Cleland boxer Stephen Newns is weeks away from representing Scotland at the Commonwealth Games for the second time and is aiming to strike goldl at Birmingham 2022.
Returning to the side after competing at Gold Coast 2018, the 24-year-old from is now one of the oldest fighters in the squad of eight who have just returned from Madrid, where they sparred with Spanish boxers gearing up for the Mediterranean Games and National Championships.
“We ended up getting in a lot of good sparring with the Spanish national team,” said Newns to the insidethegames website.
“Sometimes it’s quite difficult to get that training in Scotland. We have to travel down to Sheffield a lot with the British team.”
The Scottish team was preparing for the 2022 European Championships and the upcoming Commonwealth Games with camps in Los Angeles, New York and Russia too, prior to the invasion of Ukraine.
Freddie Roach, famed for being the longtime coach of boxing great Manny Pacquiao and one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, Georges St-Pierre, was present during the squad's six-day spell in California.
When aged 20, Newns was defeated by Winston Hill of Fiji in the quarter-finals at Gold Coast 2018, meaning he missed the medals by one victory, calling the bout “a tough contest”.
Now with more experience, he believes he can go further into the tournament.
“I feel like a lot of composure’s came into my boxing and it’s worked for the best,” said Newns.
“I think I’m one of the more well-conditioned boxers [in his weight division], maybe not so much technical, but over the past four years that’s something I’ve definitely improved.
“That’s the experience and ability that I want to take into Birmingham.
“I want to medal and to win the gold medal would be great.”
Newns is one of the seven members of the men’s Scottish boxing team for Birmingham 2022, joined by Lennon Mulligan, Matthew McHale, Reese Lynch, Tyler Jolly, Sam Hickey and Sean Lazzerini.
Megan Reid is to compete in the women’s under-60 kilogram event too.
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