Greenrigg ring star wins unprecedented second British crown

Jul 14 2011 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

GREENRIGG Scottish Youth Champion Kieran Smith has added a second UK title to his CV after a stunning display at the British Boxing Championships.

The 18-year-old won the 60kg British title two-years ago and now he has repeated the trick to become a double holder of the prestigious championship.

Kieran qualified for the event after winning the Scottish title in a bout against Mark Docherty in March.

But the big scraps kept coming for the West Lothian wonder, who was handed a British semi-final bout against Londoner Felix Cash — the current English ABA champion.

Cash came out the aggressor in the early exchanges but he couldn’t find a way through Smith’s guard to make any serious damage and it was Smith who bloodied his opponents nose with an searing jab.

By the final round, Smith was dominating 4-1 and despite a frantic final flurry by Cash, he held on comfortably to win 6-4.

This set up a final bout with Welsh Champion Pierre Lima.

The two were no strangers to one another after Smith beat Lima in a Celtic Cup clash earlier this year.

A no-score first round left the two boxers deadlocked until Lima was deducted two points by the referee in the second, which ended 3-1 in Smith’s favour.

The Greenrigg boxer upped the tempo in the final round to cruise to a 5-2 triumph and earn him a phenomenal second stint as British champ.

Next season Smith is preparing to step up for his first season in the senior division and, on current form, he is expected to make a name for himself.

Whitburn’s Frank Delaney is one of his coaches at Springhill ABC and he reckons Smith can go all the way.

He said: “We have a good atmosphere in the gym. It is a good learning environment where all the lads are treated equally and allowed to develop at a pace which suits them.

“Kieran is one such lad and he has boxed for five years in which time he has had 40-odd bouts.

“He struggled at the start but since then has great will to learn, which was nurtured by our coaches. I have no doubt he will win a world title one day.”

Kieran is hoping he has done enough to earn a call-up for the Scotland squad heading to the Commonwealth Youth Games in September.