Boxer Profiles

Achievements:

• 2022 European Championships – Silver
• 2022 Commonwealth Games - Silver

Inspired by fellow Sunderland born boxer Tony Jeffries’ light-heavyweight bronze medal at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, Kiaran began his career aged nine when he stepped foot inside Sunderland ABC.

Kiaran has been a member of the GB Boxing for over six years having joined the squad following a successful assessment he earned after winning back-to-back England Boxing National Amateur Championships in both 2016 and 2017.

As well as representing the British Lionhearts in World Series of Boxing (WSB) in both 2017 and 2018 Kiaran has won gold medals at the Socikas and Belgrade Winner during his time as GB Boxer and has also competed at the Strandja, just missing out on the medal stages on that occasion.

His first selection for a major competition came in September 2021 when he was among the squad of nine men who travelled to Serbia for the World Championships however, he was handed a tough opponent in his opening bout, Rio 2016 silver medallist Yuberjen Martinez, and was unable to progress to the latter stages.

In 2022, Kiaran put together a fine run of performances at the European Championships in Armenia, winning three times on the way to securing flyweight silver and his first major medal.

He did the same a few months later at the Commonwealth Games where once again he had to settle for silver having reached the 51kg final, this time beaten by 2019 World champion, Amit Panghal of India.

Kiaran describes his style as flashy, fancy, and explosive.

Achievements:

• 2021 World Championships - Bronze

In 2021 in Belgrade Reese made history when he became the first Scottish boxer ever to win a world championship medal when he took bronze in the light welterweight division.  It earnt him a place in the GB Boxing squad and he officially joined the world class programme in January 2022. He soon followed up his world success by winning gold later that year at the Commonwealth Games.

Reese began boxing at the age of nine when he joined Springhill ABC after initially being taught the basics by his brother. He also played football at a young age, however in his own words, “I was terrible, and I was given a pair of gloves and told to be on my way!” and that’s how is journey in the ring began.

As a schoolboy, Reese won his first Scottish title in 2014 before later going on to seal junior and youth accolades between 2016 and 2019 which earned him a place on the Scotland Boxing squad. During this time, he also switched clubs to join Rob Roye ABC. He made an impressive step up into senior competition when he won gold at Serbia’s Golden Gloves in both 2018 and 2019.

Having secured a place in the GB Boxing squad thanks to his medal winning performance at the 2021 world championships in Belgrade, Reese made his first competitive appearance as a GB Boxer when he took part in the Boxam tournament in March 2022 where he went on to win a bronze medal. The light-welterweight followed that up a month later by claiming silver at the Gee Bee tournament in Finland.

On his way to securing his world bronze, Reese boxed three times. Beating both Iran’s Ashkan Reazaei and Spain’s Adrian Thiam Creus to secure his medal before suffering a unanimous points loss to Kerem Oezmen of Turkey in the semi-final stages.

The European Championships in Yerevan was Reese’s first major tournament as a member of the GB Boxing squad. After winning his opening preliminary bout unanimously against Turkey’s Adem Avci, he just missed out on the medal stages after losing to eventual silver medallist, Lounes Hamraoui of France.

Reese describes himself as a sharp counter puncher with fast feet and demonstrated just that when he represented his country, Scotland, at the 2022 Commonwealth Games where he won light-welterweight gold..

Achievements

• 2022 European Championships - Gold
• 2018 GB Boxing Championships – Gold
• 2018 England National Champion – Gold
• 2017 GB Boxing Championships – Gold
• 2017 England National Championships – Gold
• 2016 European Youth Championships – Silver
• 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games – Gold

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Born in Bradford, Harris was a massive martial arts fan as a child. His boxing journey began when a local coach came into his Dad’s butcher’s shop and asked him to bring Harris down to see if he liked it. It turned out to be a wise decision as Harris loved the experience and decided to take-up the sport.

After finding his right weight division, everything started to click and Harris was quickly called-up for the Yorkshire squad, which then resulted in him being asked to represent England as a Youth.

His success as a Youth boxer, which saw him win medals at the European Youth Championships and Youth Commonwealth Games, earnt him an assessment with GB Boxing and in 2017 he was offered a place in the squad.

