HADDENHAM ABC boxer Tyler Goodjohn s bid to retain his Junior ABA crown has received a boost after the rising star was picked to join the Lloyds TSB Local Heroes initiative. The former Witchford Village College pupil will take on Tom Baker in the ABA qua

HADDENHAM ABC boxer Tyler Goodjohn's bid to retain his Junior ABA crown has received a boost after the rising star was picked to join the Lloyds TSB Local Heroes initiative.

The former Witchford Village College pupil will take on Tom Baker in the ABA quarter finals at Clacton-on-Sea next month after cruising past Chalvedon ABC's D Woodham.

Hot on the heels of his quarter-final success, 17-year-old Goodjohn has been handed a �1,000 grant to help with the costs of training and competing at national and international level.

Welterweight Goodjohn has been fast-tracked towards competing at the London 2012 Olympic Games, by which time he will have reached 21.

And Goodjohn, who was joined at the Local Heroes launch by five times Olympian Mark Foster, is adamant his Olympic dream can become a reality.

"I'm feeling pretty confident for the ABA quarter-finals because I won it last year and with all the training I am doing I feel really good," said Goodjohn.

"I'm training five times a week, three times a day and then I work on Saturdays and have Sundays off, so it is really busy but it's great that I have some money which means I can train full time.

"Before I had to work full time as a builder and then go to training straight from work and it was really difficult.

"Now I can concentrate on this full-time and hopefully get myself to London in a few years time."

Lloyds TSB is providing �1,000 to over 250 emerging young sportspeople identified each year across Britain, in the run up to London 2012 and beyond. Visit Lloydstsb.com/Localheroes.