Seven boxers from Great Britain will box for gold on tomorrow’s final day of action at the World Boxing Cup finals following victories on a memorable day of action.
Kayla Allen, Dione Burman and Vivien Parsons as well as Ellis Trowbridge, Odel Kamara and Dimeji Shittu were all crowned winners on day three at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield
The wins mean they will leave the competition with a silver medal at least heading into their concluding bouts tomorrow.
The seventh GB Boxer to go for gold tomorrow is Isaac Okoh who due to low numbers is entering straight into the final.
Boxing for the first time after initially being given a bye, Kayla Allen got the day started in scintillating fashion as she administered three standing counts inside the second round to bring a half to her semi-final clash with Korea’s Sukyoung Kang.
The win continues the welterweight’s fine run of form which has seen her win gold medals at both the Dacal and Tammer tournaments in recent months.
Allen said: “It was a bit scrappy initially, but it was just all about staying composed and chilled in the ring, obviously tomorrow, a much better performance is coming.
“I got the stoppage., I knew I was landing, her body language said it all, like it was hurting her. She even looked at the corner on the last count. So, I knew I was gonna get her out of there.
“I’ve never experienced getting a bye before, so having two days off is a blessing. My friends could only come out today, so that’s a bonus. Tomorrow I’m looking to bring it home so Essex, watch out!”
Allen’s gold medal bout will be against fellow GB teammate Dione Burman after she too saw her arm raised in what was her second of the week.
The pair will go head-to-head tomorrow at 13:25pm following Burman’s 3:2 split victory over Brazil’s Beatriz Soares.
Burman said: “I feel really good. I think that that was a tough fight. Probably the toughest fight I’ve had. She just kept coming forward and, the game plan was to, like, punch when she punches, basically, and keep adjusting. So I think I did that pretty well.
“I’ve got one of my teammates tomorrow, which I’ve boxed before, it’ll be another good fight. So I’m looking forward to that.
The third and final GB Boxer to book their place in tomorrow’s finals during the morning session was Dimeji Shittu.
The light-heavyweight sealed his second win this week, having previously beaten China’s Rehemandu Halimulati, with a unanimous victory over Korea’s Minseong Kim.
He will now box for gold versus Japan’s Go Wakaya at 15:30pm.
Shittu said: “I’ll be honest with myself. I don’t think I boxed great. I still won it five-nil on all cards, but I sort of switched off a bit and tried coasting it.
“He’s a better than what I thought one for you know. I looked at him a bit, he looked a bit young, bit fresh and I thought I’d be too seasoned and experienced, but he had some tricks up the sleeves. But I dealt with it and got the win. Forget about today and on to the final tomorrow.”
Moving into the day’s evening session and Vivien Parsons, in the ring for the second time this week, made short work of her semi-final, as she dominated the occasion until Thailand’s Preedakamon Tintabthai withdrew from the contest midway through round two due to injury.
The Brixton boxer will go up against Brazil’s Jucielen Romeu at 12:40pm in the featherweight final tomorrow.
Parsons said: “It feels good. Not the way I necessarily wanted to win and best wishes to the other girl and her team. Butwe’re through to the finals and that’s a step closer to gold.
“I’m so new to the squad. I’ve only just really started my international journey, and I feel like I’m growing into my style and just hoping to get better each time I come out now.”
She was soon joined in victory by flyweight Ellis Trowbridge who in a high energy contest, got the better of the Japan’s highly impressive Soushi Makino via a 3:2 split decision.
The win for Trowbridge means he now has Mongolia’s Battuga Aldarkhishig standing between him and gold, with the pair set to meet at 14:05pm tomorrow.
“I had a strong Japanese opponent, and I had to step it up, which is exactly what I did. I listened to the game plan from the coaches.
“The game plan was just to make him fall in. I had the range over him. Sometimes, though, I like to get. I like getting a little bit greedy. I have a little bit of a tear up, which is my issue, my nature. My will to win. But I showed extreme discipline, made him fall in and landed the cleaner shots. Man. This is my weight class. I’m back.”
“I’ll go back to the coaches now and listen to what the game plan is for tomorrow. These coaches have been there, done it, seen it all. So, I listen to them and I’m just going to follow their instructions and I’m confident we come home with the win.”
Concluding a memorable day three for GB Boxers was Odel Kamara who, once again, put in a smart and disciplined performance.
He confidently beat Panama’s Eduardo Beckford unanimously to line up a light-middleweight final clash with Japan’s Sewonrets Okazawa at 15:10pm.
Kamara said: “I loved it in there today. A more relaxed pace meant I was able to get some decent counters off. I hurt him in that last round, give me ten more seconds and he was out there!
“I watched some footage of him and I knew you that he was a slow burner and I thought I’d be too quick for him. I just knew my speed was better than his, so I could get my jab off and get the counters round the side.
“I can’t wait for tomorrow. It’s coming home back to Liverpool. You heard it here first.”
The other GB Boxer joining today’s six winners in competing on tomorrow’s final day of action with a chance of winning gold is heavyweight Isaac Okoh.
Okoh goes straight into the gold medal match versus Korea’s Hanuel Jung at 15:50pm
