JP O'Meara - Hooks

Hooks ABC duo JP O’Meara and Billy Dunne put in superb performances to claim London titles at the National Schools Championships.

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O’Meara overcame Harry Blick (Fisher ABC) in the class 1 under-32kg final, with Dunne pulling off a shock result as he outpointed West Ham’s highly-rated Paul Ellis at under-34kg.

The pair will be joined by another Hooks youngster, Billy Fanneran –who gained a walkover in the class 2 under-66kg section – in the national quarter-finals at Oxford a week on Saturday.

“We know what Billy can do, so it wasn’t a shock to us, but it was to other people,” said Hooks trainer Steve Newland. “That was the result of the day and he’s in with a big shout now.

“JP did what we wanted him to do – he picked his shots well and didn’t let the boy come forward. He’s worked really hard for these championships and he proved he’s a class act.”

Blick was withdrawn with blood streaming from his nose at the end of the second round, but Ellis – who had only suffered one previous loss – took Dunne the full distance before the Hooks boxer triumphed 6-5 on points.

However, there was a setback for the Park Royal club in the class 3 under-42kg semi-final, where Frankie Barrett was defeated 8-1 by Harry Smith (Rose Hill).

Barrett failed to close down his opponent and took a count in the final round after a heavy blow to the body, while Hooks’ Nathan Brown also went out at the semi-final stage in the class 3 under-44kg.

The inexperienced Brown faced an uphill task against the Reach club’s Billy Beaney – a national champion in each of the last two years – but competed well and landed a number of punches in the opening round.

However, Beaney’s class began to tell in the second and a pair of hooks on the counter-attack left Brown in trouble, prompting Newland to withdraw him at the end of the round.

Hooks’ Daniel O’Donnell lost the class 2 under-32kg semi-final to Sidney Driscoll of West Ham – although his performance was far better than the harsh 12-4 scoreline suggested.