A BOXER with a long family history in Beith, enjoyed one of the proudest moments of his life last week, becoming a national champion boxer.

Robert McNulty, whose family have since relocated to Lochwinnoch, defeated Alex Arthur Jr via a unanimous decision to claim the light-heavyweight crown.

Having only first picked up the sport in 2013, it has been a quick rise to the top of the sport for Robert.

He said: “I had my first fight in 2014 and won that and from then on I loved it. As the years have went on I just got better, winning the novice competitions.

“I have won the Scottish as a youth as well but winning the Scottish elite men means so much more.”

The elite championship is considered the most prestigious contest in the Scottish boxing calendar, with former winners including current unified light-welterweight champion Josh Taylor.

Robert’s final opponent came with pedigree also, with his father Alex Arthur Sr a former WBO super-featherweight champion, and previous Scottish elite title holder. Alex Arthur Jr had a lot to live up to.

It proved to be an extremely close contest, with Boxing Scotland dubbing it the “bout of the night”.

Thankfully, it was 19-year-old Robert who emerged victorious, in front of the sell-out crowd and boxing fans watching via an online stream.

Now, he’s hoping this victory will open up a whole new world of possibilities moving forward.

Robert explained: “I am going to be going to boxing Scotland at the end of April for assessments.

“All going well I should be going to Sheffield GB camp for international sparring and then hopefully get picked for the elite team.”

The next step into Great Britain’s boxing team could open up a whole new realm of possibilities, with the Olympic and Commonwealth games very realistic possibilities.

Boxing out of Renfrewshire, Robert was extremely thankful to his current coach for helping him to reach this new high.

He added: “Craig Dickson is my coach. I’ve only being working with Craig for a couple of months but he has brought me on so much – I can’t thank him enough.

“Renfrewshire boxing which I box out of is a brilliant club as well.”

On top of his elite championship win, Robert also won the boxer of the tournament crown, which included boxers from across all weight classes.

The announcement of Robert’s victory was a truly touching moment as well, leading to wild celebrations by both he and his family.

Congratulations from all at the Herald, we can’t wait to see what the future holds!