Team Sunderland athlete Ben Milford set to compete in BUCS Boxing Championships

Ben Milford is competing in the BUCS Boxing Championships throughout the weekend, with his coach Marc Foster believing he has a “good chance of medalling”.

Fighting between 75 and 80 kg in the novice category, Milford has been committed to his training since making the decision to fight in BUCS promising the style of a classic boxer in the sense of being considered with his punches.

The event will take place in Portsmouth starting Friday, February 2 with the final taking place on Sunday, February 4 should the young boxer earn his spot there. With three days of boxing potentially on the cards, Milford has said that “endurance isn’t going to be an issue”.

“Trainings going well, I’ve been coming in four or five times a week getting myself in and sparring and doing a bit of pad work,” Milford told SportsByte when previewing the event.

“My style is more like a classic boxer, trying to pick my opponent apart – getting body shots in and trying to get them out of the way as quickly as possible. I try to tire my opponent out before the third round and hopefully pick them apart as much as I can.

“I feel like I’ve been doing enough on the endurance side of things and training hard, doing my extra runs etc. The endurance isn’t going to be an issue, as long as I’m getting my fill of food when I’m down there I’ll be fine.

“The training has been a lot more in-depth and full-on than I’ve had before. From the moment I got here any little mistake that I made, whether it’s shadow boxing, bag work, pad work, anything was just corrected straight away. As soon as I make a mistake I’m told about it, and I’m told how to change it straight away.

“I’ll be fighting roughly between 75 and 80 kg, which is around the weight I walk around at so I’m comfortable with it. It means I can go down there and have what I want to eat, as long as it’s good food I can have enough of it to fill up and don’t have to drain myself for the full weekend.”

Milford trains at Ryhope Boxing & Fitness under the tutelage of the aforementioned Foster, who shared his insight on what to expect from “a different Ben” from his arrival in SR2.

“He’s a good long orthodox boxer. He likes to keep things at range, and because he’s 6’2” he’s quite tall for his weight and because of that he forces people to lean in a bit and it opens them up for body shots – which he’s good at picking.

“There’s still a lot we need to work on, but he’s in the novice category and I think he’s got a good chance of medalling.

“In the novice category, you want to keep it basic, and it’s about composure really. Whoever is the more composed and keeps their breath and their fitness, they’re the ones who are going to win so that’s what we’re looking for.

“(Milford’s) had four fights, two wins, two losses, and they all came before we worked together so it’s going to be a different Ben. It’s not going to be the same Ben that got those two wins and two losses.

“He’s been committed as soon as he decided he wanted to do BUCS this year and it’s been a good, solid three or four months working towards it so I’m confident.

“The amateur game is faster paced than professional. In professional it’s more attention to detail, you’ve got three minutes of up to 10 rounds whereas in amateur it’s two minutes and it’s three rounds. It’s a bit of a sprint.

“Training has been about striking a balance, sometimes we’ll go nice and slow and focus on how we’re going to get our shots off and which specific shot we want to get off and then next time we’ll look for the high pace and you’ve got to hit both. I feel like we’ve done quite well.”