Just weeks after their standout showing at the Gee Bee tournament in Helsinki, British boxers once again made their mark on the international stage, this time at the prestigious World Boxing Cup – Feliks Stamm, held in Warsaw, Poland. Against top-class opposition, five members of the British Boxing Team climbed the podium, further underlining the positive momentum in British amateur boxing, with a new generation continuing to emerge strongly in this latest Olympic cycle.
No golds, but five well-earned medals :
The standout performance came from Elise Glynn, who reached the final in the women’s 60kg category. The skilful boxer carved her way through the draw, defeating the Czech Republic’s Barbora Maxova and then edging out Aneta Rygielska of Poland — the 2019 European silver medallist on a split decision (3:2). It was a sweet revenge victory, having previously lost to Rygielska in Brazil earlier this year. In the final, Glynn came up against Donjeta Sadiku, a two-time Olympian, and had to settle for silver after a hard-fought bout that ultimately swung in favour of the experienced Kosovan.
There was another strong display from Kelsey Oakley (51kg), who backed up her gold medal in Helsinki with a bronze here in Warsaw. Oakley opened her campaign in style, defeating Wassila Lkhadiri, a former World medallist and Olympic quarter-finalist, before dominating fellow Frenchwoman Kaelya Mopin. Her run came to an end in the semi-finals, narrowly losing on a 3:2 split to Bulgaria’s Zlatislava Chukanova, and she took home a deserved bronze.
Another Helsinki medallist, Kyle Shaw-Tullin (75kg), continued his fine run of form on the international scene. The Royal Marines boxer dispatched Germany’s Mouxime Abdoulay with ease in the quarter-finals, before going toe-to-toe in a thrilling semi-final with Fazlidden Erkinboev, Uzbekistan’s world number four at middleweight, according to BoxRec. Shaw-Tullin once again showed his class, but was edged out on a split decision (3:2), claiming a second consecutive international bronze. Despite a relatively low number of appearances, 2024 has already seen him pick up titles at the Zagreb Grand Prix, Three Nations in Scotland, and in Helsinki, firmly establishing himself as one of British boxing’s rising stars.
There were also bronze medals for Sameenah Toussaint (57kg) and Teagn Stott (85kg), both of whom tasted gold in Finland but had shorter campaigns this time. Toussaint was outpointed in her opening bout by Julia Szeremeta, Poland’s Olympic silver medallist, via a unanimous decision (5:0). Stott, meanwhile, was beaten 4:1 by home favourite Jakub Straszewski after a competitive but decisive bout.
Elsewhere, several members of the British squad suffered early exits, including Ellis Trowbridge, Aaron Cullen (55kg), Kayla Allen (65kg), Patris Mughalzai (65kg), and Paddy Hewitt (70kg). All fell at the preliminary stage but will be eager to bounce back and push deeper into the tournament in future selections.
