Trio reach quarterfinals of European Championships with victories on day five in Sofia
A TRIO of GB Boxers reached the quarter-finals of the European Championships in Bulgaria following victories in today’s action.
Amy Broadhurst (W60kg), Dimeji Shittu (M80kg) and Callum Makin (M70kg) all won their opening bouts of the competition to move to within one win of securing a European medal.
However, Will Hewitt (M60kg) and Elise Glynn (W57kg) exited the competition following 3-2 and 5-0 defeats to North Macedonia’s Alen Rustemovski and Turkey’s Esra Yildiz respectively.
Competing at her first major competition since returning to boxing after having a baby, Amy Broadhurst kicked things off with a dominant 5-0 victory over Greece’s Olga Pavlina Papadatou.
She will box again on Wednesday for a place in the semi-finals and a guaranteed medal when she faces France’s Sthelyne Grosy.
Broadhurst said: “It’s been a long week waiting and making weight, but it’s good to get the first one under my belt. She was tough and gave it everything, but I enjoyed it.
“There’s a lot I can definitely improve on. Today I was a bit tense and nervous, but I thought my one-twos were good, and I gave out a standing count and won every round convincingly. But it’s only going to get harder from here.
“The build-up from coming back to the sport in January has been tough, but I’m slowly getting there. I’m happy with how it’s going and things can only get better as we keep pushing.”
The other victory in today’s afternoon session came in a closely fought contest as light-heavyweight Dimeji Shittu recovered from losing the opening round and having a point deducted in the second to snatch a 3-2 victory over Greece’s Michail Tsamalidis.
On Wednesday, Shittu takes on Austria’s Lucky Aimufua in the quarter-finals, with a place in the semi-finals and a guaranteed medal at stake.
Shittu said: “I made that tougher than it needed to be, especially with the point deductions, but nevertheless, in that last round I went out there and showed my fitness and that made the difference.
“I’m my own worst critic. I didn’t box the best, but I got the job done. I know and promise that I’ll be ten times better in my next fight.”
Closing today’s action was Callum Makin. The world bronze medallist put in a classy performance against Romania’s Marian Alexandru Buleu to score a unanimous victory and tee up a quarter-final clash with Marat Mikaelyan.
In tomorrow’s action (Tuesday 22nd September), five members of the GB Boxing squad will box for a place in the semi-finals as the quarter-final stages of the European Championships get underway.
Up first at flyweight is Ruby White, who takes on Turkey’s Olympic silver medallist Hatice Akbas at 11:45 UK time.
Then, Chantelle Reid faces Ireland’s Evelyn Igharo at 12:30 in a light-middleweight contest.
Abdul Burton will compete for the third time this week when he challenges the host nation’s Olympic bronze medallist Javier Ibanez at 13:15.
Closing out the afternoon session will be heavyweight Isaac Okoh, who goes head-to-head with Germany’s Kevin Lebowski at 13:45.
There is only one bout in the evening session involving a GB Boxer, as Damar Thomas faces Georgia’s Nikoloz Begadze at 18:45.
Elsewhere, England Boxing’s Emily Asquith will compete for the first time this week as she goes up against Ireland’s Lisa O’Rourke at 17:00.