YOUNG boxers from Northallerton are preparing to take on some serious competition from a London club this weekend.

Five hopefuls from Northallerton Amateur Boxing Club – Tom Capps, 14, Catherine Pringle, 15, Ryan Tennant, 15, and Callum Talbot and Patrick Talentino, both 16 – will meet boxers from a club in north London.

Coach Adrian Coe said: “The club has been going since 2011 and it has really grown in that time.

“Last year I took two boxers down to compete against Harrow Amateur Boxing Club so to have five I’m willing to take this year shows how our club has improved.”

Mr Coe said his boxer with the most potential for the meet was Catherine Pringle, who will be fighting 14-year-old national champion Shelly Sweeny.

He said: “Catherine has boxed with her before and lost, but she has improved a lot since then and I think she is ready to have another go.

“She, like all the team, has been training hard and eating a strict diet to get in top shape and condition for the tournament.

“It’s great to see more girls getting into the sport. I think boxers like Nicola Adams doing well in the London 2012 Olympics has shown girls and women that it can be a sport for them and they can be just as good as the men.”

He added: “This is quite a big thing for us but I’m already very proud of them all.”

Northallerton Amateur Boxing Club meets at the Forum, Northallerton, on Mondays and Wednesdays. Email northallertonboxingclub@hotmail.co.uk for more information.