Worksop lad Leo finds focus in sparring and competing
Worksop lad Leo White is determined to make a success of his boxing and ‘become a great name,’ as he praises this ‘beautiful sport keeping me on the right path, improving my mental health, getting me off the streets and giving me a purpose which I know also makes my family happy.’
"I’ve been around boxing gyms on and off since I was eight,” said White, 16.
“My grandad got me into boxing but sadly he’s now passed away. I fight in his memory and he’s on my fight shorts.
"I’ve had four bouts now since I started taking it seriously and I’ve won all four including one against a boy two years older where I got a second-round stoppage and one fighting a grown man of 26. I won on points.”
White trains at Ignite Strength and Fitness in Worksop daily and at Olympus in Rotherham several times a week.
"It’s all I do really,” he said.
"I need to thank Jonathan Stoner for making me focus on doing well in the sport and Daniel Litchfield who’s in my fight corner and pushes me to do my best.
"I also got on well with Sam Blakesley who’s well known in South Yorkshire boxing. My last fight was an exhibition bout with Sam; both determined to showcase our skills and not bother about the result.”
“Boxing has brought Leo focus and clarity about what’s important in life,” explained Leo’s mother Natalie Wood.
"He’s training hard. He’s dedicated and the sport has helped his mental health a lot.
"Before when he didn’t have anything to focus on, things were hard for him to deal with.
"Boxing has changed all that for him. I’m grateful he’s found something he loves and is doing so well. I can’t wait to see where the journey takes him.”
White admires Mike Tyson for his physical prowess and power and Tyson Fury ‘who’s skilful and without doubt the real thing.’
A supporter of bringing boxing back into schools, White said: “It’s important for a boy to know that he’s physically and mentally tough and to have the opportunity to prove what he’s made of and how courageous he can be. These are the most important qualities I think a man needs.
“I’m grateful to the sponsors I’ve picked up in a relatively short time.
"It’s the generosity of my main sponsors, the ice cream people from JustRoll Init and Sh BarberWhitwell along with The Cabin Café and CL Recovery that makes all this possible.
"Anyone else who’d like to discuss sponsorship, please contact me on Facebook Leo White.”