He won the GB Boxing Championship in 2017 and 2018 and has since competed for GB Boxing at a number of international tournaments.  He was selected by GB Boxing to compete in the light-middleweight division at the 2021 world championships in Belgrade, however he was very unfortunate to draw the eventual champion, Yurii Zakharieiev of Ukraine, in the early stages of the competition and went out in the round of 32.

In 2022, Harris avenged his defeat to Zakharieiev by beating the reigning world champion at the semi-final stages on his way to being crowned European champion after winning gold in his light-middleweight final against GB Boxing teammate Garan Croft in Yerevan. Armenia.

Achievements:

• 2022 Commonwealth Games - Gold
• 2022 U22 European Championships – Silver
• 2022 European Championships - Bronze

Since joining the world class performance programme in January 2022, Ioan has impressed on the European stage winning both a silver medal at the U22 championships and a bronze at the seniors respectively. In August of the same year he was crowned welterweight champion at the Commonwealth Games.

Initially boxing as a hobby as an eight-year-old alongside his twin brother, Garan, Ioan quickly established that the sport was one he wanted to pursue in the long term, appearing in his first bout two years later.

Ioan excelled at national level and has the titles to back it up having won eight in his career so far. After winning all there is to win domestically, Ioan attended an assessment camp in Sheffield and as a result joined the programme permanently in January 2022.

His first tournament as GB Boxer came when he represented Wales at the Tammer tournament in Finland where he after a split victory in his welterweight final, he claimed gold.

Ioan then travelled to Croatia where he won silver at the U22 European Championships after winning four of his bouts in Porec.

A few months later in May 2022, Ioan stepped up to senior European level, competing at the championships in Armenia and once again he secured himself another medal. This time it was bronze after he was just edged out by his opponent, Lasha Guruli, in the semi-final stages.

Achievements:

• 2022 U22 European Championships – Silver
• 2022 European Championships – Silver
• 2022 Commonwealth Games - Bronze

Garan made a memorable start to his career as a GB Boxer in 2022. After joining the programme in January, he took silver in the light-middleweight division of both the U22 and senior European Championships.

He began boxing alongside his twin brother at eight years old when their dad took them down to their local gym. What began as a way of keeping him active as a child soon turned into a career plan as he competed in his first bout two years later aged ten. Garan has now been boxing at Cardigan Boxing Club for 12 years where he is still coached by his dad.

After winning nine national titles, Garan was invited for an assessment at the English Institute of Sport where he attended three camps over a number of week, towards the back end of 2021 before officially joining the podium squad in January 2022.

Shortly after joining the squad, Garan competed in the Tammer tournament in Finland where he took gold for the second time in his career having previously won in 2017.

He was then straight back into the ring for the U22 European Championships, where he won four of his five bouts to claim silver only being beaten by reigning world champion, Yurii Zakharieiev.

Following his success at U22 level, he made the step up to senior European level and continued where he left off, catching the eye each of the five times he stepped into the ring in Armenia on his way to another silver medal.

This time he was beaten in a close fought encounter with fellow GB Boxer, Harris Akbar.

The Welshman would describe himself as an adaptable front foot boxer represented his country at 2022 Commonwealth Games where he earned a bronze medal, only losing to eventual gold medallist, Aidan Walsh.

Outside of the ring, Garan is a big fan of snooker and pool and often plays against his fellow GB Boxing camp mates during their down time when in camp.

Achievements

• 2018 GB Boxing Championship – Gold
• 2019 Olympic Test Event - Gold
• 2022 European Championships - Silver

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Despite starting boxing at a young age and having his first bout at 13, Lewis has always maintained his interests outside of the ring and since September 2020 has combined his Olympic ambitions with a Masters in Sports Business Management at Sheffield Hallam University.

The decision to combine education and boxing reflects a driven and hard-working character that has seen Lewis overcome a number of challenges, including a serious back injury, in pursuit of his ambitions.

Born and raised in Colchester, Lewis initially took-up boxing to get fit for football which he played at county level. After winning his first bout aged 13, he enjoyed further success and made the decision to focus on boxing after winning an England Boxing national schoolboy title in 2012.

Following his performance in the 2017 England Boxing Senior National Championships (where he lost in the semi-final to the eventual winner, Ben Whittaker, who went on to win a silver medal at Tokyo 2020) Lewis secured an assessment with GB Boxing and, at the start of 2018, he was offered a place in the squad.

The satisfaction of securing a place on the world class performance programme did not last and shortly after joining the squad Lewis was diagnosed with three stress fractures in his lower back that put him out for most of the year.

