Three earn victory on mixed opening day of World Boxing cup for GB Boxers
GB BOXING’s Elise Glynn, Lauren Mackie and Owain Harris Allan all earned victories on the opening day of the World Boxing Cup: GB Open in Sheffield.
There were mixed fortunes at the English Institute of Sport however, as Paris 2024 Olympian Delicious Orie as well as Sameenah Toussaint and Ivy-Jane Smith suffered defeat
GB Boxing teammates Elise Glynn and Sameenah Toussaint got the tournament underway when they met in the featherweight contest.
In a fiercely contested bout, there wasn’t much to separate the English duo but when it came to the judge’s verdict, it was Glynn who got the nod via a narrow 3:2 split victory.
She will now face Germany’s Canan Tas in Friday’s semi-final action at 17:15pm.
Glynn said: “It feels great to the first bout out of the way, the ring rust is off now. I was bit nervous to be opening the World Boxing Cup but I did it and got the win against a rival and teammate of mine so I can’t complain.
“It’s a good win to get under my belt, it wasn’t my finest performance but I’m raring to go and get back in there on Friday.”
Great Britain’s second win of day one in Sheffield came in the evening session when Lauren Mackie had a senior debut to remember as she got the better of Denmark’s Melissa Morten via a 4:1 split.
The 2022 silver youth world medallist will now face either Wales’ Zoe Andrews or Sweden’s Zehra Milli in the bantamweight round robin.
Mackie said: “It’s my first senior bout and I knew it was going to be a step up, but I think I’ve shown I can be on that level.
“It was amazing to look out to the crowd and see familiar faces and perform for them it’s a great feeling.
“I’m confident I can stay at this level and get a few more fights in and hopefully come away from this tournament as a winner.”
Wales’ Owain Harris Allan put in an impressive display against Mongolia’s experienced Lundaa Gantumar to clinch a 4:1 split victory and the final one of the day for GB Boxers.
He will now face Germany’s Ousainou Hansen in the featherweight semi-final on Friday at 13:15pm.
Harris Allan said: “It was good to get back in there, it’s been a while since I’ve boxed and the first one is always the toughest one.
“He is an experienced fighter, he’s been about and it’s a good win for me and it’s onto the next one.”
Super-heavyweight Delicious Orie was the first of three GB Boxers to suffer defeat when he stepped into the ring for the first time since securing his place at Paris 2024 following his gold medal at the European Games in Krakow.
Orie was unfortunately unable to mark his return to action with a win after he was beaten via a 3:2 split by Germany’s 2022 European gold medallist, Nelvie Tiafack.
Orie reflected on his defeat, saying: “It was a good bout and just what I needed against a top opponent who I respect, and he beat me fair and square today.
“I needed that to get myself in gear ahead of the Olympics. There’s no excuses I was training very hard but it’s all about learning from this now. I’m very strong mentally, it takes a lot to take me down.
“I’ve got a good few months to work and polish things off. Today I met a top opponent, I know I’ll meet him in the Olympics, and I’ll be more than ready then.”
The other losses of the opening day of action in Sheffield were felt by featherweight Sameenah Toussaint who was beaten narrowly by teammate Glynn as well as Ivy-Jane Smith who was unanimously outpointed by Maxi Klotzer of Germany.
Ten boxers will compete for Great Britain tomorrow (Thursday 18th January 2024) as well as GB Boxing partner Cindy Ngamba.
Both British middleweights, Kerry Davis and Chantelle Reid, will be in action at 11:00am and 11:30am respectively and they will swiftly be followed by Ngamba at 11:45am.
Then a men’s flyweight clash between two GB Boxers, Kiaran MacDonald and Scott Richards, will take place at 12:00pm.
The light-heavyweights will then conclude the day’s afternoon session with George Crotty entering the ring at 12:30pm, followed by Taylor Bevan at 12:45pm and Ramtin Musah at 12:45pm.
Four boxers are in action tomorrow evening, with three of them at light-welterweight.
Joe Tyers will kick off proceedings at 17:00pm, before Patris Mughalzai and Huey Malone go head-to-head at 17:30pm.
Light-middleweight Lewis Richardson will be the final British boxer to compete on day two when he boxes at 18:15pm.
Tickets for the “World Boxing Cup: GB Open – Sheffield 2024” are still on sale, with prices starting at £10 (plus booking fee) for a day ticket, at www.seetickets.com and are available to purchase HERE.
You can also follow all the action live via BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app as well as both GB Boxing and World Boxing’s YouTube channels.
Where to watch?
Thursday 18th January: 11:00-13:45 GMT and 17:00-19:30 GMT –
BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app.
The event is delivered by England Boxing in association with World Boxing and GB Boxing and is supported by the National Lottery, UK Sport and Sheffield City Council.
The results of all the bouts involving boxers from Great Britain will be posted on GB Boxing’s social media channels and at https://gbboxing.org.uk/.
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