Double gold medal success for teenage Cumbrian boxer
The Wigton Amateur Boxing Club star, 16, came out on top in the Teesside Box Cup and the Warehouse Box Cup in Swansea.
John Paul, from Carlisle, got the better of a series of strong opponents with some outstanding displays, according to his Wigton ABC coach Andi Crossman, who is tipping the 66kg teenager for a big future in the sport.
First John Paul defeated Southampton's Reuben James in the Teesside semi-final before outboxing Darlington's Darren Omar in the final.
Crossman told the News & Star: 'His opponent in the semi-final was a big strong kid who wanted to hold on a bit, but John Paul used his boxing knowledge and came out on top.
'Against the kid in the final, who'd received a bye, John Paul gave him a standing eight count in the second round and got through to a points decision, taking gold.
John Paul pictured with his gold medal at the Teesside Box Cup (Image: Wigton ABC)
'With confidence really high, we entered him into the Warehouse Box Cup in Swansea, where John Paul fell lucky this time, getting a bye to the final.
'When we watched the semi-final, the lad who won, Freddie Norman, was huge. He dropped his opponent and was so, so strong.
'So we had to come up with a game plan to take his power away from him, and get John Paul moving on his toes all the time, just counter-punching.
'In the final, he boxed a punch-perfect performance. It was unbelievable – the kid couldn't do a thing with him.
'Massive respect to him [Freddie Norman] – he came over at the end and said John Paul was the trickiest lad that he's ever boxed. He was really experienced and had only lost a handful of fights out of 30.
'John Paul followed every single instruction to a T and came out with another gold. He was awesome.'
The young boxer, who in March won the under-63kg north west category of the England Boxing National Junior Championships, is showing all the signs of being a top prospect, according to his coach.
'He does as he's told, he works hard, he does his training – and he is going to be something special, I know that,' Crossman said.
'He's a credit to his parents, he's so well-mannered, well-polite. He's left school now and has got a job, and he still comes to his training with the same discipline.
'He always walks into the gym with a smile on his face. His mum and dad are brilliant people, who help out in the gym, and his sister comes down and trains too.
John Paul and his Wigton ABC colleagues celebrated in Teesside after his gold medal victory (Image: Wigton ABC)
'They're a brilliant family, so supportive of John Paul.'
Crossman said John Paul is due to compete in another Box Cup in September as he aims to fuel his big ambitions in boxing.
'We want to get a couple of national titles into him, boxing in the open class championships. I definitely want to try and get him to a senior title,' the coach said.
'Then John Paul wants to turn professional, so I'm not going to stop him doing that. I've got my professional coaching license, so there's nothing to stop him doing that here.
'That's all in good time though – we're not going to rush him. When he's ready we'll talk about it after that.
'He's an inspiration to all the kids at our club. He's going out, he's winning and they aspire to be just like him. He's well-mannered, well-schooled and his attitude to boxing is also to be admired.'
Wigton ABC are also preparing for their home show at the Greenhill Hotel on September 30, which Crossman said sold out in under 12 hours.
'We've got some old boxers and we've got some new boxers,' he said. 'We've got people like Robbie Pattinson making a comeback, we've got Lewis Hand and Eddie Graham coming back.
'We've got new boxers coming through as well. My own son Dalton, who's just turned 12, is going for his first competitive bout. I'm excited about that as well.
'There's loads to look forward to.'
Wigton ABC also run a range of further sessions at the club, including a free health and wellbeing session on Saturday mornings, and a female-only class.
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