LIVERPOOL’s Odel Kamara delivered a barnstorming performance on his debut in the World Boxing Championships as he was among four GB boxers to pick up victories on day three.
The other victories were secured by Lucy Kings-Wheatley (60kg), Will Hewitt (60kg), and Mary-Kate Smith, who is part of the GB Academy squad.
There was some disappointment, however, as both England’s Kelsey Oakley (51kg) and Scotland’s Sonny Kerr (70kg) suffered defeats.
Odel’s unanimous (5-0) victory over Shpetim Bajoku of Kosovo in the light-middleweight (M70kg) division was the highlight of day three.
In front of a pumped-up and noisy crowd at the M&S Bank Arena, Kamara had the upper hand from the first bell.
He used his quick jab to good effect and had Bajoku on the canvas within 20 seconds of the first round, although the referee did not judge it a knockdown.
It set the tone for the round as Kamara used his fast hands and smart footwork to keep up the pressure, which saw the referee give a standing eight count to the Kosovan before the first three minutes were out.
The rest of the fight followed a similar pattern and nearly ended with a stoppage in round three as Kamara administered two more standing counts, which saw four of the five judges score it 10-8.
The final scorecards had Kamara winning 30-26 with four judges and 30-27 with the other.
He will meet Kuwardeep Manu of Canada in the round of 16 in the 12:00 session on Monday, 8 September 2025.
Kamara said:
“I knew I was going to have loads of people there, but that was crazy. And they all showed so much love. Every two seconds I just heard, ‘Odel! Odel!’ and it made me just want to throw a haymaker. But I kept it calm and relaxed, and I did my job.
“I just felt excited and proud more than anything. I got to represent my people out there, and there’s nothing better than that.
“As soon as I walked out through the curtains and everyone was screaming, I was just buzzing. I know what I need to do. I’m just going to keep sticking to the plan and get the job done.”
Kamara’s victory was the high point of another strong morning for the England team at the World Boxing Championships, which also saw Mary-Kate Smith defeat Olha Pylypchuk of Ukraine at middleweight (W75kg).
Into the evening session, Lucy Kings-Wheatley carried on where Kamara left off by easing her way into the last-16 stage with a devastating display against Belgium’s Chloe Rasquart.
The boxer from Birmingham forced counts on her opponent in all three rounds before the referee finally called a halt with a minute to go in the final round.
She will now go again on Tuesday versus Kazakhstan’s Viktoriya Grafeyeva.
Kings-Wheatley said: “As everyone says, the first one is always the hardest, but I really enjoyed myself in there and I’m raring to go next time out.
“I was on quite a downward spiral with the injury, but I came back recently through the Czech tournament, then Kazakhstan, and then straight into the Worlds. I had a good bit of prep, and now I’m just trying to carry it through to the Worlds. I’m just so glad to be back.”
Will Hewitt capped off another successful day for British boxers as his fast feet and hands were too much for Syria’s Mustafa Akraa. He outpointed his fellow lightweight 5-0 to set up a last-16 clash with Kyrgyzstan’s Munarbek Uulu Seiitbek.
In the first three days of competition so far, boxers representing England have fought 15 times and secured 11 victories.
In tomorrow’s action, five English boxers will compete, beginning with Ellis Trowbridge in his second bout after scoring a 5-0 victory in his opener.
This time out, he will face Japan’s Rui Yamaguchi at 12:45pm.
He will then be followed by Dimeji Shittu, who will make his first outing in Liverpool when he takes on Adam Hajek of the Czech Republic at 1:45pm.
Moving into the evening session, both Elise Glynn and Chantelle Reid will step through the ropes for the second time in Liverpool. The pair will hope to secure wins over Kazakhstan’s Karina Ibragimova at 6:15pm and Poland’s Barbara Marcinkowska at 7:00pm respectively.
Closing out the day’s action will be Patris Mughalzai when he makes his World Boxing Championship debut against USA’s Rene Camacho at 9:00pm.
For the latest news and information about the World Boxing Championships 2025, including tickets, the draw and boxers taking part visit www.worldboxingliverpool.com.
Tickets are on sale and prices start at £15 for adults and £5 for concessions (U16, OAPs, students and those in receipt of benefits). A “buy 10, get one free” offer is available for group bookings.
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.
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