Junior boxer Chris Hendren from Park Ridge is now ranked number one in his age group and the 52kg weight division after winning the under 15 Queensland title.
The victory is the 14-year-old’s maiden state title in three attempts after falling agonisingly short two years ago with second place.
“All my hard work in training has paid off,” Mr Hendren said.
His coach, Brisbane Boxing co-owner Khuram Nasir, said the victory took an awful lot of guts, resilience, and discipline to improve like he did and get the win.
“The greatest thing about Chris is he’s got a great support network, he does the small things good, he listens and is coachable,” he said.
The signs were there early that Mr Hendren would have successful campaign. In the semi-final, he overcame the highly skilled Tom Gill from Beaudesert Boxing who beat him unanimously the last time they met. He then secured the title in a unanimous victory in three rounds against Team Shamrock’s Lucas Cullinan.
“He pretty much dominated from round one to round three,” Mr Khuram said.
Mr Hendren is now focussed on the Golden Gloves title in December, which he has won before.
By the time he is 24, the Brisbane Olympics will be on which aligns nicely with his goal for an Olympic medal.
“My goal so far is to be a gold Olympic medallist,” he said.
Ten years ago, he started boxing for extra fitness on the side of rugby, but it soon became his dominant passion.
Mum Kylie Hendren said she was proud to see him take out the win.
“I’m proud, he has a passion, and he goes and gets it, but he doesn’t neglect his learning, which is the number one priority,” she said.
One of Mr Hendren’s next steps in his development is to become a junior coach at Brisbane Boxing.
