Britain’s elite world champions such as Caroline Dubois and Ellie Scotney will be showcasing their talents. sky sports‘Bills piled up on Sunday.
Thanks to the success of the England boxing team at junior and youth levels, there are also promising signs that the sport will have a vibrant future in the coming years.
Boxing is one of the most successful sports across all age groups, and its strength is reflected in the number of international medals won.
Chris Connelly, head of performance at England Boxing, pointed out: “I think a perfect example is the Youth World Championships in Colorado. It was Colorado and it was an expensive show. We only took 10 boxers and ended up with eight world champions.
“One won a bronze medal which could have easily qualified him for the final on another day and only one did not win a medal. Nine out of 10 medals, eight of them youth world champions. India were behind us and had twice as many boxers as us.
“In the last four major competitions we have participated in – three Europeans and one Youth World, Schools, Juniors, Youth Europe and Youth Worlds – we have been the best nation in all of those years – basically No. 1 in the world.”
He added: “It’s a joint effort with England that we don’t distribute all the weight categories because we can’t afford it. But when you come on, Ukraine and India will have all the weight categories. And we still outperform them and top the medal table. Even though we have a lot of tournaments we participate in, we have half the number of participants compared to those countries.”
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Sky Sports Boxing’s Andy Scott runs through everything you need to know about Caroline Dubois’ lightweight unification clash with Terri Harper on April 5.
England Boxing offers a pathway to the Olympic squad for GB, but also participates in its own international competitions at senior, youth and junior levels.
“The clubs in England are incredible, we have 1200 boxing clubs across the UK, we produce talent upon talent and they come through our doors, and similar to when we deliver them to GB, they come through our doors and we just try to get them into the fold internationally and represent us well,” Connelly said.
“If there is a non-Olympic weight that is good enough to compete internationally, we will introduce that into the senior program,” he added. World silver medalist Emily Asquith is a prime example.
“My job is to make sure they leave the UK in a better place – either to GB or to the pros. If they go pro, it’s still good for us and good for boxing. “Someone on television doing well inspires someone else to join an England boxing club and the cycle starts again.
“They will become better professionals because of the two years they spent with us.”
Ruby White exemplifies the success of a young England team (Photo courtesy of USA Boxing)
Whether it’s making it to the professional ranks or the Olympics, the future looks bright for British boxing.
“The talent is phenomenal. Alice Pomphrey, who we crossed over to GB, was a Youth World champion. Ruby White is an incredible talent,” Connelly said.
“Ruby has won the last four major competitions she has competed in. She has won the last three European Championships and the Youth World Championships.
“She’s the real deal.”
At the recent U19 World Boxing Futures Cup in Thailand, Lily Bassett won a stunning gold medal for Great Britain, defeating five world-class opponents en route to the top of the podium.
Jaya Kalsi also impressed, winning bronze after four grueling matches in Bangkok. Four of the squad are currently ranked in the top five U19 boxers in the world.
All six selected squads have qualified for the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal later this year.
Trained by father James and head coach, Gogglebox star Marcus Luther, Bassett is also coming off a remarkable run of success, winning European gold for the third year in a row.
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Caroline Dubois and Terri Harper had a few more words as they battled it out following the launch press conference on April 5.
The success of the British boxing team is an indicator that the future of British boxing is bright. Caroline Dubois and Ellie Scotney represented Great Britain at various age levels long before they became professional world champions. Dubois was an incredibly successful junior and youth athlete, never losing in his category and winning the Youth Olympic Games.
The strong foundation of the country’s sport is thanks to its amateur boxing clubs.
“Our biggest takeaway is that there are 1,200 boxing clubs across the country, where they are located, who they cater to and how easy it is to get into a boxing club and start playing the sport,” Connelly said.
“The ABA, England Boxing, has a history of about 150 years, but we have a really strong regional and national championship structure that is open to everyone as long as they have the ability.”
Watch Caroline Dubois-Terri Harper and Ellie Scotney-Mayelli Flores bill live sky sports Sunday, April 5th.
