A MAGIC occasion has helped a North Wales boxer to become a national champion.

Cai “Magic” Murphy won the final of the 2019 WABA Welsh novice boxing championships last weekend in Swansea.

Cai, 17, from Cerrigydrudion, was representing Denbigh and District Amateur Boxing Club in the red corner against local opponent Brandon Cooper, from Premier ABC, in the blue corner.

Cooper proved to be a formidable and skilled boxer in what turned out to be an exceptionally hard-fought contest in the 69kg weight category.

Both boxers came out strongly in the first round, boxing toe-to-toe, and trying to outmanoeuvre and outgun each other in order to gain the upper hand early on.

Murphy took an accidental low blow from Cooper early in the round, but he recovered well and fought back strongly for a potential win in the first round.

Murphy's coach and cornerman Peter Mackie used his knowledge and experience to prepare the Denbigh ABC boxer for the second round.

Able to transfer every part of the excellent coaching advice into the next round, he came out of his corner quickly, looking sharper and used his boxing skills and fitness to counter each attack.

In the middle of the round, both fighters exchanged a range of punches, with Cai taking a standing eight count.

However, he bounced back quickly and started to dominate, landing good combinations to Brandon’s body and head, staying on the front foot and pushing his opponent backwards.

Going into the final round, Cai’s coach Peter made it clear that he would need to give everything if he wanted to win the championships and take the title home.

As soon as the bell rang for the third and final round, Cai flew out of the red corner to dominate his opponent with a flurry of effective jabs, crosses and hooks for the entire round.

This led to Brandon taking a standing eight count just 20 seconds from the final bell, earning Cai a well-deserved win in what was most certainly a hard test for his boxing skills, fitness and determination.

The new Welsh champion said: “It has been an amazing experience coming to Swansea for the finals.

"I would like to thank my fantastic coach Peter Mackie and my coaches back in Denbigh, Craig Mackie and Nathan Hanika, for all the support and brilliant coaching.

"We are a winning team. I love boxing, and I love my club.”

Cai’s parents added: “We would like to thank Peter Mackie and the other coaches for their continued support and dedication to Cai and all members of the club.”

Denbigh and District Amateur Boxing Club trains every Monday and Wednesday (6.45pm) at Myddelton College in Denbigh.

For further information, contact Peter Mackie on 07763 389153, Craig Mackie on 07525 202439 or Nathan Hanika on 07776 202855.