Wigan boxers come close in the England National Junior Championships

Mason Wainwright, from Winstanley, reached the final of the male junior cadet under 44kg contest at the Guildford Spectrum.

The 14-year-old was defeated by Emal Hamdan on a split decision by the judges.

His father, David Wainwright, said: “We thought we had won, but it went against us 3-2. It was a bit of a controversial one, but it is what it is, and it happens all the time.

“He was Merseyside and Cheshire Champion, which enabled him to go on to a couple more fights to reach the actual finals. He won his semi with ease, it was a brilliant experience.

“He has shown he can mix in that sort of company. He’s won eight out of the last nine, so did really well to get that record going. We will just see where he is going for other competitions, and see if he can get just as far.

“Hopefully he can become a member of the GB squad at some point.”

Meanwhile, fellow Wigan boxers, Jack Doran, 16, and James Gleeson, 14, who train at Blackrod ABC Gym, both reached the semi-finals but couldn’t quite progress to the last day.

Jack was defeated by Kyle Page by a split decision, while James lost to Michael Varey after the referee stopped the contest.

Barrie Doran, Jack’s father, said: “They were close fights, just one of those things on the day. It was a good experience performing in a big arena, and they can try again next year.”