PATRICK Allen Cripps won a bronze medal and continued his love affair with the Haringey Box Cup.

The Harwich Boxing Club member had previously recorded gold and silver medals in the previous two years, at one of the biggest and most prestigious club tournaments in the world.

Now up to light heavyweight in the senior class, the 18-year-old had to wait until the very last bout of the opening day's schedule at London's opulent Alexandra Palace to open this year's account against Woking ABC's Ben Cheeseman.

The pair met over the three by three-minute distance.

Allen Cripps boxed cautiously in the opening minute against a stocky southpaw.

Then, after a few successes, he began to find his range to good effect.

This was no more evident than in the closing seconds of the round as a vicious burst of five unanswered punches felled 28-year-old Cheeseman.

Although the Woking boxer beat the count, he was unsteady on his feet, with the referee wisely halting proceedings in favour of the delighted Harwich boxer.

In the next day's semi-final, Allen Cripps faced an opponent with more than 100 bouts to his name in the shape of Martin Foru.

The All Stars ABC boxer was also a former kick boxer who now boasted 16 wins from 17 in the amateur boxing ranks, having scored a quarter-final knockout win the night before.

Unfazed, Allen Cripps posted a terrific first round, rocking Foru with another pinpoint salvo of heavy punches to go a round up.

Undeterred, Foru came storming back in the second, setting a furious pace and levelling the scores in the process.

A change of tactics in the last saw Allen Cripps box off the back foot to good effect, yet Foru kept pressing relentlessly to eventually score a points win, leaving the Harwich boxer in the bronze medal position.

He now regroups before making the journey to Dublin in early July for his final competition of the season.