Zeeshan Suleman wins Yorkshire title in fourth bout

Suleman, from the KBW gym, booked a place in the quarter-finals of the England Development Championship with his county final victory over Bradford’s Josh Lawrence, from Platinum ABC.

Both boxers weighed in at 54kg and the fight was over three two-minute rounds.

A fast start was made by both, but it was Suleman who secured the round with his body work.

The shorter boxer of the two, Zeeshan was boxing on the front foot, blocking Lawrence’s punches and edging closer to his opponent. Once in range, he was landing combinations to the body and then coming up to the head. It was a really impressive start from the New College student.

Lawrence switched his tactics in the second round and was trying to use angles to land his shots, finding success. Suleman continued his attack to his opponent’s body in order to slow Josh’s movement down.

Trapping Lawrence against the ropes, Suleman throw a barrage of punches, stepped back and caught Josh flush with a backhand as his opponent was trying to come of the ropes. It was an entertaining finish to what was a close round.

Picking up the pace in the final round, Suleman came out as the aggressor, landing upstairs with a double jab and then going straight to the body with a backhand, Josh was trying to fight on the back foot and landing shots, but Zeeshan was cutting him off and landing his punches, mixing it both well to head and body.

Suleman was awarded the bout via a split decision and now boxes in the quarter-finals at the same venue, Bridlington Sports Centre.

The sports science student was ecstatic with his win.

He said: “It’s only my fourth fight and I am Yorkshire Champion, I’ve not boxed in over two years, had one fight and straight into the championships.”

Zeeshan’s older brother, Tauseef Suleman, meanwhile, kept his impressive winning streak going, with a hard earned points victory over Danny Pass, from Parson Cross ABC, Sheffield.

From the opening bell, Pass came out and immediately put Suleman under pressure.

Taken aback by his opponent’s approach, Suleman started to box on the back foot and caught Pass with straight shots. Once Pass was in close, he took his attack to the body.

The second round saw Pass pick up the pace and make the Bradford University student box his fight, which was to maraud and spoil.

Both boxers were doing some impressive inside work. One would land, then the other would repay the favour. The older and more experienced Pass was not letting Tauseef box.

The crowd were enjoying the action, the home boxer had a sizeable crowd while Suleman had a strong backing from his travelling fans.

Before the start of the third round, Suleman was told the fight was close. Boxing the instructions, Suleman was staying in close and use his clever footwork, to make angles and land the cleaner shots. Pass was now starting to get frustrated and was starting to throw wild shots.

Suleman was now beginning to box to his strengths, he was picking off the incoming Pass.

Midway through the round Pass throw a wide hook, which Suleman dipped under and caught Danny with a counter uppercut, resulting in his opponent’s gum shield to come out. The referee stopped the action, while Pass’s gum shield was being cleaned.

The action resumed and Tauseef went back to his box and move tactics, picking his opponent off with cleaner combinations.

At the end of three pulsating rounds, the KBW boxer was declared the winner on points and both fighters received a standing ovation as they left the ring.

Both boxers weighed in at 62kg and the fight was over three three-minute rounds.

Suleman has been sparring with the likes of former 2016 Olympian and now pro boxer Qais Ashfaq and soon to be professional Mohammed Subhaan.

He said: “The sparring has been great, I’ve been sparring top level pro’s with much more experience than me. It’s brought me up a few levels.

“I just want to continue to improve and keep showing my all round skills.”

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