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Three secure victories for England on opening day of inaugural World Boxing Championships in Liverpool

Three members of the GB Boxing squad earned victories for England on the opening day of competition at the inaugural World Boxing Championships, which are being held in Liverpool.

Lauren Mackie (54kg), Ellis Trowbridge (55kg) and Chantelle Reid (70kg) were the trio who secured wins on day one at the M&S Bank Arena.

There was some disappointment on the opening day as heavyweight Isaac Okoh was beaten via a narrow 3:2 decision against Kazakhstan’s Sagyndyk Togambay in a bout that could have gone either way.

The day got off to a flying start when Ellis Trowbridge (55kg) unanimously defeated Albania’s Ardit Murja to progress to the round of 64.

Trowbridge said: “Honestly, it feels great to get the ball rolling, dust off the cobwebs.

“We’ve had fantastic preparation. Honestly, the conditioning has been excellent. The sparring camp we had was amazing, so I’m in the best shape possible and I can honestly look myself in the mirror and say there’s nothing else I could have done. I’m boxing in there full of confidence.”

Moving into the evening session, bantamweight Lauren Mackie, who was a late addition to the team, followed where Trowbridge left off, as she too earned victory over China’s Wanqi Cao via 4:1 split decision.

Mackie said: “It’s been great this past month building experience alongside all the team in prep for the worlds, so it was great to get that last-minute opportunity to come and compete. I felt my fitness was there, and the spars have been good, so it all just fell into place.

“It’s good to just get the experience and it’s only going to benefit me in the future. It’s three years till the next Olympics. It’s just all building blocks for that.”

Immediately following that, Chantelle Reid marked her return to competitive action, having last boxed at Paris 2024 over a year ago, with a dominant display versus Morgan Henderson of New Zealand.

Reid, competing at light-middleweight for the first time, scored a 5:0 victory to set up a round of 16 clash with Poland’s Barbara Marcinkowska.

Reid said: “I was nervous, but it’s good to have nerves. It felt great out there. Having my family and my teammates supporting me as well – it’s just amazing to be here.

“I’ve been back on the programme for six weeks. I can’t thank GB Boxing enough for the preparation they’ve given me for these worlds once the selection was made.

“The training camp has been on fire. I’ve really enjoyed it. Having all the countries in for the multi-nation training camp has been beneficial.

“I think this weight is made for me. My name’s all over it. I was light at the Olympics but made 70kg comfortably and I feel good.

“I’m just enjoying the process. This is all amazing preparation for the end goal of getting that gold at the Olympic Games.”

In today’s action, four more boxers will compete in their opening bouts of the competition.

First up at 11:15am is featherweight Elise Glynn, who takes on Slovakia’s Bibiana Lovasova.

She is then soon followed by welterweight Sacha Hickey, who goes up against USA’s Morelle McCane at 12:00pm in Ring B.

Concluding day two’s afternoon session is Callum Makin (71kg), who competes in his home city against Croatia’s Peter Knezevic at 2:00pm.

The evening session will see just Damar Thomas in action. The super-heavyweight will face Kyrgyzstan’s Myrzakir Koshaliev at 8:45pm.

For the latest news and information about the World Boxing Championships 2025, including tickets, the draw and boxers taking part, sign-up NOW at 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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