Whitwell and Eccles narrowly miss out on medal stages in Budva

ENGLAND’S Shona Whitwell and Wales’ Rose Eccles were both beaten in their EUBC Womens European Championships quarter-finals, narrowly missing out on the chance to guarantee their first major medal.

It means that of the seven members of the GB Boxing team to travel to Montenegro, only one, Demie-Jade Resztan, has reached the medal stages in what has been a highly competitive tournament across all weight divisions that has seen all that have competed gain valuable experience.

Up first was Whitwell who faced off against Tokyo 2020 gold medallist and highly decorated amateur boxer, Kellie Harrington of Ireland.

It was a fiercely contest affair throughout with the St Ives boxer displaying plenty of skill against her experienced opponent.

However, it was just not enough to swing the judges’ scorecard in her favour, losing via a tight 3-2 split.

Soon after, Eccles stepped into the ring for the second time this competition. She was up against Poland’s Aneta Rygielskawho beat GB Boxing teammate Hannah Robinson in the previous round.

Unfortunately for the boxer from Wales, Rygielska carried on where she left off as she outpointed the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist to a victory via unanimous points decision.