Granite City ABC teenage boxing star Ben Bonner is targeting a third British title after securing Scottish Golden Gloves glory.
The highly rated 17-year-old defeated Cain ABC’s Zane Lawson in the Youth 2006 67kg Golden Gloves final to secure his third national title.
Bonner aims to rack up the title wins to secure a spot at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Now Bonner is set to travel to the United States to train in some of the best gyms in world boxing as part of his preparation for a British title shot.
Bonner will travel across the Atlantic with trainer Davie McAllister Jnr and other Granite City ABC fighters to train in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Bonner is set to spend some of his time in the States training at the legendary Wild Card gym in Los Angeles, having previously trained there in 2022.
Wild Card is run by ring great Freddie Roach who trained eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao.
Roach also trained three-time world champion James Toney and four-division world title winner Miguel Cotto.
Bonner said: “I’m really buzzing to secure the Golden Gloves title.
“It is a really good achievement as the final was a tough fight against a top opponent.
“That is what I want, to challenge myself against the best of the best.
“I did that and got the win.
“This is my third Scottish title and I’m now looking for my third British title in June.”
Training with boxing legend Roach
Boxing great Roach has trained 27 world champions to date and established Wild Card in 1995.
World champions Pacquiao, Cesar Chavez Jr., Cotto, Zou Shiming and George St-Pierre are some of the legends to have trained with Roach at the gym.
Bonner is relishing a return to the famous venue having picked up valuable information from Roach.
He said: “I’m off to Las Vegas and Los Angeles in May for a training camp.
“We are going back to Wild Card, I’m so excited.
“We went to Wild Card in 2022 which was an amazing experience.
“I did pads with Freddie Roach which was fantastic and I learned so much.
“All the boxers there are well schooled and it is a totally different style.
“Over there they target your body and it is roasting hot as well so you have to adapt to that.
“Freddie gave me tips on certain ways to throw punches.
“When he was on the pads with me he focused more on movement and things like that.
“He wanted me moving more instead of standing in the same place and being stiff.
“Freddie wanted me to more fluid in my movement, that’s what he focused on.”
Commonwealth Games target
Bonner is not the only Granite City ABC star to claim Golden Gloves glory as Kai Stitchell won the Scottish Youth 2007 63.5kg title.
Ultimately Bonner aims to represent Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in 2026.
That could potentially be a home tournament for Bonner.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games were due to be held in Victoria but the Australian state pulled out of hosting the event last year due to rising costs.
Now the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) are in advanced talks with other nations to host the games.
A back-up plan has been drawn up for the competition to return to Glasgow if talks with other countries fail.
Glasgow hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2014.
Bonner said: “My ambition is to fight in the Commonwealth Games.
“Hopefully in the next couple of years I can get into the GB squad and win as much as I can in amateur boxing.
“Then possibly turn pro, those are the main goals. Boxing consumes my life.”
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