By Jacob Smith
Conor Loftus, 22, produced a good performance against Younis Baati to help secure an impressive 5-0 victory for the British Lionhearts.
Well done @BoxerLoftus94 – makes it 4-0 with a debut victory pic.twitter.com/JP1ghvdviz
— British Lionhearts (@Brit_Lionhearts) March 8, 2017
The Lionhearts were at home for the first time this campaign and were up against the Morocco Atlas Lions who were marooned at the bottom of the table. Victory saw the Lionhearts finish round three top of the table as the France Fighting Roosters beat Italia Thunder to keep Group B wide open.
Loftus previously to this bout had been operating at 69kg but made the drop down to 64kg and took a convincing unanimous points decision.
Ahead of the bout Loftus spoke to Yorkshire Boxing to talk about his drop down in weight: “I’ve always been quite short and stocky for the Welterweight division so at 64kg I increase my chances of placing higher and being more successful.”
After shaking his opponent during the bout, it was clear to see Loftus has been able to bring his power down with him: “I feel like I’ve brought my power down with me to 64kg.
“I hurt him a few times and I’m a little bit like a shark with blood, if I see that I’ve hurt someone I really want to jump all over them and try to finish but that’s a bit of a downfall sometimes which made me get caught with a shot.”
Loftus is one of many talented boxers from Leeds and acknowledged how well the city is doing in both the amateur and professional game: “It’s absolutely buzzing, in the pro game and the amateur game.
“There’s so many to mention but as you know there’s Kez Ashfaq and Jack Bateson, both good friends of mine and part of Team GB so adding Josh Warrington as well it’s really buzzing at the minute.”
The Lionhearts will be looking to right a wrong next time out as they face Italia Thunder in the reverse leg of the opening group fixture. The Italia Thunder took a close 3-2 victory in Milan and with the team’s level on points there’s plenty to fight for yet again.
TICKETS on sale now for our next @wsbboxing match v @ItaliaThunder at York Hall on 23 March @gbboxing – https://t.co/KildiIHUuL
— British Lionhearts (@Brit_Lionhearts) March 13, 2017
It’s not confirmed if Loftus will be on the card at York Hall, London, but after his most recent bout he’s certainly left a good impression for the future.