Banbury's boxing twins both advance to the final stages of national youth championships

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Banbury’s boxing twins will hope to bring silverware back to the town this weekend as they compete in the final stages of the National Youth Championships.

Johnny and Chris Taylor will travel to Yorkshire this weekend (February 8-9) to box against the country's best youth boxers.

The two teenage rising stars will challenge for titles at the two-day event held at Rotherham’s Magna Science Adventure Centre.

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In Rotherham, they will hope to emulate the success of 2018 Olympic Youth Champion Hopey Price, Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Ben Whittaker and current European professional champion Dalton Smith, who all won the competition in previous years.

Banbury's rising boxing stars, twins Chris and Johnny Taylor, will box in the finals of the National Youth Championships this weekend.Banbury's rising boxing stars, twins Chris and Johnny Taylor, will box in the finals of the National Youth Championships this weekend.
Banbury's rising boxing stars, twins Chris and Johnny Taylor, will box in the finals of the National Youth Championships this weekend.

To get to this Saturday’s semi-finals stage of the competition, both Taylor twins had to defeat two highly experienced champion boxers.

The pair travelled down to Aylesham, Kent, at the weekend (February 1) to take on two of the finest youth boxers in the Southern Counties region.

Lighter of the two, Chris was first in the ring to face off against a highly experienced boxer from Havant’s Leigh Park ABC.

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Chris’s opponent, Jack Harrop had amassed over 40 fights and claimed the Southern Counties title on his path to meeting the Banbury pugilist.

Johnny and Chris Taylor are two of the most successful boxers out of Banbury in recent years.Johnny and Chris Taylor are two of the most successful boxers out of Banbury in recent years.
Johnny and Chris Taylor are two of the most successful boxers out of Banbury in recent years.

However, once the opening bell rang and both boxers met in the centre of the ring, Chris’ size and strength began to show.

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The two boxers put on a show by throwing non-stop punches during the first round and again picked up where they left off in the second.

As the contest progressed, Chris’ footwork and rapid combinations started to take their toll on his overwhelmed opponent.

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The third and final round saw Chris start to dominate the Havant boxer, who was struggling to handle the strength and speed of his boxing.

Upon the sound of the final bell, Chris’s hand was raised by the referee, who announced him as the unanimous winner.

Next up was Johnny, who competed in the 67kg class against Liam Dunne, another experienced Southern Counties champion, this time from Middlesex’s Odyssey ABC.

This bout got off to a cagey start with both boxers demonstrating their shot selection and head movement in the first and second rounds.

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However, as the contest progressed, Johnny was able to assert his dominance by landing powerful punches on his taller opponent's body.

The Banbury boxer also demonstrated excellent defensive skills by rolling underneath his opponent's punches and coming back with his own scoring shots.

In the final round, both boxers put on a crowd-pleasing performance by engaging in a tough battle; however, Johnny’s work was the tidier of the two.

The judges scored the bout 4-1 in Johnny’s favour, meaning that he would join his brother in the semi-final stages of the competition.

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Coaches Phil Reggie Brown and Dave Hughes travelled down to Kent with the two rising boxing stars from Banbury.

They said: “We at Banbury Boxing Club are super proud of their performances. They are role models and this result is a testament to the hard work that they put in.”

For more information about the National Youth Championships, visit:https://www.englandboxing.org/competitions/england-boxing-national-youth-championships/

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