He returned in December to win the 2018 GB Boxing Championship and in 2019 he competed for GB Boxing at a number of overseas competitions, winning a bronze at Spain’s Boxam tournament and gold at the Olympic Test Event in Tokyo in November 2019.

It earnt Lewis selection for the first Olympic qualifier in London in March 2020.  Although the event was suspended after two days, owing to the Coronavirus outbreak, Lewis did get the chance to box and began impressively with a unanimous victory over Victor Yoka of France.  Unfortunately he was drawn to meet the Ukrainian world champion, Oleksandr Khyzhniak in the next round and, when the qualifier eventually resumed in Paris in 2021, Lewis lost to the boxer who would go on to win a silver medal in Tokyo.

A change to the qualification system put an end to Lewis’s hopes of going to Tokyo, however he remains committed to competing at the Olympics and is focused competing at Paris 2024.

He continues to combine his studies with boxing and in 2021 he was selected to compete at the world championships in Belgrade but did not make the medal stages.

Lewis earned his first medal at a major tournament in 2022 when he earned a silver medal at the European Championships in Yerevan after being narrowly beaten in his middleweight final.

Achievements

• 2022 Commonwealth Games - Gold
• 2022 U22 European Championships - Bronze
• 2022 European Championships - Bronze

In May 2022, Sam became the first Scottish boxer to earn a senior European Championship medal in 16 years when he took bronze in the middleweight division in Yerevan, Armenia – his second European bronze of the year. His success in 2022 continued when he won gold at the Commonwealth Games.

Sam began boxing at the age of nine after pestering his dad to take him down to his local gym, St Francis.

He then shortly moved to Lochee ABC where he has been ever since. He won his first Scottish national championship at the aged 12 which soon led to him having his first bout for his country. Success for Sam at an early age allowed him to progress through the ranks of Scottish boxing from schoolboy all the way up to senior level.

In Hungary 2016, he won a Junior European championships silver medal and two years later claimed a Youth European bronze in Italy, 2018.

Having just missed out on a chance to join the squad three years ago, Sam didn’t let that deter him and after reaching the last 16 stage of the 2021 World Championships in Serbia, earned their chance to be assessed by the GB Boxing coaches and was this time successful, officially joining the world class programme in January 2022.

Since joining the squad, the middleweight has competed in two European championships, first the U22s in Croatia where he earned bronze after three winning three of his four bouts. He then stepped up to senior level a few months later and matched the achievement when he was beaten in the semi-final by fellow GB Boxing squad mate Lewis Richardson.

Describing himself as a rangy, counter puncher, Sam represented his country at the 2022 Commonwealth Games where he once again faced Richardson at the semi-final stages, this time earning the win before eventually going on to be crowned middleweight champion.

Achievements:

• 2019 GB Boxing Championships – Gold
• 2018 Youth World Championships - Bronze
• 2018 Youth European Championships - Bronze

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Conner started boxing at the age of eight after his mum saw an advert in a newspaper about a boxing club that had been set-up in Moss Side Fire Station.  The aim was to provide an outlet for Conner’s energy and the eight-year-old quickly showed an aptitude for the sport which also helped to build his confidence

After a victorious first bout at the age of 11, Conner progressed through the sport and won England Boxing titles as a Junior and a Youth, which resulted in him being selected to represent England at the World and European Youth Championships in 2018, where he won middleweight bronze at both events.

Conner’s international success as a Youth boxer earnt him an assessment with GB Boxing and after attending a series of training camps, he was offered a place in the squad as part of the world class performance programme in the latter part of 2019.

In his first competitive appearance as a member of the GB Boxing squad he won the light-heavyweight title at the 2019 GB Boxing Championships in Sheffield.  The outbreak of Coronavirus in March 2020 and its impact on sport meant Conner had to wait 18 months to make his international debut as a member of the GB Boxing squad.  However when the time came he did not disappoint and won gold at the Socikas Tournament in Lithuania in May 2021.

Although his preferred category is light-heavyweight, Conner was selected by GB Boxing to compete in the newly created cruiserweight division (86kg) at the 2021 World Championships in Belgrade, where he delivered a series of excellent performances to reach the quarter-finals.  He was one of the team’s best performers at the competition and agonisingly missed out on his first major international medal as a senior when he narrowly lost by a split decision (3:2) to Victor Schelstrate of Belgium in his quarter-final.  It augured well for future success at major championships where Conner aims to compete in his favoured light-heavyweight division.

