Nico on song as boxing returns to Quarry Lane

Like many sports, lockdown has proved a frustrating time, though seeing his son, Nico, win a bronze medal with the Great Britain team in Hungary at short notice with little training last month was a massive tonic for him and everyone else at the club.

The Quarry Lane club reopens fully on 17th May and Julian said: “As soon as we can we will book a home show and get our amateurs out into championships.

“The only people who've been in have been the pros and Nico.

“I am hopeful about the fitness of the carded boxers.

“I have been in touch and they have been ticking over and doing their runs and such. It's frustrating times for everybody, not just our sport.”

Julian is delighted with the shape of featherweight son Nico who, at 21 and the current Elite English champion, has his sights set on a place in the Paris 2024 Olympics.

“If he's not training with the GB team at Sheffield then he's here with me,” said Julian.

“I have every confidence they'll keep him busy at Sheffield and he gets world class sparring there.

“He has really come on since he's been up there and he's looking fantastic. He has grown into his man-strength and he is at world class level without a shadow of a doubt.”

Nico won bronze with GB in his first international tournament at the Bocksai Memorial competition in Hungary last month and Julian said: “He only went out there on a three week notice and he'd been out the ring for 18 months.

“So it was a fantastic achievement to medal in his first tournament. It's rare to do that and not all the other boxers had suffered the same length of lay-off. Some European countries have been very active. I was very happy with all three performances. It was testament to the work he's put in during lockdown.”

Monday and Wednesday sessions are Beginners and Novices and Thursday Carded Boxers only while Sunday is Invitation Only Squad Sparring. New sessions over the next couple of weeks will include BoxFit classes and Squad Development.