Undefeated Aberdeen ring star Gregor McPherson has created four Scottish champions just six months after opening his new amateur boxing club.
One of the hottest rising stars in Scottish professional boxing, 20-year-old McPherson set up the Bodbox Aberdeen amateur boxing club earlier this year.
Success has been delivered quickly with four golds and a silver secured at the recent Boxing Alliance Scotland Novice Championships in Dundee.
Topping the podium with gold medal glory were Charlie Macdonald (54kg), Liam Mckenzie (67), Youen Tunnah (80+ kg) and Adam Lamb (57kg).
Kodi Mathieson (63kg) secured silver.
McPherson, who boasts a flawless pro record of six wins from six pro bouts, hopes it is the first of many title wins for Bodbox Aberdeen.
He said: “We only opened the boxing club six months ago so for them to get medals is a really big achievement for the boxers.
“I’m very proud of them and the medal success is a reward for all their hard work.
“We can coach them, but it is up to them to turn up and put in the hard work.
“The medal winners were not only coming every week, but also came to extra sessions.
“They need to pat themselves on the back.”
Success an inspiration to other rising Bodbox stars
McPherson formed the boxing club with father Tom, who is also his trainer.
The aim of Bodbox Aberdeen, based in the city’s Bridge of Don, is to keep kids off the street and also build future champions.
McPherson said: “The other boxers at the club have now seen what these medal winners have achieved with a couple of months training.
“That should spur them on as well, as it shows what can be done with hard work.
“Hopefully this is the first of many more medals for the club.”
‘They know what it is like to win now and they love the feeling’
McPherson was a three-time Scottish champion at amateur level before turning professional as a teenager.
In May this year, he extended his 100% pro record with a 60-54 points victory against Mexican Christian Lopez Flores at the Beach Ballroom in Aberdeen.
He said: “The boxers that entered the competition will have been given an extra push to go on and win even more.
“They know what it is like to win now and they love the feeling.
“It was great to see them back in the gym the next day training again.
“They are showing that dedication we are looking for.
“I have been in that position of winning a Scottish title before.
“I said to them if they want to feel that again they will have to go straight back into the gym. They did that.
“I won three national titles.
“As they know that I have done this before it is easy to get the message across to them.
“We have around 20 carded fighters and just want their full attention and hard work, which they are giving.”
Training camp for comeback fight
McPherson had been due to fight in Glasgow on September 21 but was ruled out of the bout after suffering a collapsed lung for the second time in a year.
The 20-year-old underwent emergency surgery.
In October last year, McPherson collapsed lung which medics thought may have been caused by a cough.
This time McPherson suffered the injury to a different lung.
Now fully recovered, he is set for a comeback fight at the Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen on Saturday, November 30.
He will box the undercard of Dean Sutherland’s Celtic super-welterweight title defence against Fraser Wilkinson.
McPherson said: “The training camp is going really well and I’m getting stronger every week.”
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