Conner describes his style as "explosive" and his favourite boxers include Gennady Golvkin and Vasyl Lomachenko. When he is not training and competing, he is an Ambassador for a Manchester based charity, the Mavericks Star Trust, which uses sport and boxing as a means to help people and clubs in deprived parts of the city.

Achievements:

• 2019 U22 European Championships - Silver
• 2022 European Championships – Bronze
• 2022 Commonwealth Games - Gold

Lewis has made big strides in his development over the last year which saw him clinch his first major senior medal at the 2022 European Championships in Armenia where he won bronze before clinching gold at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. He also narrowly missing out on another medal at the 2021 World Championships, having won three bouts on the way to the quarter final.

Following his dad’s advice and joined be some friends, Lewis began his boxing journey at Leamington Spa’s Cleary’s gym.

Lewis’ first step onto the world stage came in 2016, when he competed at the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships where he won two of his three bouts.

He joined the GB Boxing squad in January 2018 and later that year was crowned England Boxing National Champion as well as winning gold at the GB Elite Three Nations championships.

Alongside the 2019 U22 European silver medal he won in Russia, Lewis has also won gold at the Gee Bee in 2022 as well as competing across a range of European tournaments including the Boxam, Strandja and Tammer.

The heavyweight from Leamington Spa made his first appearance at a major in 2021 at the World Championships in Serbia. Despite narrowly missing out on a medal, Lewis beat boxers from Azerbaijan, Albania and Ukraine to reach the quarter-final stages.

In May 2022, he made sure that at his next major, he was stood on the podium. Earning bronze in the 92kg contest at the European Championships in Armenia, only being beaten by eventual gold medallist, Aziz Mouhiidine.

The smart, fluid, and rangy boxer represented England at the 2022 Commonwealth Games where after three impressive victories on his way to reaching the heavyweight final, Lewis beat Ato Plodzicki-Faoagali unanimously to clinch the gold medal on home soil.

Achievements:

• 2022 European Championships – Bronze
• 2022 Commonwealth Games - Gold

Born in Moscow, 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Delicious Orie spent the first seven years of his life in Voronezh in Russia before moving to London and then eventually Wolverhampton. He didn’t begin his journey into boxing until at 17 he saw London 2012 gold medallist Anthony Joshua win his first professional world title. Seeing his arms raised instantly inspired him to waste no time in getting down to his local gym and he has not looked back since.

Delicious remembers fondly his first bout which he says didn’t last very long, 45 seconds to be exact! But it was in that moment he realised this was something he wanted to pursue for the rest of his life. Less than two years after starting out in the sport, he clinched his first title in 2018 when he won the England Boxing National Championships.

After his success domestically, Delicious was asked to attend the Lions’ Den at the English Institute of Sport for a series of assessments which he successfully passed, joining the squad in 2021.

The 2021 Socikas tournament was Delicious’ first tournament as a GB Boxer where he missed out on a medal, however he would soon go on to compete at the Golden Glove in Serbia, Spain’s Boxam and the Gee Bee held in Finland all in the space of six months – winning gold at all three.

Delicious was selected for his first major at the 2021 World Championships in Serbia and did more than hold his own on his way to reaching the last 16 stage. In May 2022, he was part of the squad that travelled to Armenia for the European Championships, and it was here where he earned his first major medal, earning bronze after losing to the eventual gold medallist, Nelvie Tiafack of Germany, in the super-heavyweight semi-final.

He followed up his impressive displays in Yerevan with further success in the ring, this time at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, winning a gold medal right on his doorstep. After sealing is place on the top of the podium, he said: “We’ve got the gold medal. It’s made in the Jewellery Quarter. I started boxing in the Jewellery Quarter and to now have this in my hands means everything to me. The sky’s only the limit – we are going to exceed that.”

Outside of the ring, Delicious has earned himself a first-class honours degree in Economics and Management at Aston University and has a keen interest in basketball, which was the sport he played most until his later switch to boxing.

Achievements

• 2022 Commonwealth Games - Bronze

Achievements

• 2021 Tokyo Olympics European Qualifier - Silver
• Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021) - R16
• 2019 England Boxing National Championships – Gold

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As mum to three young children, Charley, balances boxing with motherhood and has enjoyed a meteoric rise since returning to the sport in 2018, following a seven-year break, which has seen her earn a place in the GB Boxing squad and qualify for the Olympic Games.

