Charlie and Libby are champs for Horsham Boxing Club - but in different ways

Perry, making his debut, was eager to keep the ball rolling for the club and secure his first win which he did with composed boxing, stiff jabs and straight body shots.

Having had only six days’ notice, he had his first experience of not only boxing, but also cutting a bit of weight. The first round was close with both lads scoring textbook straight shots, but Perry was the more aggressive and took the round.

In the second and third, Perry started to take over and, although Cole kept coming, the Horsham boxer was clearly in the lead by the final bell.

All the judges saw it the same and Charlie received a unanimous decision.

In one week, the club went to three shows with four boxers. Rohith Jose, Zack Treliving and Atlanta Brown all won by stoppage and Perry very clearly by points, delighting coach John Essex.

The boys and girls are feeding off each other’s successes and are proud to be representing the club.

Junior Noah Jolly and senior Callum Bailey will be having their first bouts on the Hillcrest show this Saturday, August 21.

Noah said: “I really can’t wait to box now and after seeing Charlie win, I can’t get in there soon enough!”

Meanwhile, HBC’s female captain Libby Baker passed her coaching exam and is now a boxer/coach, helping out with the juniors and training with the seniors.

Essex said: “Libby is a great help to the club in many ways, from running the social media, boxing herself and now a junior coach, she is an asset to both squad and coaching team.”

Having been out with wrist surgery, Libby is as eager as the rest of the boxers to add a win to her three-and-three record.

Essex continued: “It’s taken us a while to get a squad like this together, especially through the pandemic but everyone has stuck to it and put the work in even when we couldn’t get in the gym.”

The schoolboy championships are coming up and Perry has a chance.

Jose is another contender at youth level and club captain Madhav Purcell, now a senior, will also be looking to be in his first serious competition since Covid ruled him out of the youths.

Horsham Boxing Club welcomes all to join. Training times are Monday and Wednesday 5-6pm for juniors and 6-7:30pm seniors.