Team England claim six medals at the EUBC Zagreb Boxing Queen 2023

Team England won three gold, two silver and one bronze medal at the EUBC Zagreb Boxing Queen 2023 competition, which took place in Croatia between Friday 24^th and Sunday 26^th November.

England took seven boxers in total, five senior and two youth, to the all-female tournament in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia and here is how each boxer fared:

• Viv Parsons (Afewee) fell to a 2-1 split decision defeat against Maria Claudia Nechita of Romania. The result didn’t do justice to Viv’s performance, which was a truly special display against an Olympian.
• Beth Walsh (Training Cave) defeated a relentless opponent in Luna Andrup of Denmark by a 2-1 split decision in Saturday’s semi-final bout. The tournament was to end with silver for Beth, as she lost by unanimous decision in the final against Lenuta Perijoc of Romania, an individual who has qualified for Paris 2024 and boasts multiple major medals.
• In just her ninth contest for England, Kayla Allen (Hoddesdon) lost by a 2-1 split decision against Milena Matovic of Serbia, a boxer who has competed in European and World Championships previously. Despite the defeat, Kayla showed the bright future she has and brings home a bronze medal to boot.
• Terri Naylor (Limehouse Boxing Academy) was resilient in her performance against the experienced Natalia Rok of Poland but fell to a unanimous decision defeat to claim silver.
• Terri Stuart (British Army) won a gold medal in her straight final against Jelena Janicijevic of Serbia. Following a great first and second round, Terri went on to secure a 2-1 split decision victory to claim an Elite gold medal for her country.
• Alice Pumphrey (The Purge) was the first of two Youth boxers competing in straight finals. Alice showed her international experience as she stormed to a unanimous decision victory against Wioletta Ptak of Poland to bring home a gold medal.
• One year on from being crowned World Champion at the IBA Youth World Championships 2022, Amber Moss-Birch (Golden Ring) stopped Julia Oles of Poland in the first round by RSC as her timing and distance brought her the gold medal.
• England Youth Performance boxer Amy Nolan also competed in the tournament, representing her club, Right Stuff ABC. Nolan faced Aleksdandra Cyrek of Poland in a straight final, falling to a unanimous decision defeat to claim silver.

Lead National Coach Amanda Coulson, who was assisted by Q Shillingford and Kerry Chalk in Zagreb, said: “We finished as the second-best team behind Poland who had 11 entries to our seven. Our full team faced opponents who were multiple medal winners at majors like European/World (Championships) and from those who were Olympic Level.

“The experience gained against this type of opponent is invaluable. A lot of the team proved they’re more than capable for this level and they’ll have taken confidence from this competition for their future contests. Results are fantastic but, as always, the performance is the focus, and we had some incredible performances against top opposition. There have been further indications of the potential within our team.”

Full Team England EUBC Zagreb Boxing Queen 2023 Results:

Day One, Session One:

Female Elite, Under 57kg: Maria Claudia Nechita (Romania) beat Vivien Parsons (Afewee) by a 2-1 split decision.

Day Two, Session Two:

Female Elite, Under 54kg: Beth Walsh (Training Cave) beat Luna Andrup (Denmark) by a 2-1 split decision.

Female Elite, Under 66kg: Milena Matovic (Serbia) beat Kayla Allen (Hoddesdon) by a 2-1 split decision.

Day Three, Session Three:

Female Elite, Under 50kg: Natalia Rok (Poland) beat Terri Naylor (Limehouse Boxing) by a unanimous decision.

Female Elite, Under 54kg: Lenuta Perijoc (Romania) beat Beth Walsh (Training Cave) by a unanimous decision.

Female Elite, Under 63kg: Terri Stuart (British Army) beat Jelena Jancijevic (Serbia) by a split decision.

Female Youth, Under 63kg: Alice Pumphrey (The Purge) beat Wioletta Ptak (Poland) by a unanimous decision.

Female Youth, Under 81kg: Amber Moss-Birch (Golden Ring) beat Julia Oles (Poland) by RSC.