Brandenburg Cup 2023: Day One
August 16, 2023 | by Chris Boyd
Seven Team England boxers were in action on day one of the Brandenburg Cup 2023, held in Lindow, Germany.
The Team England squad consists of eight male boxers and two female boxers, with the latter both in action on day one in Germany.
Current IBA Youth World Champion Amber Moss-Birch (Golden Ring) overcame a formidable opponent in Ukraine’s Iryna Lutsak via a unanimous decision victory, ensuring her first outing in a Three Lions vest since securing gold at the BoxAm tournament in Spain was a successful one.
Her female compatriot and fellow BoxAm gold medalist Lauren Mackie (Burton Park) was given a tough assignment in the form of IBA Youth World bronze medalist Sai’Rai Brown-El of the United States.
Mackie went toe-to-toe in an enthralling encounter but succumbed to a 3-2 split decision victory in favour of her opponent, but it was a decision that could have gone either way.
Despite an opening day loss, the tournament’s unique bracket system means Mackie will compete again and go on to medal.
Five male boxers took to the ring on opening day for Team England, including the Jennings Gym duo Joe Turner and Leighton Birchall.
Turner was first up for England and was tasked with competing against a home-nation boxer in the form of Germany’s Okay Miles.
Despite this, the male Under 51kg boxer produced an assured performance to secure a confidence-boosting unanimous decision victory.
Birchall soon followed his domestic and international teammate, also facing German opposition in Sebastiano Rizzo in an Under 57kg bout.
The North West boxer’s unique and marauding style ensured he imposed himself upon the bout, leading to another unanimous decision victory.
Ellis Panter (Burton Park) rounded out session two for Team England with another unanimous decision victory.
Panter was clinical in his attack and secured the 5:0 win over Under 67kg opponent Humza Auragh of Germany.
The Three Lions had two male boxers in the final session of the day which began at 6pm UK time.
First up was Pinewood Starr boxer Zayn Ahmed who faced opposition in the form of Germany’s Khaled Nauros.
The Home Counties boxer continued a theme developed in the second session by securing a unanimous points decision victory over his Under 54kg opponent via a comprehensive display.
Hamilton Joyce (Camp Detox) rounded out England’s competitive action on day one in the German capital.
The Under 60kg boxer was forced to dig deep in his bout against Ilja Blankov of Germany but did so successfully, showing his familiar trait of resilience to secure a 3-2 split decision victory.
Day Two Schedule:
