Team England collect Lion’s share of golds from the GB Elite Three Nations

An excellent display from England’s boxers on Finals Day at the GB Elite Three Nations in Cardiff saw the Three Lions come away with 14 gold medals from a possible 18.

All five boxers who competed for the Three Lions on Saturday had made it through and were joined by 13 more boxers who faced straight finals.

And those selected – many who starred at the England Boxing National Amateur Championships 2022 Finals Day last month – did not disappoint, with only three of that number tasting outright defeat.

The strength of the women’s team was outlined by the fact that all they won all seven of the bouts they contested – and all by unanimous verdicts.

While the men did not have it entirely all their own way, they were nevertheless the dominant nation, with Scotland claiming three victories and the other bout ending in double disqualification.

Full Finals Day results

Women’s Under 48kg – Kelsey Oakley (England and Priory Park) beat Leah Regan (Wales) by a unanimous decision.

Women’s Under 54kg – Holly Heffron (England and Hall Green) beat Stephanie Kernachan (Scotland) by a unanimous decision.

Men’s Under 54kg – Shaun Huddart (England and Birtley) beat Scott Richards (Wales) by a split decision.

Women’s Under 57kg – Elise Glynn (England and West Warwicks) beat Zoe Andrews (Wales) by a unanimous decision.

Men’s Under 57kg – Jack Turner (England and Crozteth) v Peter Paton (Scotland). A double disqualification meant there was no result.

Women’s Under 60kg – Lucy Kings-Wheatley (England and Acocks Green) beat Carys Mainwairing (Wales) by a unanimous decision.

Men’s Under 60kg – Giorgio Visioli (England and Repton) beat Zac Hickman (Wales) by a unanimous decision.

Women’s Under 63kg – Sarah Dunne (England and Metro) beat Lana Cooper (Wales) by a unanimous decision.

Men’s Under 63.5kg – Luke Bibby (Scotland) beat Louie O’Doherty (England and Halstead Essex Uni) by a unanimous deTeam cision.

Women’s Under 66kg – Dione Burman (England and Braunstone) beat Shannon Lawson (Scotland) by a unanimous decision.

Men’s Under 67kg – Huey Malone (England and Christ The King) beat Sean Spence (Scotland) by a unanimous decision.

Men’s Under 71kg – Harry McGrenra (Scotland) beat Ted Jackson (England and St Paul’s) by a split decision.

Women’s Under 75kg – Demi Carter (England and Churchill’s) beat Caitlin Kelly (Scotland) by a unanimous decision.

Men’s Under 75kg – Dan Toward (England and Birtley) beat Arran Devine (Scotland) by a unanimous decision.

Men’s Under 80kg – Isaac Okoh (England and Chadwell St Mary) beat Robert McNulty (Scotland) by a split decision.

Men’s Under 86kg – Ben Andrews (England and Torbay) beat Ronald Devlin (Scotland) by a split decision.

Men’s Under 92kg – Pat Brown beat Cassius Walker-Hunt (Wales) by a RSC (second round).

Men’s Over 92kg – Connal McDonald (Scotland) beat Harvey Dykes (England and Hillcrest) by a split decision.

Bout summaries – collated by Cliff Perkins

Semi-finals

Giorgio Visioli (Eng) v  Korben Crocker (Wal) – Under 60kg

From the outset, Giorgio worked off the front foot, dominating the ring and, at times, his two-handed combinations seemed to stun the Welsh boxer. His footwork and hand speed, along with his accuracy, left the decision in no doubt, winning by a unanimous decision.

Dafydd Jones (Wal) v Louie O’Doherty (Eng) – Under 63.5kg
Both boxers stood toe to toe for most of the bout. Louie’s accuracy and work-rate ensured that the officials were in no doubt about who the
winner was, awarding the Englishman a unanimous win.

Huey Malone (Eng) v Liam Taylor (Wal) – Under 67kg
Huey set the pace throughout the bout, relentlessly pushing his opponent back. At times, whilst in close, Huey got caught by his opponent and in the second round received a cut above his right eye. However, he kept his cool and range avoiding any further damage, even forcing a standing count in the third following a rear hand counter.

Ted Jackson (Eng) v Morgan McIntosh (Wal) – Under 71kg
The bout started with Ted controlling the ring, forcing his opponent to box off the back foot. As the bout went on, Ted found his range and picked off the Welsh boxer with his back hand. Ted’s opponent had some success with his erratic style as he lunged forward, but Ted kept
his shape and remained in control to win on a split decision.

Aaron Bird (Wal) v Ben Andrews (Eng) – Under 86kg
This bout was a measured affair with both having spells of success. Ben focused on the body with his rear hand in a bid to slow his opponent’s advances. This was a close one, which the England boxer nicked on a split decision.

Finals

Leah Regan (Wal) v  Kelsey Oakley (Eng) – Under 48kg
Kelsey started with some good straight punches to the head of her opponent. The Welsh boxer rushed in and tried to smother Kelsey’s work continually, but she maintained her shape and continued to pick off the Welsh boxer as she came forward, using her good footwork, to secure a unanimous win.

Stephanie Kernachan (Sco) v Holly Heffron (Eng) – Under 54kg
Holly started the bout well, using the outside of the ring to evade the punches of her opponent. Her good footwork was evident as she moved in and out of range to land her counters, with accuracy and timing earning her a unanimous points success.

