Mandurah-based amateur boxer Alex Winwood continued his rise up the world rankings with a steady showing at the International Boxing Association World Championships in Hamburg, Germany last month.
The Eureka Boxing fighter punched his way to a win in his first fight, paving his path to the preliminary round where he came up narrowly short in his next bout against 2016 silver medallist Russian Vasilii Egorov.
Heading into the biggest tournament of his boxing career to date, Winwood ranked 22nd in the world.
His preliminary final appearance ensures he will at least climb six spots on that ladder, as he finished in the top 16 fighters in the men’s light fly weight.
Winwood took on Algerian Mohamed Yassine Touareg in his first fight, with a dominant first round giving him an early edge on his way to the victory.
“It was a big first round and I think maybe my power got the better of him a couple times,” Winwood said.
“After that I managed to just box him and come away with the win.”
Awaiting him in the 16th round was Egorov, a former world number two.
Winwood landed a set of early blows in the bout, which he said shocked the Russian, but Egorov regained composure to even the fight.
A spirited effort saw Winwood come up narrowly short in the end, but the local lad said he would take a wealth of knowledge out of his first world champs.
“You definitely notice the step up in the class of fighter you’re going against, so I’ll learn a lot from that experience,” he said.
“I went in with the goal of reaching the top eight so to fall short of that is disappointing, but I still got my rank up a few spots so it was still good.
“It’s definitely bittersweet.”
Winwood will now turn his focus to Australia’s national championships, while keeping one eye fixed on his ultimate goal of representing the country at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
“To represent the country at the world championships was something special to me – it’s always special when you get to wear the colours,” he said.
“But to get the Olympics is my top goal – it would open so many doors and opportunities.”
Winwood’s coach Brian Satori heaped praise on his young prodigy.
“Alex holds himself really well – he’s meticulous in his training and always carries out the fight plan,” he said.
“It’s great to see him crack the top 16 in the world.”
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
