More national glory for Blackpool boxer Alice Pumphrey

Having previously won gold at school and junior levels, Alice triumphed on her latest step up to the Youth Open Championships in Birmingham last weekend.

This entailed moving from rounds of two minutes to three, while 16-year-old Alice also stepped up a year from the youth cadets into the open category, fighting in the 50kg division.

Alice, a former Sharpstyle student now fighting out of the Purge Academy in West Yorkshire, last featured in these pages in October, when she won her second European gold medal representing England at the junior championships in Italy.

Her latest national final was an eagerly anticipated first meeting with Scunthorpe ABC's Ebony Jones, a reigning England 50kg champion and former European title holder.

Dad John takes up the story: “Alice went straight into attack mode in middle of the ring and had her opponent on the back foot with combinations to the head and body. She won all three rounds as all five judges awarded the bout in her favour.”

Alice is now a national champion in three weight categories, having previously won at 48kg and 52kg.

Having achieved a hat-trick of England, GB Tri-Nations and European triumphs last year, Alice hopes to repeat the feat in 2023. The Tri-Nations championships will be staged in Scotland and the Europeans in Armenia later in the year.

Purge Academy in Batley is also proud of Alice, who is pictured with head coach Mohamed Amin Patel.