Having initially started boxing at the age of eight, Charley enjoyed domestic success and international recognition as a youth boxer before taking a break from the sport at the age of 19 to have her children.

She restarted training in 2018 and went on to enjoy immediate success and in May 2019 she won the England Boxing National Championships at bantamweight (54kg).

The win secured her an assessment with the GB Boxing squad in which Charley impressed the coaches despite her long lay-off from the sport.  Although she boxed at bantamweight, which is not an Olympic weight, the GB Boxing team felt that with the right support she had the potential to compete successfully at flyweight (51kg), which is an Olympic weight class.

Charley initially joined the squad as part of the Podium Potential group in December 2019 and after impressing at a multi-national training camp in America at the start of 2020 she was selected to compete at the first Olympic qualifying event in London in March 2020.

Although the event was suspended after two days owing to the Coronavirus outbreak, Charley was one of the few boxers from Great Britain that did get to compete and she recorded an impressive unanimous points victory over Ireland’s 2018 Commonwealth Games silver medallist, Carly McNaul.

She completed her incredible journey to qualify for the Olympic Games at the Boxing Road to Tokyo qualifier in Paris in June 2021.  She defeated Poland’s Sandra Drabik to secure her place at Tokyo and finished the tournament with a silver medal.

In Tokyo, Charley put in an impressive display in her opening bout against Rabab Cheddar of Morocco but unfortunately exited the competition at the last 16 stage following defeat to China's Chang Yuan.

After her incredible achievement in getting to Tokyo 2020 after a seven year break, Charley has set her sights on becoming a two-time Olympian and qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris

Achievements

• 2022 U22 European Championships - Bronze

Achievements:

• 2022 Commonwealth Games - Silver
• 2021 U22 European Championships - Gold

Gemma initially began kickboxing at six years old when her dad wanted her and her brother to learn self-defence but after realising she was better with her hands than her feet, she soon transitioned into boxing around the age of eight.

She had her first bout at the age of ten and then three years later, claimed her first of five national titles which earned her an England Boxing assessment. Gemma also earned gold medals at both the 2018 and 2019 European Youth Championships.

She earned her place on the world class programme after being crowned World Youth Champion in 2019.

Gemma made her senior debut as a GB Boxer at the Bocskai in 2021, where she also won a bronze medal only being beaten by Rio 2016 medallist Mira Potkonen. It was then that experience of facing seniors that benefitted the Scunthorpe boxer as she entered the 2021 U22 European Championships in Italy, where she would go on to add another gold to her tally. She then rounded off her memorable year with her first senior gold at the Nations Cup in Serbia.

Gemma would describe herself as a pressure fighter and was selected to compete at the 2022 Commonwealth Games where she reached the lightweight final where she earned a silver medal having been beaten by reigning world champion Amy Broadhurst.

Away from boxing, the lightweight is an avid baker.

Achievements

• 2018 Commonwealth Games – Silver
• 2016 Women’s European Championships – Silver

Kerry played a range of sport when she was growing up. She began playing football aged just five, but combat sport is in Davis’ blood, as her mother competed in karate for England. Despite trying her hand at the martial art, she found her strengths and passion in boxing aged 14 believing that the best bit about the sport is that you get out what you put in.

2018 was a year to remember for Kerry as not only did she win her major title at the National Amateur Championships, but it was that victory which her earned an assessment with GB Boxing which she successfully passed, joining the programme officially in October of that year.

After suffering a foot injury shortly after joining the programme and with the delay of the Covid-19 pandemic, Kerry’s first chance to box as a senior came at the Balkan tournament in Bulgaria where she beat France’s Davina Michel in the final to win gold. She then repeated her gold medal feat at the 2022 Bocskai.

Kerry was selected for her first major in 2022, attending the Women’s World Championships in Istanbul where she would win two of her three bouts, narrowly losing her quarter-final bout to just miss out on a medal.

In December 2021, Kerry raised almost £6,000 by organising a 300-mile watt-bike ride, which both GB Boxers, coaches and support staff took part in, to raise money to buy an electric wheelchair for her friend suffering with multiple sclerosis.

Kerry competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where she reached the quarter-final stage.