Conclusion of Boxing Road to Paris event in Italy sees Patrick Brown and Chantelle Reid earn qualification for Paris 2024 Olympic Games

GB Boxing will return from the Boxing Road to Paris Olympic qualification event in Italy with two boxers qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after a dramatic final day of action saw Patrick Brown (92kg) and Chantelle Reid (75kg) secure quota spots following victory.

Cindy Ngamba (75kg) who trains closely with the GB Boxing squad and represents the refugee team, also earned qualification on the final day in Busto Arsizio.

They will all be joined at Paris 2024 by Charley Davison (54kg), Rosie Eccles (66kg) and Delicious Orie (92kg+) who all qualified at the European Games in Poland back in July of last year.

Competing for Great Britain, Pat Brown was the first to seal qualification after defeating Poland’s Mateusz Bereznicki unanimously in a heavyweight matchup.

Brown said: “Words can’t describe how I feel. I could cry my eyes out! I’m just shown to my amateur clubs, Sale ABC and Moss Side, and the kids that if they keep going and work hard, anything is possible.

“This is for my dad. I’ve done it for him, and I can’t wait to share this moment with him. He and my friends and family have come out here and supported each day and that, with all the support back home has not gone unnoticed and I’m incredibly grateful.

“I’ve only been on the GB Boxing programme a couple of years and the Olympics always seemed so far out for reach, but I always believe in myself, and I work hard, and I still can’t believe I’ve done it – it’s unbelievable.”

Middleweight Chantelle Reid then joined her teammate by punching her ticket to Paris as she eased to a confident 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan’s Aziza Zokirova.

Reid said: “I’ve worked so hard for this, I’m over the moon. It’s going to be a big year for me and I’m going for that gold medal, so it’s a few days off and then the graft starts all over again.

“Everything has happened in such a short space of time. I was competing at the National Championships this time last year and now I’m going to Paris. I’ve put everything in and as soon as Rob McCracken (GB Boxing Performance Director) gave me the call, I got my head down and haven’t looked back.

“My dad was here, and I could hear him through the whole bout. After two round when I was told it was 5-0, I had a smile to myself because I knew how happy he was going to be. I’ve done what I needed to do and that qualification is mine now.

Finally, refugee representative, Cindy Ngamba sealed her middleweight quota spot in devastating fashion as she stopped her opponent, Valentina Khalzova of Kazakhstan in the final round, having already administered two standing counts a round earlier.

Ngamba said: “We’re still a lot of steps away from the end goal. I still have got to practice, learn and improve if I want that gold medal but right now, I’m speechless, and that doesn’t happen often!

“I got emotional in the ring, and I have to thank everyone at GB Boxing, all the coaches and staff, Rob McCracken, Lauren Price and Karriss Artingstall as well, they’ve all helped on the journey.

“In the changing room before, I told myself that I’m not just qualifying for myself, but for the refugee team. It’s a big family, there’s millions of us around the world and I’m just one of them who lucky enough to be given an opportunity and for that I thank God and those who have believed in me.

Finally in the day’s afternoon session, Chantelle Reid then joined her teammate by punching her ticket to Paris as she eased to a confident 5-0 victory over Uzbekistan’s Aziza Zokirova.

Kiaran MacDonald and Wales’ Owain Harris-Allan also competed in the final day’s qualification bouts, however, were unlucky to miss out on joining their teammates on this occasion as they were defeated by Kazakhstan’s Saken Bibbosinov and Brazil’s Luiz Oliveira respectively.

There is now one Olympic qualification remaining prior to Paris 2024 which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand in May 2024 where GB Boxers who didn’t get over the line this time out, will have a final opportunity to secure a place in Paris. The remaining 8 weight classes where boxers can still qualify to represent Team GB in Paris are:

Men: flyweight (51kg), featherweight (57kg), light-welterweight (63.5kg), light-middleweight (71kg) and light-heavyweight (80kg).
Women: light-flyweight (50kg), featherweight (57kg) and lightweight (60kg).

Summing up the performance of the team at the Boxing Road to Paris event, GB Boxing’s Performance Director Rob McCracken said: “This World Olympic qualifier in Italy has provided valuable experience for our team of boxers. There have been some very good performances, especially from those who have qualified, and there are others who didn’t get to the qualifying stage this time round but have shown real potential at this level.

“It’s great for the programme that Chantelle and Patrick have qualified for Paris as well as Cindy Ngamba who is closely connected with our squad and trains daily with our boxers whilst representing the refugee team.

“It is testament to the dedication that the three of them have given over the last few months.

“All three boxers experienced a good number of bouts during this event that will stand them in good stead as we continue preparations towards the Paris Olympic Games.

“Kiaran has also performed well this week and again, it’s unfortunate he couldn’t qualify. His experiences at the last two majors, where he has just missed out, will hugely benefit him moving forwards.

“Likewise, Owain Harris-Allan is unlucky to miss out on qualification and has boxed well throughout this event. He has shown plenty of potential at this level for someone that has only been on the programme for several months.

“The performances along with securing further quota places are a great achievement and provides a solid marker of where the team is at so close to Paris.

“The next qualifier is just around the corner in May, so we will immediately be looking ahead to that. For the remaining weights, there is plenty of competition for places amongst the squad who competed out here as well as back in Sheffield. All boxers will have competition opportunities ahead of selection for the final qualifier.”