the country, competing against youth clubs from Wales and England. Each year culminated in the Welsh amateur championships, a junior event which stipulated that a fighter must have gained each year they entered. Martyn Galleozzie, who trained alongside Owen, noted how Owen struggled to achieve the weight increase each year and was fed cakes and biscuits on the journey to try and make weight. Galleozzie also stated how his mother once sewed lead into the lining of Owen's shorts to make weight. Owen joined Hoover Amateur Boxing Club soon after, where he trained with Idris Sutton and modelled his fighting style on Eddie Thomas. Owen was a quiet, reserved, friendly character outside the ring and often needed to be coaxed into fighting full force. In his youth, he suffered a loss to future WBC flyweight champion Charlie Magri in a bout in Gurnos. Owen attended Georgetown Secondary Modern School until the age of 16 when he left to take up a role as a machine operator in a local Suko nuts and bolts manufacturing factory. His exertions in the factory, coupled with his frequent runs in the hills of the South Wales Valleys with his brother Kelvin, led Owen to develop renowned levels of speed and stamina. His job however caused him health issues as the swarf from the factory led to Owen developing infections on occasion. A septic finger injury led to a lacklustre defeat to George Sutton in the 1975 Welsh Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) Championships after Owen refused to pull out of the fight. In November 1973, Owen was invited to fight Welsh amateur champion Bryn Griffiths after his opponent had fallen ill and pulled out of a bout. Despite the short notice, Owen was confident of his ability to make the step up against Griffiths and was proved right when he recorded a points victory over the champion. Griffiths later won a rematch between the pair. At the age of 18, Owen met Maurice O'Sullivan for the 1974 Welsh ABA youth title in O'Sullivan's hometown of Cardiff after reaching the final of the tournament on 4 April. Despite Owen and his father being convinced of his victory, the judges awarded the fight to O'Sullivan who himself offered the trophy to Owen, although he refused to accept it. Owen's father Dick later stated that an official from the Welsh ABA approached him after the fight and confessed