Whitworth student is English Muay Thai champion

England Muay Thai Champion Whitworth Community High School student Finlay Hudson

Whitworth Community High School student Finlay Hudson battled his way to become England Muay Thai Champion in front of family and friends on Saturday 20 May.

Finlay, 14, from Whitworth, faced five 90-second rounds in the 56kg and under competition against Marcel Holdip from Oldham, but he was fighting on home turf as the championship was held at The Ashcroft in Whitworth.

In the first three rounds, Marcel came out aggressively but that was only for the first 20 seconds, after that Finlay fought back and in the final two rounds Marcel had tired and Finlay dominated and landed scoring hits.

He said: “Marcel was a bit smaller than me but he was stockier. My arms were longer than his though.

“When it got to the end of the fight, I was pretty confident I had won and when the referee raised my arm to declare me the winner, my grandma cried.

“I took up the sport during lockdown and I have only been training for fights for about a year.

“I used to do karate, but it wasn’t for me; it was more technical whereas this is more about fighting. My dad persuaded me to try the sport and I attend Valley Thai Boxing Club in Whitworth. It is brutal but it is more enjoyable and rewarding.”

Fights take place in a boxing ring and points are scored for landing knees, kicks and punches on your opponent

Finlay's parents, cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents along with school friends attended the fight.

Fighters from Valley Thai contested six fights, and only Finlay and adult fighter Rob James were victorious.

In April last year, Finlay won the British 12-13 title 52kg and under title and he will be fighting again in June in Manchester.

He said he would like to take the sport up seriously, but that would involve moving to Ireland where the best trainers are based.