Newark amateur boxer Jake Blant, 15, from Carl Greaves Gym reaches final of England Boxing National Development Championship in Cannock Chase

A talented young boxer showed dedication and fighting spirit to the end as he fought for a national title.

For the past month Jake Blant, 15, from Newark has been competing in the England Boxing National Development Championships — designed for amateur boxers with at least two fights under their belt, but no more than ten.

Last weekend he was in Cannock Chase, where the semi-final and final of the championship were being held on back to back days.

Jake, who only began boxing two years ago, breezed through the early rounds of the competition becoming East Midlands Champion at the end of September.

He then won convincingly against the Tyne and Wear Champion, forcing his opponent to throw in the towel in the second round to reach the quarter-finals where he went toe to toe in Liverpool, taking his place in the semi-final after a split decision ruled in his favour.

The winning run meant Jake was undefeated with six wins under his belt going into the weekend .

On Saturday he was drawn against London based Shay Draper from the Rainham boxing club in his semi-final bout.

The Newark boxer came out of the gates swinging, and despite being the shorter of the two, commanded the fight and was awarded the win by unanimous decision.

Jake’s trainer Gary Springett, said: “He boxed really well and was always on the front foot.

“That was it and there was just this euphoria to make the final, he was full of confidence and couldn’t wait to get back in the ring.

“We’d watched the lad he was going to be up against in the final and we fancied out chances, Jake wasn’t scared, he was just raring to go.”

Sunday rolled around and Jake matched up against Ben Tykes from the Stevie Smith Boxing club in Yorkshire.

In the final it was a closely fought battle with the boxers going back and forth in a match that was tough to call.

His opponent was the stronger fighter from the start, taking the first round, with the pair seemingly evenly matched in the second.

But in the third round Jake regained his composure and familiar aggressive style and took the final round.

Ultimately it went down to a split decision and after the judges conferred Jake narrowly lost out.

Gary said: “We all thought he’d done enough and it stings but that’s boxing for you.

“I’m so proud of him. He went into this with just two fights and to reach a national finals first try is phenomenal.

“I thought if he could win the regional title everything else was just a bonus, but he boxed so well and kept on winning.

“I’ve never taken a lad this far before so it’s a massive achievement and he’s developed so much.

“I think it’s a credit to him that despite the disappointment he said to me ‘someone’s got to lose sometimes, but I’ll probably learn more from that loss than I would have done if I’d gone on to win’.

“For a lad of 15 to have that attitude is fantastic and now it’s just onwards and upwards.

“He’s done Newark proud and he’s certainly done himself proud.”

Jake was supported every step of the way by family and friends who travelled to all corners of the country to cheer him on.

Gary alongside fellow trainer Roy Brumpton and everybody else at Carl Greaves Gym wanted to express their pride and congratulate Jake on everything that he achieved.

The 15-year-old is now getting back to work and preparing to take a step up and will soon compete in the National Association of Boys and Girl’s Cubs amateur boxing championships.