Goulburn Valley Boxing Academy foursome returns from nationals with swag of medals

Though silverware was only half the bounty.

Harrington, who successfully mentored the three teenage talents as well as seven other Victorian fighters, was the subject of intrigue as to where his boys had learned their trade.

“Reporters were asking ‘where is Mooroopna? How can it produce so much talent from a regional area?’,” Harrington said.

“We’re this little fruit city that are on the big stage against people that are training alongside the likes of Jeff Horne, Justis Huni.

“Just to bring three medals back to a place like Mooroopna with a population of 8000, it’s just massive. What we achieved on a national stage, it’s never been seen before.“

Harrington went to outlay his pride in “putting Mooroopna on the map”, noting the achievements of GVBA has elevated its status from a premier country Victorian boxing gym to one which is recognised nationwide.

So how did they do it?

Long, 13, the youngest of the trio, swept aside Northern Territory’s Andreas Troumouliaris to qualify for the gold medal match where he’d win by unanimous decision over Queensland’s Jaylin Erickson.

Next up was Turner, 14, who was forced to bide his time until the final day of competition.

Turner gloved up against 2022 gold medallist Jacob Friend and was slow out of the blocks during the first round, clawing back some pride in the second only for the bout to be stopped due to a nose injury.

“It was unfortunate, this kid was broken, but he can hold his head high,” Harrington said.

“Everyone was proud of him, to medal in your first year is an achievement in itself ― he will be back with a bright future.”

Then came Boland, with the sternest route to the podium.

The 18-year-old first fought tournament favourite Johnny Dale and it was a shock exit for the Northern Territory pugilist as Boland raised the arm after a narrow points decision win.

Harrington labelled the toppling of Dale, who has previously trained under Australian head coach Jamie Pittman, as the biggest moment in his fighter’s career to that point.

“The draw came out and, in what should have been the final, we drew Johnny Dale straight up,” Harrington said.

“I showed Chris and he took a deep breath, accepting the mission and road to gold.”

Buoyed by his latest scalp, Boland then fought fellow Victorian William Bardsley where he shook off his knocks from his fight the day before and swung hard enough to fell his opponent.

The hefty third round blow from Boland stopped the contest, meaning one more fight was all that separated him from gold.

“Chris started slow, it was due to back-to-back weight cutting and the mental side of it all; losing the first round, and winning the next round 3-2, he needed a big last round,“ Harrington said.

“I got the scores given to me before heading out to the last round and I ramped my boy up to take down anything or anyone that was gonna stop him getting his goal.”

Standing in the way of Boland lifting the strap was Western Australia’s Shabob Ibrahim.

The Mooroopna-trained fighter, refreshed off a day’s rest, wheeled out another polished performance when it was needed most to claim gold by unanimous decision.

And just like that, GVBA was the talk of the boxing town.

Harrington swelled with pride after a successful jaunt to the city of churches, saying the five-day tournament takes the cake when it comes to his coaching career.

“It was such an amazing tournament, (it was the) best thing I’ve experienced as a coach,” he said.

“I was over the moon and really up for it, because I didn’t only have to look after my three athletes.

“I had the responsibility of the whole team. Also, cornering boxers from other clubs was a big experience for me and something that I really enjoyed.”

Harrington said those wishing to watch replays of the locals’ fights could find them on Boxing Australia’s Youtube channel.