Leigh Park’s next sporting starlet soars with stunning upset victory
Leigh Park ABC has a rich heritage of producing top-tier boxing talent - now there could be a new name to look out for.
Poppy Cooper has announced herself as the next ace off Leigh Park ABC’s conveyor belt of talent.
The 15-year-old ripped up the form book to storm to success at the Ringside Trust Box Cup in Bognor, registering an eye-catching victory in the national event to underline her fast-emerging talent.
In only her third bout, Cooper took on Gateway ABC’s Maddie Taylor and picked up a unanimous win to take the title to the delight of female head coach Colin Hardwick.
Despite going in against an opponent with the experience of 11 bouts to call upon, Cooper stood up to the challenge in outstanding fashion to take the title at 55kg.
It means she becomes the latest champion at a club with a long and heralded history of delivering talent to go right to the top of the amateur boxing tree.
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Six-time ABA champion Chris Bessey, WBU, British and Commonwealth champ Tony Oakey along with England internationals Dean Frost and Nigel Philpott are some of the names in the Leigh Park hall of fame.
And now Cooper will have ambitions of moving towards the levels those illustrious figures reached, after bagging her title despite boxing for less than a year.
Leigh Park’s female stable is now thriving and certainly one of the healthiest groups across the southern counties, with coach Hardwick putting in the miles to get the best possible sparring and training for his charges.
Leigh Park’s head coach, Billy Bessey, can see more bright days on the horizon for Cooper and the girls at his club.
He said: ‘We're all so proud of Poppy.
‘The bout was a big ask for here against an experienced opponent, but our female head coach Colin had every faith in her.
‘It was a close contest but Poppy dug deep to get the unanimous decision, and to win a national box cup within a year of starting box shows what a prospect she is.
‘She's part of a female team which is absolutely buzzing now and they have a togetherness which is a big part of why they're doing so well.
‘I think they're only going to get bigger and better.’