A teenager has become a junior national boxing champion - months after he joined his new club without a win to his name.

Kian Hardy, 15, linked up with PEJ ABC Margate earlier this year. The club have developed a strong reputation within amateur boxing and have helped Hardy, from Deal, find a winning formula.

He beat Zain Mohammed, of South Derby, at last month’s England Boxing National Development Championships in the under-44kg male junior class B category Final at the Cannock Chase Leisure Centre by a unanimous decision.

The triumph saw Hardy become the club’s fourth national champion.

Dad Aaron said: “Kian joined in January.

“He had three fights before he joined them - and lost all three, being at two previous clubs, just trying to find his feet.

“But within 10 months of being at PEJ, he has won all his fights.

“He won in the Manchester Box Cup at the end of July and, now, he has just become national champion, winning the Kent title and the Southern Counties title along the way.”

Hardy, who is also studying for his GCSEs this academic year, has lots of commitments to juggle.

“We have to do a lot of travelling,” admitted Aaron.

“There’s a lot of time and effort that Kian has to put in, as you can imagine. Kian’s doing his GCSEs this year as well.

“We’re super proud of him. Winning a national title is probably the biggest thing he can do in his boxing career at the moment.”

But Hardy wasn’t the only PEJ ABC Margate fighter in action at the England Boxing National Development Championships.

Club-mate Troy Ledene, 18, was edged out by Kings’ Sonny Hughes in the male Youth under-54kg Final while 15-year-old Ella Cooper - who is also from Deal - took home a silver.

On the club, Aaron said: “They have produced some good boxers over the years. I can’t say enough about the coaches.

“They’re brilliant, really dedicated to the kids. That’s probably why they all thrive.”

Such is Hardy’s commitment to his boxing training he is even putting in the hard yards outside the ring.

His father explained: “He trains Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6pm until 8.30pm or 9pm.

“Then, on his days off, he goes and does two or three-mile runs. He might have a Saturday off where he doesn’t really do anything where he’ll just chill out and do bits with his mates.

“But, quite often, they’re sparring on Sundays. That means we have to go to places like Dagenham and we go to Chatham quite often - but there’s not too many places we go to in Kent. There’s quite a lot of long-distance journeys for sparring.

“His mates are going out but he knows he has to train.

“Obviously, he has to be disciplined with his diet as well. He can’t just sit there, eating his favourite bag of Walkers Max crisps that he loves so much when he has got fights coming!

“It’s had a massive impact on his social life and has helped him have that discipline.”

And, while he hopes to soon return to action, Hardy has an eye on his first big event of 2024.

Aaron said: “Towards the end of the year, he will be preparing for the Youth Nationals. They start in January.”

Mario Michael, one of PEJ ABC Margate’s coaches, said: “The coaching team are really proud of all the boxers who have worked so hard in preparation for this championships.

“They couldn’t have done any more and we are really happy with the way they all boxed.

“Once again, we would like to thank PEJ Court Properties and Malwai Nijar for their continued help and support.

“We would also like to thank Lindsay Panteli and The Bike Shed for sponsoring our team.”

Bodhi Underwood, 16, won the Southern Counties youth title thanks to two good points wins, but missed out on national success, losing his Quarter-Final bout.