AMATEURS
Six of GB’S ‘nest win gold medals to top the medal table at the Gee Bee tournament in Finland,
GB’S finest deliver in Helsinki
GREAT BRITAIN topped the medal table at the Gee Bee tournament in Helsinki, Finland. GB fielded an elite team of seven boxers and finished with six gold medals in the finals on March 10 after a sequence of impressive victories.
Star welterweight Pat Mccormack finished the event with a flourish. He knocked down India’s Dinesh Dagar as early as the first round. Mccormack handed him two further counts and stopped Dagar eventually in the last round.
This was Mccormack’s fourth victory at the event. He began the tournament in Finland unanimously outpointing America’s Freudis Rojas. He defeated Canada’s
Wyatt Sanford to set up a semifinal with Kazakhstan’s Taigat Saigen. He secured that victory with another unanimous points decision victory.
Light-welterweight Luke Mccormack met Russia’s Ilia Popov in their final. The latter was a Youth Olympic Games winner and Mccormack made sure he started well against the southpaw. Luke saw out a split decision but can expect to meet Popov in future tournaments down the line. This was only the Russian’s first senior international event.
Luke didn’t get to box France’s
Sofiane Oumiha earlier in the competition, progressing past the Frenchman by walkover. But he unanimously outscored India’s
Ankit Khatana and Thailand’s
Atichai Phoemsap to reach the final. He was awarded the prize for best technical boxer in Finland.
At middleweight Mark Dickinson, a Birtley clubmate of the Mccormack twins, also won a gold medal. The British boxer is only 19 years old but began his Gee Bee campaign beating seasoned Dutch international Max Van Der Pas on a split decision. He unanimously outscored host nation boxer Santeri Lane before meeting Kazakhstan’s Nurbek Oralbay, the World Youth champion. Dickinson beat him on a split decision to advance to the final. There he took on Russia’s
Vadim Tukov. The Birtley boxer used his speed and strength to contain Tukov and edge out the Russian on a split decision.
At light-heavyweight Ben Whittaker defeated the Netherlands’ seasoned Peter Mullenberg in the semi-finals, unanimously outpointing him. He made sure of gold in the final, beating another Netherlands boxer, Artjom Kasparian, by split decision.
Cheavon Clarke went all the way at 91kgs. He outscored Kazakhstan’s Aibek Oralbay, a Youth Olympic Games gold medallist, on a split decision in the heavyweight final. In the semi-final Cheavon had beaten a London 2012 Olympian, unanimously outpointing India’s Sumit Sangwan. “Our first tournament of the year is out of the way, and I’m proud to say, I won all three of my fights,” Cheavon said. “The journey has been tough, and after achieving silvers and bronzes in my previous fights, I appreciate winning my first gold medal.”
GB super-heavyweight Frazer Clarke was limited to one contest in Finland, winning his final by walkover with the opponent pulling out due to injury. Frazer had beaten Russia’s Sergei Egorov, taking a split decision in the semi-final. “I’m quite happy with where I’m at, given myself a good platform to work from and progress throughout the rest of the year. Still a lot of work to be done and learning to be done until I get to where I want to be but my head’s in a good place,” Clarke said.
GB flyweight Will Cawley suffered a split decision defeat in his opening contest, losing to RESULTS 52: Kazakhstan’s Cawley (England) Azat (England) Makhmetov outpd Ankit Azat split. (Kazakhstan) Khatana Makhmetov. (India) outpd unan, Will 64: Luke Mccormack Mccormack unan, Mccormack outpd outpd Atichai Ilja Phoemsap Popov (Russia) (Thailand) split. 69: Pat Mccormack (England) outpd Freudis Rojas (USA) unan, Mccormack outpd Wyatt Sanford (Canada) unan, Mccormack outpd Taigat Saiken (Kazakhstan) unan, Mccormack stpd Dinesh Dagar (India) 3rd. 75: Mark Dickinson (England) outpd Max Van Der Pas (Netherlands) split, Dickinson outpd Santeri Laine (Finland) unan, Dickinson outpd Nurbek Oralbay (Kazakhstan) split, Dickinson outpd Vadim Tukov (Russia) split. 81: Ben Whittaker (England) outpd Liridon Nuha (Sweden) unan, Whittaker outpd Peter Mullenberg (Netherlands) unan, Whittaker outpd Artjom Kasparian (Netherlands). 91: Cheavon Clarke (England) outpd Krenar Aliu (Finland) split, Clarke outpd Sumit Sangwan (India) unan, Clarke outpd Aibek Oralbay (Kazakhstan) split. 91&: Frazer Clarker (England) outpd Sergei Egorov (Russia) split.