No boxing boots, but Glenrothes fighter Reo Martin still wins for Scotland!

The 14-year-old Glenrothes Boxing Club star was contesting a 57kg schoolboys youth elite bout against his South Bristol ABC opponent over three rounds of two minutes and emerged victorious.

"Reo had to scramble about to get trainers to fight in after forgetting his boots,” said the youngster’s dad John Martin. “It’s the first time he’s ever fought in a pair of trainers.

"He told me later that when he was moving in the ring he was getting blisters during the fight.

"But obviously the adrenaline kicked in and Reo kind of forgot about that until he was out the ring. It was a good experience for him.

"He was meant to be on just before the interval but they brought the interval forward and Reo had been ready to go into the ring so he had to wait for another hour.

"He was up against it because there was a wee bit of mental stress that he had to overcome, but he was brilliant.

"Reo had actually fought Rocco before at a home show last year and it was a very difficult fight for him because Rocco was quite technical. Reo won on a split points decision.

"So he knew it was going to be difficult but he boxed great against a very good fighter, listened to his coach Stevie McGuire in his corner and landed punches very nearly every time.

"I couldn’t be any prouder of him as a dad.”

Of the 11 fighters picked for Scotland at the event, Reo was one of only three winners from north of the border as England won 8-3.

John added: "England is always a tough place to go to get a result. Reo has fought 26 times, had five defeats, and four of them were in England.”

Reo, who has developed his technique by learning from a couple of training sessions with Scottish professional boxer Lee McGregor, will box for his club in Cyprus next month. The Scottish Championship and other Box Cups will soon follow.