Ex Latvian champ joins local ranks

GUERNSEY boxing has been boosted by the arrival of a Latvian who just missed out on qualifying for the Beijing Olympics.

Bruno Bigelis is the former junior national champion of Lativa and came third in the senior national championships.

The heavyweight has 58 bouts under his belt.

'I'm enjoying it here,' Bigelis said.

'It's different technically and the moves are different, but there are good coaches and I like everyone here.'

Last year saw the 21-year-old come third in an Olympic qualifying competition at the Felikz Sztamm arena in Warsaw.

He made it through to the semi-finals where he came unstuck at the hands of Viktar Zeyeu of Belarus.

Zeyeu went on to win the tournament.

However, Zeyeu did not have such a good time in Beijing where Italian Clemente Russo sent him packing in the first round.

The Amalgamated Boys' Club head coach Graham Guilbert is naturally delighted to welcome into the fold a boxer of Bigelis's calibre.

'He's top class, the way he moves and punches. And he wants it,' said Guilbert.

'The determination in the bloke is unreal. He's got a couple of things he needs to change as he likes to box in the European style, but he's getting the hang of it.

'He's definitely an asset. It's good for the club.'