DROITWICH Amateur Boxing Club fighters Frankie Butler and Charles Delve have both powered their way into the semi-finals of the Golden Belt Championships.

Boxing in the quarter-finals against North West Counties in Manchester, the pair scored emphatic victories in the national competition for boxers born in 1990 with 10 bouts or less.

In the previous round against Southern Counties, Butler won on a stoppage and Delve by a wide points margin.

It was roles reversed in Manchester as Delve stopped his opponent and Butler won with a score of 23-7 on the computer scoring system.

Despite the score, Butler's bout against Bolton's Nassir Arif (Elite) was never easy.

Arif attacked non-stop throughout the three rounds and frequently seemed to be getting on top.

However, Butler remained calm under pressure, defending well, and all the quality punches came from the Droitwich boxer.

Whereas Arif was throwing wild shots which frequently missed or were discounted as slaps, Butler was finding the mark with solid punches, especially with his accurate right-cross against the open southpaw.

Butler's score of 23 was far and away the highest computer score of any boxer in the tournament.

Delve took time to settle against Michael Rigby (North Mersey).

Although enjoying a significant reach advantage, he had difficulty in finding the range and was caught once or twice by Rigby's surges.

He started to stamp his authority on the contest in the second round and began to pile up the points.

Boxing at long range and attacking from different angles, he moved into a commanding lead, which was extended during the third round as he took complete control.

The referee gave Rigby a standing count after he was caught with a solid right-cross, and later stopped the bout when Delve landed a left hook.

Butler and Delve now box in the semi-finals at Aylesbury on Saturday - bringing the total of national semi-finalists this season from the Droitwich club to four.

Coach Chris Andrews said: "Lets hope we can get at least one of them through to the national finals. After the disappointment of cruiserweight Dave Jenvey missing out on his semi-final in the Novice Senior Championships beca-use of a date change, it would be great to go all the way with one of these two."