Junior Euros 2023: England secure first medal on Day Three
July 23, 2023 | by Chris Boyd
Team England secured their first medal of the EUBC Junior European Championships 2023, displaying a high level of quality on day three in Ploiesti, Romania.
For the first time, all boxers were scheduled for Session One, with one female and three male boxers in action.
Ruby Cuthbertson was the first of the Three Lions to take to the ring, with the District Youth boxer facing Polish opposition in the form of Natalia Niewiadomska.
The Under 46kg bout got off to a particularly competitive start before Ruby produced a dominant second round, landing flurries of blows to put Niewiadomska on the back foot.
Ruby’s performance caught the eye as she secured a 4-1 split decision victory over her opponent, guaranteeing at least a bronze medal for herself and Team England in the process.
Just one bout later Dylan Gray was in the ring for a Battle of Britain Under 54kg tie against Scotland’s Jacob Naismith.
The District Youth southpaw got off to an empathic start to the bout and rallied throughout a tight three-round contest.
However, his Scottish opponent utilised his height and reach advantage to nick a close 3-2 split points victory.
Another southpaw in the form of Kevin Richardson was next up for Team England in Romania, with the Houghton District boxer competing against Francesco di Spazio of Italy in an Under 63kg bout.
Richardson’s high-pressure tactics paid off, as he pursued the Italian throughout six minutes of action to claim a 3-2 split decision win.
It was in the fourth and final bout of the day that Team England saw their best performance of the Championships so far.
Border City’s John Joe Carrigan was in action for the second time at the tournament, coming up against Radu Simion of hosts Romania.
John Joe, rallied by his vocal England teammates, produced a stunning performance to silence a similarly partisan home crowd.
Carrigan put on a sublime display to secure a unanimous decision victory at Under 70kg and move on to the quarter-finals.
Day Four bouts
Morning Session
Bout 3: Female, Under 70kg – Viviven Kapcsos (Hungary) v Shannon Warren.
Bout 21: Male, Under 57kg – Orujali Javazade (Azerbaijan) v Adam Maca.
Afternoon Session
Bout 2: Female, Under 57kg – Ana Jukicic (Croatia) v Ella Lonsdale.
Bout 8: Male, Under 60kg – Paul Coyle v Akaki Basaria (Georgia).
Bout 18: Male, Under 63kg – Alik Ktshoyan (Armenia) v Kevin Richardson.
