus knocked him down in the third round and was given the nod by a majority decision.

In the semi-finals, held at Doncaster, Marcus won by a technical knockout against Igor Dykier, a previously unbeaten boxer from Birmingham. He attacked from the bell, forcing Dykier to take two standing eight counts.