APOLLO (Torquay) ABC junior Nathan Halten took up where he left off earlier in the year with a unanimous points victory in his first bout of the season at Burnham-on-Sea.

The 13-year-old Westlands schoolboy (pictured above), who has twice represented England in Golden Gloves tournaments in Sheffield and Ireland, overcame a six-inch height difference to beat 14-year-old Michael Hughes of St Alfred's ABC.

And that's already marked him down as among the favourites for a title in the New Year when the Golden Gloves Championships reverts to being the more familiar English Schools' ABA Championships.

"Nathan was a little rusty as you would expect after a summer's lay off, but the other lad didn't really lay a glove on him," praised Apollo trainer-coach Barry Walmsley.

"We'll now try and squeeze in as many contests as possible before the championships, though they're not easy to arrange in this part of the country with Nathan being such a big lad for his age."

Halten burst on the junior scene last season with a gold medal after beating Stoke-on-Trent's Ryan Bithell (Queensbury ABC) in the 57-60kg final of the Royal Navy ABA Golden Gloves Championships in Knottingley (West Yorkshire).

He also out-pointed Bithell when first representing England in a Golden Gloves Home Nations Tournament against Scotland and Wales in Sheffield, but lost by a single point to Ireland's Patrick Gaffey when representing his country again in an ABA Golden Gloves international at Dungarvon, near Cork, in May.

It was his only defeat in seven contests last season.