Youngster Lewis crowned Welsh schoolboy boxing champ

PUT Lewis Barrows in a boxing ring and he shows the kind of ability that has already have seen him crowned as a Welsh schoolboy champion - yet chat to him outside and the 12 year old from Merlins Bridge Amateur Boxing Club is modest, unassuming and a great credit to his family and club.

Lewis won his Welsh title in the championships which were held in Swansea recently and in a physically challenging 14 hours showed the kind of resilience needed to get to the top of the boxing tree.

He boxed his semi-final around 8pm on the Saturday evening and after a tough bout where he shaded a majority verdict and then had to travel back to Haverfordwest with parents Keith and Tracy, who gave him some TLC on a split lip before they travelled back to Swansea and Lewis was in the first final on the Sunday.

He boxed immaculately to earn a unanimous verdict from the judges and it was small wonder that Lewis earned fulsome praise from coach Graham Brockway, who told us,

"It showed what commitment Lewis has to his boxing and no-one in the whole competition deserved the coveted gold medal and Welsh vest more than he did.

"It also showed his quick sense of humour because after such a hard day he turned to me and said, 'Now I know what it must be like for you all the time at your age!' The cheeky blighter!"

Lewis's parents were naturally delighted because they are great supporters of Lewis and his older brother Cameron (15), who is also a very good boxer and is looking forward to competing in his age group for the Welsh Novices' Championships.

They also have a younger brother in Jordan (10), who is beginning to show an interest, perhaps following in Keith's footsteps because Dad boxed a bit in the Army in his younger days.

Outside of his boxing, Lewis plays football as a left back with a Haverfordwest Cricket Club team coached by Wayne Sheehan, who chose Lewis as the 'Most Improved Player' of the season.

The presentation took place the same night that Merlins Bridge ABC held their dinner show at the Pavilion in Withybush and Lewis was hoping that he would be boxing in front of his home crowd but his opponent failed a fitness test and so he was left a bit disappointed - but picked up his football trophy the following week!

Lewis first went to the boxing club to watch Cameron train and although he was invited to take part was a little nervous and resisted attempts at getting him to train. But once he decided to spar there was no stopping him and he's come on in leaps and bounds ever since - and dad proudly reports that it has also helped with his school work as a bonus!

Graham Brockway told us,

"It was almost six months before Lewis was happy to go in to the ring to spar and we never rush young boxers so it was fine with us.

"It's the same story when they go into the ring and when we decided it was OK for him to have first bout it came about in a novel way because he had travelled with us to a show in Tenby and they needed an exhibition bout to fill up the card.

"When we asked Lewis if he wanted to make his debut he said he would straight away and did really well against another debut maker, as he did a short while later in his second exhibition bout.

"We find it's a great way to set young boxers off in our sport because the three rounds are just a minute each and they have properly fitted gumshields, good quality head guards and huge gloves which make it impossible to hurt each other. Both boxers are given a nice trophy as a memento and most can't wait to get back in the ring!"

Within a year of those bouts Lewis was boxing in the Welsh Novice Championships for his age group, and beating other good boxers like Joshua Harries and Aaron Jones to win the title. These wins are part of Lewis's promising record which means that he has only lost once, on a split decision, in eight bouts.

Lewis's latest win qualifies him for the British Championships, which this year will be held at the National Centre of Excellence in Sophia Gardens, where there will be two Welsh competitors alongside one each for Scotland and England.

If he wins that it would be fitting reward for his commitment to training, which can be best summed up when Graham Brockway was recently away with current British champs Charlene Jones and Micky McDonagh.

"When Graham is here we spend Sunday morning running up and down the steps near the Bristol Trader so Cameron and I decided we would carry on the training and ran up and down even more than normal.

"It was hard but we both know it is going to help our leg strength when we have other bouts."

Regular training in the gym for Lewis involves a warm-up of skipping and short sprints, the former exercise being much tougher than it sounds, followed by the dreaded 'Ton Ups' session which involves ten exercises each done ten times as quickly as possible, followed by speed work on the punch balls and endurance stuff on the heavy bags.

Then they finish off with four or five rounds of sparring under the watchful eye of coach Brockway and his assistants before they end with a 'warm down' session. Not content with that little lot, Lewis also joins Cameron on runs of up to six kilometres around Merlins Bridge, sometimes twice a week!

Ask Lewis about help he has received and he would be quick to nominate his parents, Tracy and Keith, who have watched his every bout.

"Graham Brockway has been brilliant," Lewis told us, “and so have Mark Jenkins, Ian Lewis and Kim Baker in the gym.

"Some of the older boxers, like Charlene and Micky, also give me lots of advice and I'm lucky to be part of a great club like Merlins Bridge."

It seems the admiration is mutual because we let coach Brockway have the final word and he said,

"Lewis Barrows is an excellent young boxer with a good future ahead of him but above all else he is a lovely young feller I am proud to know."

High praise from someone who doesn't casually dish out compliments and we could pay Lewis no higher compliment - and we agree with Graham and wish him every success for his future!