Goulburn Valley Boxing Academy’s Izaiah, Zedda and Urijah Harrington (pictured), alongside Resolute Gym’s Kallym Huffer, have been selected to represent Victoria in the 2024 Australian Schools Boxing Championships, held in Perth from July 3-6.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
It’s almost time for Shepparton’s best to take the rest to school.
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Four Goulburn Valley natives have been selected for a Team Victoria squad set to glove up for the 2024 Australian Schools Boxing Championships in Perth.
The event, held from July 3-6, pits the nation’s freshman pugilists against each other across four days of fleet-fisted action.
Of the total crop, Shepparton lays claim to three of the 37 Team Victoria athletes.
Resolute Gym up-and-comer Kallym Huffer has been picked in the junior male division and will fight in the 63-66kg weight class.
Meanwhile, Urijah and Izaiah Harrington, who fight out of the Goulburn Valley Boxing Academy, earned a tap in the under-15 (38-40kg) and under-13 (30-32kg) categories.
The pair’s dad, Zedda Harrington, will come along for the ride as he oversees the under-19 Victorian team as coach.
It’s not his first rodeo, either.
Harrington has previously stood in the corner for the state squad and, after the action subsided following last year’s nationals, he knew he had to get his two sons involved.
“The nationals come around every July, so when I finished up my campaign as a state coach last year, I looked at it as a 12-month plan to get the boys up and running,” he said.
“With their age group, they needed a quota of a certain amount of fights, so we went all around Australia; the boys fought in Darwin, Perth, Queensland.”
Throughout the Harringtons’ flight path, Izaiah (11) couldn’t fight in his home state due to age restrictions and had trouble being matched with opponents.
Older sibling Urijah’s journey wasn’t much easier, with just one of the 13-year-old’s past seven bouts held in Victoria.
For that reason, Zedda is proud to see the fruits of his sons’ labour now reach their ripest.
Izaiah and Urijah Harrington have put in a big 12 months of work to prepare for nationals.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
“They’ve done the hard yards, they’ve gone all around Australia to get the quota,” he said.
“Victoria obviously looked at their record and how much experience they’ve had and they’ve exceeded all expectations to make the team.
“The beauty of the nationals is you’re fighting the best of what every state has to offer.”
Urijah will engage in the third instalment of a brewing rivalry against NSW’s Marcel Tahan, with the GVBA youngster taking one win and a loss from their previous two meetings.
He’ll also take on Queensland’s Sunny Belsham — a bout his dad is eager to watch.
“He (Belsham) is going to be much bigger than Urijah and quite the challenge,” he said.
“The bigger the challenge, however, the more Urijah loves it; he can't wait to represent his state.
“He would be one of the hardest working 13-year-old boys you will come across, the dedication he puts into his craft is so admirable. As a student he would have to be any coach’s dream.”
However, Izaiah’s big ticket event has been marred by no fault of his own.
The pre-teen puncher had a slate of opponents in his sights but each pulled out, one after the other.
The domino effect resulted in no foes standing in the other corner waiting to fight and, while he’ll still travel with the state squad and has made history being the youngest Victorian state boxer to make the team, Izaiah was gutted.
“He was absolutely heartbroken. We put 12 months into this, we travelled everywhere and (it’s tough) for an 11-year-old to digest the situation,” Harrington said.
“I stressed to him that the work we put in will be used elsewhere, regardless that we can’t get the final result we worked for.
“Izzy said to me ‘I will get my shot to prove I'm the best in the country one day’.”
Harrington senior will have his boys’ backs and will also be in Huffer’s corner for what is sure to be a massive event.
Resolute Gym's Kallym Huffer is ready to make a splash at the 2024 Australian Schools Boxing Championships in Perth. Photo: Resolute Gym
But like the youngsters donning the gloves, he’s coming prepared.
“I’ve got to take the parent and coaching hats off from time to time; it’s really hard to be both,” Harrington said.
“Running the gym in Mooroopna for four years, running classes where there is 20-25 peewee/youth members and two of them are my sons, I’m well trained for the situation.
“It’s a massive family affair for us ... I’m really excited for it.”
All of the 2024 Australian Schools Boxing Championships fights will be livestreamed on Boxing Australia's website.
