Demie-Jade Resztan and Harris Akbar win top honours at GB Boxing’s Annual Awards 2022

DEMIE-JADE Resztan and Harris Akbar were handed the top awards at this year’s GB Boxing Annual Awards.

The evening recognised the achievements of boxers and staff from GB Boxing over the last twelve months which has seen the team claim 83 medals, including 32 gold from 16 competitions.

Resztan was named Female Boxer of the Year after she earned three medals, including silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham as well as a bronze at the European Championships where she beat the reigning world champion, Ayse Cagirir of Turkey, on her way to earning a place on the podium.

Akbar was named Male Boxer of the Year after a similarly impressive 12 months which saw him also beat a world champion to secure a major medal. Akbar was crowned light-middleweight European champion having beaten Ukraine’s Yurii Zakhariev in the semi-final stages.

The coveted Boxers’ Boxer of the Year award went to Ioan Croft. The Welshman only joined the programme in January and claimed a medal at every major he attended; winning silver at the European U22s and bronze at the senior European championships before ending the year with a Commonwealth Games gold.

Other awards on the night saw Shona Whitwell win Most Improved Boxer after a breakout year which saw her win gold medals at both the Bocskai and Balkan tournaments as well as reaching the quarter-final stages of the European championships.

At flyweight, Savannah Stubley secured the award for Best Newcomer on the back of her impressive performances which saw her win a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games, her first senior competition.

The award for best bout of the year went to Taylor Bevan for his action-packed battle with former teammate Aaron Bowen in the light-heavyweight Commonwealth Games semi-final.

Outside of the ring, Conner Tudsbury was handed the Community Award for the outstanding work he does with the Maverick Stars Trust which is a Manchester based charity which is focused on helping clubs and individuals develop within both amateur and professional boxing.

The final award of the evening was the GREAT award which is given to a member of staff that has best represented the values of GB Boxing throughout the year: Giving Our All, Relationships, Enjoyment, Ambition, Teamwork.

The honour is selected by both Performance Director Rob McCracken and Chief Executive Matt Holt and this year was awarded to Ryan Byrne for his hard work and commitment to the programme in his role as Finance Administration Manager.

Rob McCracken said: “2022 has been a successful year for GB Boxing. With the help of all the coaches and support staff the boxers have gone on to win a lot of medals at some extremely tough competitions and it is great to all get together and celebrate their achievements with those that won awards fully deserving.

“The growth and improvement of the current group of boxers over the last 12 months fills me and the rest of the team with confidence ahead of next year which will be a big year for everyone.

“The Olympic qualification process begins, and we have some promising talent at every weight and lots of competition for places so there is an opportunity for all the boxers to shine and show what they can do as we look ahead to Paris 2024.”