THREE boxers from a local club have reached the semi-final stages of a national competition.

Light heavyweight Robin White, light welterweight Mike Jackson and welterweight Jonathan Hussey from Little Hulton Police amateur boxing club have come through three rounds of the National Novices Championships and are now one fight away from the finals.

As the name of the competition suggests, the event is for boxers with limited experience of the fight game.

Robin and Mike are in the category for boxers having had less than 10 fights while Jonathan is in the under 20 fights section.

Even so all three have scored successes since taking up the sport.

Robin White has won all his eight fights to date, Mike Jackson has been successful in four of his seven bouts and Jonathan has won 16 of his 20 bouts.

Jonathan is no stranger to the ring as his father, Jim Hussey, was once a professional wrestler.

When his dad retired, the family went to live in Tenerife and Jonathan had a few fights there but decided to come back to England to gain more experience.

On their way to the semi-finals, the three fighters have won local, county and regional awards having won in the early rounds at Preston, Liverpool and Sheffield.

Now the three of them, all trained by Dave Langhorne, step into the ring for the semi-finals at Everton Leisure Centre on Saturday, hoping to make it through to the finals in Yorkshire two weeks later.

Robin said: "It's quite something that one club should have three boxers still in the competition but that is credit to the preparation and training that we have been given."

"If we can make it through then at least it will help put the club on the boxing map."