Boxing duo pick up trophies
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Inverness boxers Sarah Harper, who won her debut fight at Kinross, and Alistair 'Jasper' Chisholm who was awarded a trophy for services to amateur boxing.
TWO Inverness boxers returned from a show in Kinross clutching trophies for quite different reasons.
Alastair “Jasper” Chisholm (28) bowed out of the amateur scene before embarking on life as a pro. The host club gave him a trophy for all his appearances and efforts over the years.
Sarah Harper (23), who hails from Wick but lives and works in Inverness, won her debut contest, against a New Zealander based in Dunfermline.
Inverness Boxing Club head coach Laurie Redfern said: “It was a terrific night for both of them. Jasper has had a tremendous amateur career. While he’s not had a huge amount of bouts, they have mostly been of a high standard.
“He is the reigning North District champion and I think he’ll do well in the pros.
“He once broke a leg in two places when playing football and if it wasn’t for injuries, he would have had far more contests and I think he could well have represented Scotland.
“He’s never let anyone down. He works tremendously hard and he’s always at the club helping the kids develop their futures.”
And of Harper, Redfern said: “Her performance really surprised me.
“While she looked capable in the club, you always worry about what will happen in a real contest, but she was very impressive.
“She looked a bit nervous before the first bell, but you expect that. Any boxer who tells you they aren’t is lying. After that first performance, I am now looking for more bouts for Sarah.”
Redfern has been helping Amateur Boxing Scotland bring through the best of the young talent country with a view to them making it to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Every fortnight, he’s been part of a coaching team that has been working with those who will reach the 18-20 age bracket when the Games come around and lining them up with international competition.
Already, the young Scots have shown up well against England, Wales, Sweden and Ulster.
Redfern wants to create A and B groups, so that those not in the top level can improve under a scheme entitled “Bring Back Boxing”.
The next stage is to look at 13-and-14-year-olds and Redfern hopes that he’ll soon have youngsters from Inverness to head south for such contests.
