Broad Street boxer crowned London champion

Oghor Obakponovwe became the latest in a long list of champions trained at Stepney’s Broad Street BC by veteran coach Johnny Gleed on Sunday.

The boxer they call ‘Doctor O’ lifted the London Development super-heavyweight title at the TA Centre in Grove Park, Lewisham with a points victory over White Hart Lane club rival Jamie Tshikeva.

Gleed, the 76-year-old former light-heavyweight professional who has been a fixture at the Stepney club for many years, takes pride in the latest success of the former Royal London Hospital doctor, currently on the staff at Southend Hospital.

Obakponovwe recorded his latest success in the over-91kg final of the former novices championships after a close-fought tussle.

Both boxers landed powerful punches in the super-heavyweight decider with the judges split in favour of the Broad Street man, who looks to progress in the national rounds of the competition with Gleed in his corner.

Repton’s hopes of repeating past successes in the national championships were wrecked by a double defeat.

In the Class B middleweight semi-final Shaun Soloman lost a points decision to Fitzroy Lodge rival Germain Brown, who went on to lift the title when beating Finchley’s Nonso Onweugbusi.

Tim Agbetile was also beaten by a Fitzroy Lodge rival in the Class A middleweight final, trading solid punches with Ashley Dumetz but seeing the verdict go against him.

n East London trainer Tony Sims has several of his fighters in action on the big Matchroom bill at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday.

Olympic super-heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua faces his toughest pro test after eight straight victories when he meets Russian Denis Bakhtov for the vacant WBC international title.

Middleweight John Ryder also appears alongside Trad TKO’s Tommy Martin as ex-Repton fighters Ohara Davies and Ben Hall look to extend unbeaten pro records on the undercard.

The show also includes Lee Selby, Phillip Bowes, John Wayne Hibbert and Erick Ochieng.

Goodwin Promotions return to York Hall for the third time in five weeks with a bill that features Larry Ekundayo, George Jupp, Kevin Greenwood, Johnny Garton and east London student Jose Lopes.

The 24-year-old Lopes boxed for Angola as an amateur and has been building up for his debut on a training trip to the Goodwin gym in Turkey.

Three other familiar names on the undercard are brothers, Anthony, Paul and Sonny Upton, the former West Ham amateurs who went on to earn international honours in Ireland.

The trio have returned to this country to turn pro and are building up winning records in the camp of former world champion Ricky Hatton.

n Repton coach Tony Burns suffered a sad loss with the untimely death of son Mark aged 44.

A funeral service will take place at St Matthews Church, St Matthews Row, Bethnal Green on Monday (October 13) at 11am.