Colchester's Lewis Richardson is celebrating a golden hat-trick after winning the prestigious Haringey Box Cup.

The talented 20-year-old from Essex University Boxing Club performed superbly at the three-day annual multi-nations event at Alexandra Palace to win gold for the third time, following his victories in 2014 and 2016.

It was a fine end to the season for Richardson in the Senior A Elite under-75 kilogramme category, at Europe’s largest amateur boxing event.

The up-and-coming England fighter said he was delighted to finish the season on a positive note.

Richardson told the Daily Gazette: “It’s always good to win the Haringey Box Cup.

“It’s a well-run event and is a pleasure to take part in it – it was a great way to finish the season.

“It was a really good atmosphere and a really good tournament to be involved with.

“It’s been done before but winning it three times is quite few and far between so I’m pleased and really happy to finish the season on a high.”

Richardson beat Repton ABC’s Chavez Campbell on a unanimous decision in his quarter-final on the opening day of the event, to progress to the semi-finals.

“I felt I performed well and I was happy with my performance,” said the former Thomas Lord Audley School pupil.

“Repton have a reputation for producing champions but I was confident going into it.

“I used my strengths to keep it long – he was a counter puncher so I ended up on the front foot rather the back foot, so it was nice to put things I’d worked on in training.”

Richardson took on IQ Boxing’s Robbie Chapman in his semi-final and although he was not at his best, he still emerged victorious on a split decision.

He said: “The semi-final was one of my worst performances of the season – I don’t know what happened!

“I didn’t have a great sleep the night before and I didn’t box until about 11.45pm on the Friday night but I don’t want to use that as an excuse, because it was the same for my opponent.

“He was a strong man and he wanted to win – it was a good competitive fight.

“It wasn’t a good performance and I had to dig deep but I got the win which was the main thing.”

The win booked Richardson a final meeting with Irish Colleges and Universities’ experienced champion, Ryan Dervan.

The Colchester fighter showed exactly why he is one of the country’s top young prospects by producing an eye-catching display, winning on a unanimous decision to claim a magnificent gold.

He said: “I was up against an experienced international and even though boxing in the final wasn’t new to me, I was really nervous going into it after the semi-final.

“But I performed really well and I got back to what I do best.

“I sent in some tough jabs and uppercuts and felt fit and sharp and back on it.”

Richardson will now have a short break, before preparing for more international competition including the GB trials, in the second half of the year.