Shaun Huddart (Eng) v Scott Richards (Wal) – Under 54kg
Shaun being taller and with a longer reach than his opponent had good success with his straight punches to the head, and for most of the first round Shaun had the Scot on his back foot. In the second round Shaun got caught and stunned, but managed to recover well before the last round both boxers missed with a lot of their punches, as Shaun took the bout by a split decision.

Elise Glynn (Eng) v Zoe Andrews (Wa) – Under 57kg
Elise used a lot of feints to draw her opponent’s lead to enable her to counter with her own shots. As the bout progressed the Welsh boxer closed the gap and had some success with her inside work, but Elise maintained her work-rate to win via a unanimous decision.

Peter Paton (Sco) v Jack Turner (Eng) – Under 57kg
This bout was scrappy from the off. Jack was on the front foot with the Scot struggling to keep him away. The Scottish referee gave warnings to both boxers for holding and, as the bout progressed, he disqualified both boxers.

Lucy Kings-Wheatley (Eng) v Carys Mainwaring (Wal) – Under 60kg
This bout was a cagey affair, with both boxers having some success with straight punches to the head. Lucy stayed on the outside of the ring and used her superior footwork and speed to notch up a unanimous triumph.

Zac Hickman (Wal) v Giorgio Visioli (Eng) – Under 60kg
Following on from his talented show in the semi, Giorgio started off controlling the bout with his intimidating presence as he scored with both head and body shots. The Welsh boxer was strong and looking for power shots, but Giorgio moved in and out of range as he unloaded with speed and accuracy whilst being elusive and difficult to hit, eventually winning by unanimous decision.

Sarah Dunne (Eng) v Lana Cooper (Wal) – Under 63kg
Sarah used good speed with her straight shots to control the ring. As the bout progressed, Sarah relaxed and let her punches go and, as her opponent held her feet at times, it allowed Sarah to capitalise with combinations to body and head in a unanimous win.

Louie O’Doherty (Eng) v Luke Bibby (Sco) – Under 63.5kg
From the off, both boxers stood toe to toe whilst trading punches. Louie at times had to dig deep following his opponents barrage of punches, which he did using his speed of punch, especially with his bent arm shots inside. The Scot scored well to the body and went on to win unanimously.

Shannon Lawson (Sco) v Dionne Burman (Eng) – Under 66kg
Dionne had the height and reach advantage and used it well to control the ring. Her footwork allowed her to move around her opponent, who was only able to throw single shots. In the third round, Dionne’s straight back hand saw the referee stepping in twice to hand the Scot a standing count as she prevailed by a unanimous decision.

Sean Spence (Sco) v Huey Malone (Eng) – Under 67kg
Huey entered the ring with a repaired cut above his right eye, which he needed to protect. The bout started fast and furious, with both unloading with both hands. Huey began to control the bout in the second but also sustained a cut over his left eye. However, it did not stop him continuing to go for the win, which he achieved by a unanimous decision.

Harry McGrenra (Sco) v Ted Jackson (Eng) – Under 71kg
The bout started with both boxers working well behind their jab. From the early stages, the Scot used his sharp jab to catch Ted on his approach as he tried to work the body. With Ted not moving his head on the way in, the Scot capitalised for the three rounds with
his jab. Ted had a good end to the bout but was a bit behind on the final bell, losing by a split decision.

Demi Carter (Eng) v  Caitlin Kelly (Sco) – Under 75kg
From the first bell, Demi took control of the ring and bout, walking her opponent down as she
used her jab to make way for her rear hand. Demi showed good ring craft as well as head movement as she punched her way to a
unanimous win.

Arran Devine (Sco) v Dan Toward (Eng) – Under 75kg
This was a good relaxed display of boxing by Dan as he used good footwork and body movement to move in and out of range, whilst landing his punches. His opponent worked in straight lines, which made things easier for Dan as he eased his way to a unanimous win.

Isaac Okoh (Eng) v Robert McNulty (Sco) – Under 80kg
With the height and reach advantage, Isaac used it well as he moved around the ring picking off his opponent with both hands. The Scot tried to catch Isaac with some wild swinging punches, which Isaac managed to evade. This was a very close encounter, with Isaac nicking it on a split.

Ronald Devlin (Sco) v Ben Andrews (Eng) – Under 86kg
Both boxers had the same style, and, as they met in the middle, went toe to toe with both throwing combinations. As the bout went on, Ben became the stronger and more busier of the two. This was a better bout for Ben than his semi, as he earned a split decision win.

Cassius Walker-Hunt (Wal) v Patrick Brown (Eng) – Under 92kg
This started hard and fast, with both landing with power punches. Patrick walked the Welsh boxer down constantly and landed some telling blows. The Welsh boxer caught Patrick with a good shot, which buckled his knees, but it only spurred the England boxer on. After two standing counts for the Welsh boxer in the second round, the referee called a halt to the bout, making it another gold for England.

Harvey Dykes (Eng) v Connal McDonald (Sco) – Over 92kg
In the day’s last bout, Harvey boxed off of the back foot and countered well to his opponent’s head. With the Scot pressing forward continually, and having success with the back hand, he got the nod from the judges by a split decision.

Medal totals

Team England

14 x Gold
3 x Silver.

Team Scotland

3 x gold
7 Silver
1 x Bronze.

Team Wales

7 Silver
9 x Bronze.