Boys box for State

Four Peninsula boys were chosen to represent NSW at the PCYC State of Origin Boxing Tournament in Coffs Harbour on July 28.

Umina PCYC's Luke Johnson, Josh Niland, Kayne Hassett and Jasper Scannell boxed their Queensland opponents in front of a full capacity crowd.

Umina PCYC boxing coach Mr Joel Keegan was also selected as the State coach for the NSW team.

Mr Keegan said Johnson was an outstanding performer on the night having impressed many of the judges.

"This is the third time I've seen Luke fight, and he's improvement has been pretty special," tournament judge Mr Johnny Lewis said.

"If they all trained like Luke, the gym would be full of champions.

"The kids are a great example of what you are supposed to be when you call yourself a boxer - dedicated, disciplined and tough."

A win against Queensland's Ahfituh KuKu took Johnson's record to 8-0.

Niland was also able to claim victory over Zilmere PCYC's Jason Cooper.

Mr Keegan said the win for Niland was a tough battle.

"This was a very good victory over a highly-rated fighter for Niland, built on the back of great defense and improved conditioning," Mr Keegan said.

Both Johnson and Niland have been chosen to attend an AIS boxing camp in September and will compete at State title tournaments on October 6.

This will give them the right to compete at Nationals to be held in Queensland in November.

Press Release, 31 Aug 2007 Joel Keegan, Umina PCYC