Islington Boxing Club had double reason to cheer after seeing two of their members secure their progress in National Championships.
Slavisa Gegic was in action at Dagenham’s Roundhouse, where he met Finchley ABC’s Thomas Hunter in the London semi-finals of the Elite Championships.
And although not at his sharpest in their under-69kg contest, Islington welterweight Gegic had too much for his rival.
Hunter proved game enough, but Gegic was winning all of the rounds when a combination dropped the Finchley fighter to the canvas.
The referee gave a standing eight count, but waved the fight off shortly before the end to give Gegic a stoppage win.
Victory has earned Gegic a date with Cuban BA’s Timon Asiama-Southgate in a repeat of the 2018 Haringey Box Cup final, but it remains to be seen when that might take place due to the coronavirus pandemic leading to the postponement of a host of sporting events this week.
Meanwhile, clubmate Luan Veras was competing in the national quarter-finals of the Junior Championships at the Delphi Centre in Sudbury, where he met Blake Marshall, from Colchester ABC in an under-66kg bout.
And although Veras also gave a below-par performance, he did enough to earn a 4-1 split decision from the judges and a spot in the semi-finals.
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