Macleay born boxer Levi Langham has been blazing a path through combat sports the last few years, and recently the 16-year-old has added to his growing list of achievements by winning 2019 Junior Fighter of the Year at All Star Boxing Academy in Brisbane.
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Langham has previously won three golden gloves and an Australian title, among other accolades, but this newest award still came as a pleasant surprise to the talented young fighter.
"It definitely surprised me, I didn't expect to win anything because I've only been at All Star Boxing Academy for half a year and it's full of talented boxers," he told the Argus.
"I've developed so much in the last six months because of good coaching, my coach, Benny, has been putting me in to spar with his professional boys as part of their preparation for upcoming fights."
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After a great 2019, Langham hopes to continue the momentum and is already planning a future in boxing, with aspirations for overseas travel and seeking out the best fighters in the world.
"This is going to be my hardest year yet; I'm going to have to seriously up my game because I'm at the bottom of my age bracket,16 years old fighting in Under 19's, and in the 69kg weight division which is the most popular," he said.
"I'm interested in fighting overseas, and now I'm a 'Youth' I can do that, my dream is to become World Champion and to be a good role model, but I'm happy with what I've done so far.
Levi ticks all the boxes, he's got a great attitude, a solid work ethic, and he's a smart guy.
- Benny Harrington
"Golden Gloves is the biggest boxing tournament in Australia, and I've won all three that I've entered, he Australian Titles is the toughest boxing tournament in Australia, and I won the first one I qualified for."
Langham started training in the Macleay, but after a trip interstate, his family made the tough decision to move to Brisbane so he could pursue tougher opponents to train with.
"We went to a development camp in Adelaide which opened our eyes; it made us realise how important it was to get good sparring and technical training," Langham said.
"My Dad sussed out what he thought would be the best gym for me, and Mum and Dad started working out how we could move there.
"We used to do so much travelling, nine-hour round trips to get good sparring, now nearly all sparring is held at our gym."
Langham's new gym, All Star Boxing Academy, has been crowned the most successful club in Queensland four years in a row, and is widely considered one of the best in Australia.
Head coach Benny Harrington has been involved in boxing nearly all his life and insists that his new student has a set of skills that few can emulate.
"Levi ticks all the boxes, he's got a great attitude, a solid work ethic, and he's a smart guy, I do not doubt that he could excel at whatever he chooses to do," Harrington told the Argus.
"We can take him as far as he wants to go in boxing, we have all the facilities and plenty of elite-level strikers in the gym.
"I can't take the full credit for coaching Levi though; he had a great coach in the Macleay, Adam Fathers deserves praise as well."
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