20 boxers from Great Britain selected to compete at U23 European Championships in Bulgaria

By 10th October 2024News

20 MEN and women from Great Britain are set to compete in this year’s U23 European Boxing Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria from the 12th – 20th October 2024.

The team is comprised of 13 men and 7 women and includes English quartet Lauren Mackie (54kg), Sacha Hickey (66kg), Teagn Stott (86kg) and Damar Thomas (92+kg) who will all go into the tournament having won gold at the recent Dacal World Cup in Spain.

They will be joined by Scotland’s Aaron Cullen (54kg) as well as England’s Olivia Holmes (57kg) and Isaac Okoh (92kg) who will be hoping to go one step further this time out after returning from the Dacal with silver medals.

Zoe Andrews (54kg) and Dimeji Shittu (80kg) are the final two medallists from the Dacal set to attend the U23s after both won bronze in Spain.

Male duo Scott Richards (51kg) and Paddy Hewitt (71kg) will also be back in action following their recent performances at September’s World Boxing Cup event in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where the pair both won bronze medals.  They will be joined by Dione Burman (66kg) who also competed in Ulaanbaatar.

The competition in Sofia will see returns to action for featherweight Jack Dryden (57kg) who has not boxed since January following a length injury lay-off with a hand injury as well as Owain Harris-Allan (60kg), who will make his first outing since the final Olympic qualification event in Bangkok, Thailand in May 2024.

There will also be a GB Boxing debut as Ellis Panter (67kg) will step through the ropes for the first time since joining the World Class Programme (WCP) for boxing in August.

Completing the squad are England’s Kelsey Oakley, Ellis Trowbridge, Sameenah Toussaint, Dione Burman and Patris Mughalzai, who will box for England, and Isa Akram, who will wear the Scotland vest.

GB Boxing’s Performance Director Rob McCracken said: “The unique nature of boxing as an Olympic sport means that at the end of each Games we always need to renew our senior squad and assess the talent we have coming through so an event like the U23 European Championships is a great platform for this current group of boxers to gain some elite competitive experience.

“It is an opportunity for them to showcase their skills against some of the best boxers in Europe at their age and I am sure the experience will a play a big role in assisting their development as we look ahead to LA 2028.”

The 20 selected boxers will represent England, Scotland and Wales at the U23 European Championships.  The full team is:

Boxer Weight Class Country Club
Kelsey Oakley 50kg – Light-flyweight (F) England Priory Park ABC
Scott Richards 51kg – Flyweight (M) Wales Pontypridd ABC
Zoe Andrews 54kg – Bantamweight (F) Wales Briton Ferry Boxing Club
Aaron Cullen 54kg – Bantamweight (M) Scotland Renfrewshire Boxing Club
Lauren Mackie 54kg – Bantamweight (F) England Burton Park Amateur Boxing Club
Ellis Trowbridge 54kg – Bantamweight (M) England Hoddesdon Boxing Academy
Olivia Holmes 57kg – Featherweight (F) England Rotunda ABC
Isa Akram 60kg – Lightweight (M) Scotland Rob Roy ABC
Jack Dryden 60kg – Lightweight (M) England Birtley
Owain Harris-Allan 60kg – Lightweight (M) Wales Apollos and Llanedyrn ABC
Sameenah Toussaint 60kg – Lightweight (F) England Yeading Boxing Club
Sacha Hickey 63kg – Light-welterweight (F) England Peacock Boxing Club
Patris Mughalzai 63.5kg – Light-welterweight (M) England Powerday Hooks ABC
Dione Burman 66kg – Welterweight (F) England Brainstone Golden Gloves
Ellis Panter 67kg – Welterweight (M) England Burton Park ABC
Paddy Hewitt 71kg – Light-middleweight (M) England Leigh Amateur Boxing Club
Dimeji Shittu 80kg – Light-heavyweight (M) England Five Star ABC
Teagn Stott 86kg – Cruiserweight (M) England Sheffield Boxing Centre
Isaac Okoh 92kg – Heavyweight (M) England Dagenham Boxing Club
Damar Thomas 92kg+ – Super-heavyweight (M) England Powerday Hooks Boxing

The results of all the bouts involving boxers from Great Britain will be posted on GB Boxing’s social media channels and at www.gbboxing.org.uk.