Reid, Burton and Thomas all earn silver medals on final day of 2026 European Boxing Championships in Bulgaria

ALL three members of the GB Boxing squad who competed on the final day of the 2026 European Championships earned silver medals in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Chantelle Reid (W70kg), Abdul Burton (M55kg) and Damar Thomas (M90+kg) were all beaten in their respective finals against top opposition, meaning they will leave the Bulgarian capital with silver medals.

This evening’s results confirm the colour of all five medals won by GB Boxers at this year’s European Championships, with Callum Makin (M75kg) and Dimeji Shittu (M80kg) collecting bronze medals in yesterday’s action.

The first GB Boxer to step through the ropes was Chantelle Reid, who faced Turkey’s Olympic, world and reigning European champion Busenaz Surmeneli in the women’s light-middleweight final.

The first round was closer than the scorecards suggested, with Reid landing plenty of offence on her opponent, and the same could be said of an even closer second round.

In the third, however, Surmeneli demonstrated her class with a strong finish to seal a unanimous victory and hand Reid a European silver medal.

The Derby boxer’s defeat came in her fourth contest of the week after she earned dominant victories over opponents from Denmark and Ireland, as well as a hard-fought 3-2 quarter-final win over Serbia’s Milena Matovic.

Reid said: “I’m happy to be coming away with a silver. Obviously, I would have preferred gold, but I shared the ring with a top opponent, and I feel like I performed to the best of my ability.

“There’s plenty of time between now and LA, so I’m looking forward to fighting her again in the near future.

“The tournament’s been amazing. I’ve had four good fights and that’s all been banked now. Earning medals here and at the Worlds shows I’m at the top of my game and I’ve just got to keep pushing now.”

Up next was Abdul Burton, who, competing in his fifth fight in eight days, took on Russia’s highly talented Viacheslav Rogozin in a high-paced bantamweight contest.

Despite the back-and-forth between the two, it was the Russian who won all three rounds to seal a unanimous victory, leaving Burton to settle for silver.

On his way to the podium, Burton, who took silver at the European U23 Championships last year, earned four impressive victories.

These included a memorable win over the host nation’s Olympic bronze medallist Javier Ibanez Diaz, as well as victories over opponents from Turkey, Romania and the Refugee Team.

Burton said: “It’s not the gold we aimed for, but to get silver at my first senior major, I’m happy. The loss isn’t nice, but we can only learn from it and come back again stronger.

“I’ve had five fights, beaten some good opponents like the Olympic bronze medallist and then just had a great fight with Russia, so it’s all experience in the bank for me now.

“It shows the level I’m at and that I’m able to perform on a consistent basis. To step up from the U23s to the big-boy seniors, I’m happy with my performances.”

The third and final GB Boxer to compete on finals day was super-heavyweight Damar Thomas. The London boxer faced Russia’s David Surov in a close contest between the two 90+kg boxers.

Thomas took the first round 3-2 before Surov matched that score in the second, leaving it all to play for in an eventful third and final round.

After repeated warnings for the use of his head, the Russian was given a further warning and had a point deducted by the referee after causing a cut to Thomas. Despite this, the Englishman continued to land plenty of shots until the final bell, where he ultimately found himself on the wrong side of a 3-2 split decision and was handed a silver medal.

On his way to the podium, Thomas earned victories over opponents from Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Performance Director Rob McCracken said: “It’s been a great European Championships in Sofia this year, with the team coming away with five hard-earned medals.

“After a busy year gaining valuable experience around the world, it is great to see the boxers perform at the major competition of the year. Chantelle, Abdul and Damar have all been standout performers, having boxed their way into the finals, with all three earning silver medals, while Callum and Dimeji have both worked extremely hard and performed really well throughout the competition to earn their bronze medals.

“The performances from those who haven’t medalled have also given us plenty to take away. A number of them have boxed very well against some top opposition and, although they haven’t got a medal on this occasion, there are plenty of positives to build on with just under two years to go until LA.

“The coaches and support staff have worked extremely hard in the preparation for this competition and throughout the championships, so I’d like to thank everyone involved for their efforts.

“All in all, it’s been a great showing from the team and one that we will build on ahead of the start of Olympic qualification in early 2027.”