Teenage ace Leivars is king of the ring in Sweden

Leivars, who turned 19 last month, landed two major titles at the King Of The Ring Box Cup event in the city of Boras.

The annual event always attracts hundreds of promising fighters from across Europe.

But Leivars stole the show as he was not only crowned champion in the 56kg weight category, he was also named best technical boxer of the tournament.

“The gold medal is coming back to Mansfield!” beamed the jubilant teenager in a Facebook message to his fans.

“A big thankyou to all my coaches, my dad, Sab Leo and John Ball, and to all my family. Also, thanks to everyone at Hodbox for their support.

“Full respect to my opponents, and a big thankyou to Andrew Sutton, at AS Plant Ltd, who has been my sponsor for four consecutive years.”

Success in Sweden is just the latest feather in the cap for Leivars, who started boxing at the age of eight and has been carefully nurtured under the wing of his father, Julian.

Along the way, he has landed national and regional titles and no fewer than nine East Midlands championships on the trot.

His growing reputation has extended beyond Nottinghamshire too. Earlier this year, he enjoyed a sparring session at the new gym of world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, going six rounds with undefeated pro Louis Lynn.

Leivars has also built up quite a fanbase back home. They queued up to congratulate him on Facebook on his King Of The Ring win.

One message read: “Hard work and dedication pays off.” Another proclaimed: “World champion of the future!”