School Euros 23: Four wins from six bouts on Day Three

Team England won four of their six bouts on day three of the EUBC Schools European Championships 2023 in Maribor, Slovenia.

It was a boys-only schedule on day three and first up for the Wolf Pack was Kai Walsh, who faced Under 44kg Italian Mattia Farnese.

Facing a much taller opponent, Walsh was able to utilise his slick footwork and head movement to gain an advantage and the Bodyshots boxer really upped the tempo in the second round by inflicting a standing eight count.

With two rounds comfortably in the bag, Kai rode out third to round off an accomplished performance and bring home a unanimous points decision victory.

Next in the ring was Albert McLeary, also of Bodyshots, who faced Under 50kg Romanian Lazar Adely-Petrisor.

McLeary, making his debut in the tournament, boxed a cagey first round with his opponent and was able to edge the first round on the judge’s card.

The second round proved to be more difficult, however, as the Romanian stormed back to bring the bout level going into the third. An extremely close final round ultimately went in favour of Adely-Petrisor as the Romanian clinched a unanimous points victory.

Repton’s Billy Dean Smith was the next Team England boxer to make his tournament bow, facing Kewin Trukawka of Poland in an Under 52kg contest.

The first round started extremely well for Billy Dean, who moved around the ring superbly and boxed with class and composure.

In a true blink-and-you-’ll-miss-it moment, Smith found a gap and unleashed an unstoppable backhand uppercut that felled his Polish opponent and forced the referee to count him out as Billy advanced via a truly quality performance.

Yet another quality performance came from Owen McCann as he boxed Padraig Walsh of Ireland in an Under 46kg contest.

McCann was comfortable throughout the bout and dealt with everything his shorter Irish opponent sent his way.

With the Irishman desperate, he was forced to rush Owen and crowd his work but McCann was able to stay composed and moved through the gears throughout the three rounds to advance via unanimous decision.

Davie McDonagh headed to the ring next to make his championships debut against a highly experienced opponent in the form of Ukraine’s Hlieb Khoroshevskyi at Under 54kg.

Both boxers showed their class as they contested three high-quality rounds and on the final bell, it could easily have gone either way.

Ultimately, it wasn’t to be for McDonagh but the experience was valuable and will ensure he comes back stronger.

Bringing the curtain down on day three for the Three Lions was Yashua Flemming, who faced Under 48kg Azerbaijani Yusif Beylarov.

Flemming reiterated the precocious talent that he is, demonstrating skill, accuracy, and a pinch of showmanship to book his place in the quarterfinals via a unanimous decision.