Frank Pett is Chalkstone Amateur Boxing Club's first national champion after winning title at the ABA Junior Novice Championships

Chalkstone Amateur Boxing Club (ABC) are celebrating after Frank Pett crowned himself the club’s first ever national champion at the weekend.

Pett, 16, defeated Gator ABC’s Jessy Hellis by unanimous decision to win the Junior Novice Class B 80kg final, in the Amateur Boxing Alliance (ABA) Junior Novice Championships in Hayes on Sunday.

The former Samuel Ward Academy pupil, who had lost to his opponent only three weeks ago at a show in Ely, produced a flawless display to take home the title and create history.

Wayne Pilgrim, one of the coaches at Chalkstone ABC, believes Pett’s victory will help put a club which is barely five years old on the map.

“It’s absolutely fantastic for us,” Pilgrim said. “It puts us right up there, not just locally but nationally with all the other clubs.

“It’s a fantastic achievement. The club has only been going since 2017 or 2018 as an established boxing club.

“We’ve only been properly amateur boxing for the last three or four years and because of Covid it ground to a halt for a couple of those years, so it’s quite fresh for us.

“To pick up a national champion pretty quickly I think it’s onwards and upwards from here. I’m proud of everyone at the club and the rest of the coaches and Frank who put in a lot of time and effort. He’s a natural boxer and he’s got a talent for it.”

The finals of the ABA’s National Youths and Junior Championships were held at Hayes Working Men’s Club on Sunday, as boxers from around the country competed to win national silverware.

Pett was handed byes through to the final where he went up against a familiar foe in Hellis, who had got the better of him in their last contest.

“After losing the bout previously a few weeks ago it must have been going through his head,” Pilgrim said.

“To come through how he did it’s a brilliant achievement. I guess it was handy that Frank fought his opponent a few weeks ago so we knew what he was about.

“We devised a game plan that worked perfectly. It’s the best I’ve seen him box. He listened to everything and wasn’t fazed by the crowd this time. I think he was a little nervous last time, but he followed the game plan brilliantly.

“The fight could potentially have been a stoppage but his opponent got saved by the bell at the end of the first round. It could have been over then but the other guy showed a lot of heart and courage. Massive respect to him as well.

“It went down to the judges and it was a unanimous decision. He won all three rounds clearly.”