NOTE: with pix taken NOV 30

BOXING: Former ABA semi-finalist Rory Burke is tipping Ipswich lad Sean Higgins to become a knock-out hit.

The 19 year-old will be looking to win his way to the ABA novice national 74 kilos finals when he goes into the ring for a semi-final bout in Peterborough on Sunday.

Higgins qualified through from the Suffolk heats to the Eastern Counties rounds and the zonal final before knocking his opponent out cold in last weekend’s quarter-finals.

And Burke, who runs King’s Boxing Club in Ipswich, said: “I’ve never been so happy about one of my boxers.

“He’s the best I have seen and I really believe that he can go places.

“Sean has only been boxing for a year, but he’s the only lad I’ve had who I can send into the ring and then stand back and just watch him box.

“He’s talented and does as he’s told and needs no instructions once he’s in the ring.”

The finals are in London on December 11 and Burke can see his boy reigning supreme – and then doing well in the main ABA event next year.

And if he continues his progress, Ipswich could have a top professional boxer in their midst.