Cleland boxer Stephen Newns is weeks away from representing Scotland on the Commonwealth Video games for the second time and is aiming to strike goldl at Birmingham 2022.
Returning to the facet after competing at Gold Coast 2018, the 24-year-old from is now one of many oldest fighters within the squad of eight who've simply returned from Madrid, the place they sparred with Spanish boxers gearing up for the Mediterranean Video games and Nationwide Championships.
“We ended up getting in a number of good sparring with the Spanish nationwide staff,” stated Newns to the insidethegames web site.
“Generally it’s fairly troublesome to get that coaching in Scotland. Now we have to journey all the way down to Sheffield rather a lot with the British staff.”
The Scottish staff was getting ready for the 2022 European Championships and the upcoming Commonwealth Video games with camps in Los Angeles, New York and Russia too, previous to the invasion of Ukraine.
Freddie Roach, famed for being the longtime coach of boxing nice Manny Pacquiao and one of many biggest blended martial artists of all time, Georges St-Pierre, was current throughout the squad's six-day spell in California.
When aged 20, Newns was defeated by Winston Hill of Fiji within the quarter-finals at Gold Coast 2018, which means he missed the medals by one victory, calling the bout “a tricky contest”.
Now with extra expertise, he believes he can go additional into the event.
“I really feel like a number of composure’s got here into my boxing and it’s labored for one of the best,” stated Newns.
“I feel I’m one of many extra well-conditioned boxers [in his weight division], perhaps not a lot technical, however over the previous 4 years that’s one thing I’ve positively improved.
“That’s the expertise and skill that I need to take into Birmingham.
“I need to medal and to win the gold medal can be nice.”
Newns is among the seven members of the lads’s Scottish boxing staff for Birmingham 2022, joined by Lennon Mulligan, Matthew McHale, Reese Lynch, Tyler Jolly, Sam Hickey and Sean Lazzerini.
Megan Reid is to compete within the ladies’s under-60 kilogram occasion too.
Observe Lanarkshire Reside Sport onTwitter by way of@LanLiveSport, like us onFbor discover us onInstagramfor the newest sports activities information, photos and video.