Boxer Sonnyboy Hughes became England Boxing National Development champion this week for the second time and is hoping to break into the Great Britain squad next year.
The 19-year-old from Darfield won the semi-final and final on split decisions in Kettering in the 60kg senior men’s category, repeating his victory from 2023.
Sonnyboy, who also works as a part-time plumber for his father Jason, said: “It was seven-week process, fighting week by week. I just took it step by step to go through the rounds and the opponents got better each time. But I came out as number one again and I’m very proud.
“It’s a really big achievement.
“In the final, I fought a very good kid from London but won pretty comfortably on points.”
Sonnyboy is now targeting the Senior ABA Championships in March.
“The goal is to win them and then I should get into the Great Britain squad.
“Boxing for GB is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’d love to compete for my country in big competitions around the world. Eventually I want to be a professional boxer but, at the moment, I just want to build my experience in the amateurs and my whole focus is getting in the GB squad.”
Sonnyboy has six brothers and two sisters. Several of them have boxed as well as competing in long distance running, with Jonson Hughes winning the Yorkshire title over 3,000m for the last three years. Sonnyboy said: “We’ve all done boxing and running. Some of us are choosing one over the other.
“For me, I just love that buzz you get in boxing after winning a fight.
“But doing so much competitive running over the years has definitely helped me, especially with fitness. It gives me an advantage over people I fight.”
