GB Boxing adds 21 new boxers to the World Class Programme following assessments
GB BOXING has added 21 new boxers to the World Class Programme (WCP) following a series of assessments. Two thirds of the group will join the Academy squad as funded athletes. The other seven have been added to the Emerging Talent group.
The new intake is made-up of 12 men and 9 women and includes three boxers who recently won medals at the 2022 Youth Boxing World Championships.
Amber Moss-Birch was crowned light-heavyweight champion in La Nuncia, Spain last month whilst Lauren Mackie and Damar Thomas settled for silver in their respective flyweight and heavyweight finals.
The trio will be joined in the Academy squad by Kelsey Oakley, Hamza Uddin, Holly Heffron, Lucy Kings-Wheatley, Sacha Hickey, Dione Burman, Dan Toward and Isaac Okoh who all became England Boxing National Amateur Champions back in April of this year at the Manchester Central Convention Complex.
The final three members of the Academy squad are light-middleweight, Patrick Hewitt, light-welterweight, Cameron McKay, and super-heavyweight, Ike Ogbo. Hewitt and Ogbo were previously members of the Emerging Talent group with the former recently winning gold at the Golden Gong in Macedonia.
The Academy squad will train from Wednesday to Saturday every other week in the GB Boxing gym at the English Institute of Sport Sheffield.
The additions to the Emerging Talent group are bantamweights Megan Morris and Shaun Huddart, featherweight, Jack Turner, lightweight, Vivien Parsons, middleweight, Jimmy Sains, light-heavyweight, Oladimeji Shittu and cruiserweight, Teagn Stott. They will take part in monthly training camps.
All of the boxers will officially join their respective squads from 1 January 2023.
GB Boxing’s Performance Director, Rob McCracken said: “I would like to congratulate all the boxers that have made it through the assessment process and look forward to welcoming them into the GB Boxing gym in the new year.
“Consistently identifying and developing new boxing talent is critical to the ongoing success of GB Boxing and the coaches and I are very pleased to welcome this new cohort and look forward to working with them in the coming years. I would also like to thank all of their club coaches and the national governing bodies for the fantastic work they do in developing and nurturing the talent and producing the boxers that we get to work with as part of the world class programme.”
As part of its performance pathways activities, GB Boxing has produced a series of resources to help grassroots boxers, coaches and clubs which can be accessed HERE.
The full list of new boxers to join the programme is as follows:
| Boxer | Weight Class | Club | Squad |
| Kelsey Oakley | Minimumweight – 48kg | Priory Park ABC (Dudley) | Academy |
| Hamza Uddin | Flyweight – 51kg | Fearless ABC (Walsall) | Academy |
| Lauren Mackie | Flyweight – 52kg | Burton Park (Burton-on-Trent) | Academy |
| Megan Morris | Bantamweight – 54kg | St Ives (St. Ives) | Emerging Talent |
| Shaun Huddart | Bantamweight – 54kg | Birtley (Gateshead) | Emerging Talent |
| Holly Heffron | Bantamweight – 54kg | Hall Green (Birmingham) | Academy |
| Jack Turner | Featherweight – 57kg | Croxteth (Liverpool) | Emerging Talent |
| Lucy Kings-Wheatley | Lightweight – 60kg | Acocks Green (Birmingham) | Academy |
| Sacha Hickey | Lightweight – 60kg | Peacock (London) | Academy |
| Vivien Parsons | Lightweight – 60kg | Afewee (Brixton) | Emerging Talent |
| Cameron McKay | Light-welterweight – 63.5kg | White Hart Lane (London) | Academy |
| Dione Burman | Welterweight – 66kg | Braunstone (Leicester) | Academy |
| Patrick Hewitt | Light-middleweight – 71kg | Leigh ABC (Greater Manchester) | Academy |
| Amber Moss-Birch | Middleweight – 75kg | Golden Ring (Southampton) | Academy |
| Dan Toward | Middleweight – 75kg | Birtley (Gatehead) | Academy |
| Jimmy Sains | Middleweight – 75kg | Repton (London) | Emerging Talent |
| Oladimeji Shittu | Light-heavyweight – 80kg | Five Star (Romford) | Emerging Talent |
| Teagn Stott | Cruiserweight – 86kg | Sheffield Boxing Centre (Sheffield) | Emerging Talent |
| Isaac Okoh | Heavyweight – 92kg | Chadwell St Mary (Essex) | Academy |
| Damar Thomas | Heavyweight – 92kg | Powerday Hooks (London) | Academy |
| Ike Ogbo | Super-heavyweight – 92kg+ | Border City ABC (Windsor) | Academy |