TORFAEN Warriors ABC starlet Chloe Thomas took Alexandra Palace by storm as she not only clinched gold at the Haringey Box Cup but was also named the tournament’s best female fighter.

Thomas, who has only been boxing for 18 months under the guidance of Simon Weaver, beat the reigning champion in her weight class on the way to first prize.

The Box Cup, now in its ninth year, is billed as Europe’s largest amateur boxing event and attracts more than 500 competitors – previous entrants include Olympic champions Anthony Joshua and Nicola Adams.

Fighting in the female B 57kg category, Thomas, from Port Talbot, started her campaign against a familiar foe in the shape of Cali Bushel.

Thomas had fought, and beaten, the Jersey Leonis ABC ace in February, and the Welsh woman got the better of her rival once more, winning the three-round bout 2-1.

Next up in the semi-finals was home favourite Shannon Courtenay of Finchley ABC, the gold medallist in 2015.

Thomas got off to a strong start and proved too good for Courtenay, again coming out on top 2-1.

England number two Lisa Moore, part of the Repton ABC squad that claimed the team trophy, would be Thomas’ opponent in the final.

From the first bell it was clear to see there was only going to be one winner, and that was Thomas, whose hard hitting eventually saw her floor Moore in the last round.

The fight went to the judges and Thomas emerged a clear 3-0 victor – her three wins also took Thomas’ amateur record to 11-1.

The best female boxer of the tournament award followed, capping an excellent few days for Thomas and Torfaen Warriors, who had never been represented at the event before.

Success in London caps a superb season for the 24-year-old.

As well as landing a gold medal at the Golden Girl championships in Sweden, Thomas was also crowned senior Welsh champion at 57kg.

Coach Weaver said: “A lot of the world’s top boxers have taken part in the Haringey Box Cup and then gone on to do great things.

“This was the first time a boxer from the Warriors had fought in it, and Chloe is the first person from Wales to be named best boxer.

“Chloe boxed out of her skin and the plan now is to see if she can get into the Wales team for the next Commonwealth Games.”