Hoover
boxing success
John Owens, of the Hoover Boxing
Club, won the Flyweight Championship of Wales at the
Rhondda last Wednesday when he stopped Brian Jones, of Dyffryn A.B.C. in the second round. It was a
devastating display of controlled power punching by the
local lad, fresh from a string of victories in Wales,
Coventry and Blackpool. This must make John a certainty
to be picked for international honours next season.
(Extract from 'Merthyr Express' newspaper) 1973
DANES
FLOOR WALES
John
Owens, of Merthyr, gave Wales a good start with a points win
in his bantamweight contest but the Danes
recovered to win the match by six bouts to four.
(Extract from 'South Wales Echo'
newspaper). 1974
WALES
PILE ON POWER TO WIN
Wales
completed a 7-4 victory over Scotland in last nights
international, at Pontypool, with the most impressive
performance of the night coming from international
debutant John Owens, of Merthyr. The 18-year-old
flyweight reduced John Raeside to helplessness with a
non-stop two-fisted assault that brought an abrupt halt
after 30 seconds of the second round.
(Extract from 'Western Mail' newspaper) 1974
SCOTS FLOP TO WELSH
AMATEURS
Wales
won seven of the first eight decisions
against Scotland before being
pegged back to take a
7-4 victory.
The succession of Welsh triumphs began with
bantamweight John Owens (Merthyr) outpointing John
Bambrick (Edinburgh City Transport). Bambrick, a bronze medallist in the European
Championships in Belgrade, was no match for the
spindly Owens who used his reach advantage to
great effect throughout. Scoring repeatedly with
accurate left jabs and varying his work when needed
Owen took the decision on all three judges
scorecards.
(Extract from 'Western Mail' newspaper). 1975
JOHN
KEEPS HIS PLACE IN WELSH A.B.A. TEAM
Court
House bantamweight John Owens beat John Bambrick, of
Edinburgh, to help Wales beat Scotland 7-4 at Cardiff's
Showboat Club on Friday night, and the Welsh selectors
have shown their confidence in him by including him in
the Welsh side to box against Ireland
- in the National Stadium in Dublin
- on February 20.
This will be the fourteenth time that John will be
wearing the red vest and he will be battling in his
usual workmanlike way to preserve his unbeaten record. I spoke to John before the fight with Bambrick and he
was not in the least perturbed that it would be his
thirteenth appearance for Wales. The 'unlucky thirteen'
tag had not deterred him from his usual placid outlook
of "taking it as it comes". The
Scot is an experienced fighter but was no match for the
quiet 20-year-old Merthyr boxer. After an even first
round, John outscored his southpaw opponent and caught
him repeatedly with solid rights. He lacked the big
punch, though, to finish off his man.
John has been boxing at the Court House Amateur Boxing
Club for 10 years and boxed for a year in the
Hoover Boxing Club. He was a Welsh schoolboy and a
Welsh junior champion and has been a Welsh A.B.A.
finalist seven times.
John is probably the most dedicated amateur boxer in
these parts today. He eats, sleeps and drinks boxing,
with the emphasis mainly on training. John has had 120
contests and has lost only 17, he has lost only one
senior bout in the last 16. John's only real interest
is boxing. He trains in the gym six nights a week and
does roadwork every Sunday. He
attributes his success to his rigid training schedules
and pays special tribute to Danny Galleozzie, Billy
Davies and his father, who supervise his training.
Perhaps his Irish opponent better have a couple of
kisses of the Blarney stone before he keeps his date
with John on the twelfth.
(Extract from 'Merthyr Express' newspaper.). 1976
IRELAND FIND IT TOUGH
Flyweight: G. McAllister v J. Owens
Although hooking solidly with both hands to the body
in all three rounds, McAllister, making his
international
debut, was too open.
The taller Owen scoring with fast, accurate punches
outfoxed and finally out-gunned McAllister to take the
majority decision.
(Extract from Irish Evening Herald, 1975)
WALES
BEATEN IN SWEDEN
The
Welsh amateur boxing squad went down to a 7-3 defeat to
Sweden, in Stockholm, last night after winning the
first three bouts. Bantamweight
John Owens stopped his opponent, Ove Hallman, in the
second round. A fine display of boxing and non-stop
aggression proved too much for the Swede prompting the
referee to intervene to stop the fight.
(Extract from 'South Wales Echo' newspaper). 1975
DEPLETED
WALES WIN TOURNEY
The
10-man Welsh A.B.A. team facing a Midlands Select team
at Solihull last night was reduced to a squad of five
through a series of accidents, injuries and unforeseen
circumstances.
But Wales quickly marked up a winning start thanks to
John Owens of Court House, Merthyr. Owens was given a
majority decision over Paul Chance - and the judges
marks revealed that none of them had put Owens on the
losing side in any round. One round was drawn,
according to one judge, hence the majority verdict.
Owen, taller and with a marked reach advantage,
steadily built up the points with his leads and some
crisp right crosses and nullified most of Chance's
efforts to counterpunch, though the Midlander did fight
back spiritedly in the final round.
(Extract from South Wales Argus newspaper). 1975
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