TEAM Nilsson Fitness and Boxing put it all on the line over the weekend, with three state titles up for grabs and a fourth at a later date for the victor.
Boxers Liam English, Oscar Miller, Vahahn Schofield and Riley Wiese travelled to Adelaide for the 2018 Boxing South Australia State Championships at the Dom Polski Centre.
Wiese and Schofield, who have previous experience in the ring, were both automatically awarded with state titles due to being the only contenders in their divisions.
Meanwhile Miller and English had to battle it out for the honours.
After weighing in, the pair waited anxiously for their debut fights.
Unfortunately a championship was not on the cards for 14-year-old Miller, who was defeated in his first fight, but coach Barry Nilsson said he was confident in the young gun’s future.
“Little Oscar fought well for his first bout,” he said.
“I’m always proud of all the boys and although he did not win, I think he has a bright future in the sport.”
The spotlight was then turned to English, who was set to face a much taller opponent.
“I was pretty nervous heading into the fight,” English said.
“But as soon as the first bell rang I just did what I had to do.”
One of English’s biggest assets is his left jab, which is something Nilsson prides himself on teaching his fighters.
“Liam was under strict instructions to focus on quick jabs throughout the fight,” Nilsson said.
“He got his first jab in and just did not look back.
“He did not look like losing the whole time and won the first round easily.
“The second round came around and he dropped the bloke putting a standing count on him.”
English continued to focus on what he knows best and ended the bout winning each round in a unanimous decision.
“In the last round I was pretty gassed, but I knew I had to keep going,” English said.
“I just knew I had to hold on and bring it home.
“I did not want all of my hard work to go to waste.”
English then had to prepare for the next day, with a fight at 12pm to secure his spot in the state title bout.
The fighter he was up against had a lucky draw, not having to battle for his spot in the match.
This meant English’s opponent would be much fresher than him, which could prove a challenge.
“Again this guy was a lot bigger than Liam,” Nilsson said.
“He was covered in tattoos as well which made him a bit more intimidating.
“But we stuck with what we knew and told Liam to fight exactly how he had on Saturday night.”
Although his opponent seemed to have the upper hand, English said he was confident in his skills.
“We’ve done a lot of sparing with experienced boxers which helped with nerves,” he said.
“I knew who I was fighting would not be as good as what they are, so I tried to keep that in mind.
“Obviously I did not have as much in the tank on Sunday as I did on Saturday, so had to be more strategic and conserve my energy.”
Again English begun scoring early with his left jabs, putting him in good stead for the remainder of the bout.
“Liam’s footwork has spot on,” Nilsson said.
“In the second fight you could tell he was much more confident – he was fighting like a boxer who had been in the game for years.”
English defeated his opponent, again winning all three rounds in a unanimous decision.
“I left it all in the ring I think,” he said.
“Getting towards the end I knew I was running out of steam, but I had Stumpy (Nilsson) in my corner spurring me on which kept me going.
“I was also really lucky to have friends and family make the trip for the weekend – hearing them in the crowd really pushed me to finish strong.”
Nilsson and his team will now head back to the state’s capital for English’s title fight on November 10.
In the lead up to the event, English plans to continue his training as usual, leaving it all up to his coach on what they work on.
“It’s really important to keep focused on what we’ve been working on,” Nilsson said.
“My fighter’s are all very disciplined, which I think is important.
“These days you cannot just be a thug in the ring, you’ve got to be technical to get points.”
With a promising future in the sport, English looks forward to possibly taking home the title next month and to where it will take him.
“For now I’m just taking each fight as it comes,” English said.
“I would love to keep progressing in the sport but I cannot get too ahead of myself.
“I just want to get that winning feeling back so I’m hopeful I can get the title.”
