TEENAGE Ledbury amateur boxer Luke Cullwick has paid tribute to the Florence family after an impressive victory last week.

The 15-year-old Ledbury Boxing Club member recorded a unanimous victory over Telford and Wrekin Boxing Academy’s Luis Martin at Ludlow Racecourse.

Cullwick, who lives near Leominster, was seventh on the card in the Ludlow Amateur Boxing Show and dominated the bout.

“I had lost my previous two fights so to get a win was amazing,” said Cullwick, a Wigmore High School pupil.

“My dad, Paul, and my mum Anne, were cheering me on and Kevin Florence, one of my best mates, filmed the fight for me on his phone. I think that was my 17th bout and I have won eight or nine.”

Cullwick, whose boxing shorts are emblazoned with the flag of St George, has been a member of Ledbury Boxing Club for about four years.

“I looked at a few other clubs but I knew straight away that Ledbury was the club for me. Fred and Helen Florence are brilliant and I am getting the best coaching that I could ever ask for.”

Luctonians Under-16 rugby player Ben Bywater secured an excellent victory on his boxing debut – and also was involved in the best junior contest of the show.

Bywater, 16, is a member of Ludlow Amateur Boxing Club, who organised the event, and achieved a majority decision over Kings Thorpe’s Jey Meakins in the penultimate bout.

“I had been training hard for the fight for the last six months,” he said.

“I play rugby in the second-row for Luctonians under-16s. I have been doing that since I was 11.

“But I loved the boxing – and I will do it again. My family and friends were backing me and, hopefully, I made them proud.

“I had a slight doubt that I might not have done enough and I knew it was going to be close.”

He added: “When you’re in a boxing match it’s one-on-one. Scoring a try in rugby is great but it’s a team effort. When you win in a boxing match, I think it feels 10 times better.”