Army and Boxing Scotland in hard-fought duel
November 8, 2022 | by Matt Halfpenny
The Army Boxing Team contested a hard-fought duel against a strong Boxing Scotland Team at the Infantry Training Centre, Catterick.
A total of 10 high-quality bouts were matched to provide a close examination of the hosts.
It was the first team show with SSgt Shane Sadler Royal of the Army Physical Training Corps in place as the Army Boxing Head Coach.
The Infantry Training Centre put on a great show with 800 young soldiers in training providing support to both sets of boxers and bearing witness to some high quality, competitive and technical boxing.
It ended with a 7-3 win for the visiting team who boasted two Three Nations Champions (Luke Bibby, Under 63.5kg) and (Harry McGrenra, Under 71kg) and a World Championship representative (Stephanie Kernachan) among their number.
The bout of the night was at Under 63.5kg, where Pte Connor Somerville of 3 Para took on Bibby.
It finished in a win for the Scot, who won Best Boxer, but it was nevertheless a great performance from the Paratrooper.
The most gallant boxer could easily have been presented to Bibby’s opponent but in fact went to Fusilier Dave Jones from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers whose constant pressure forced his opponent, Aurel Szilygar, into a top-level performance to achieve the win.
Results
Army boxers first.
Women’s Under 57kg – Lily Devlin beat Stephanie Kernachan by a unanimous decision.
Men’s Under 57kg – Owen Karau beat Declan Edwards by a unanimous decision.
Men’s Under 60kg – Lewis Harvey lost to Nicholas Devlin by a split decision.
Men’s Under 63.5kg – Connor Somerville lost to Luke Bibby by a unanimous decision.
Men’s Under 67kg – Josh Furneval lost to Matthew MacDonald 67kg by a unanimous decision.
Men’s Under 67kg – Dave Jones lost to Aurel Szilygar by a split decision.
Men’s Under 71kg – James McCool lost to Harry McGrenra by a unanimous decision.
Women’s Under 75kg – Jerry-Lee Palmer beat Caitlin Kelly 75kg by a unanimous decision.
Men’s Under 75kg – Marc Thompson lost to Oliver Kasasula by a unanimous decision.
Men’s Under 80kg – Jack Power lost to Alex Arthur Jnr by a unanimous decision.
