EURO CHAMPS IN ACTION
England take victory against Ireland in team match
EUROPEAN champions Royston Barney-smith and Shane Patterson were winners for England in their 4-3 victory over Ireland at Bar Sport.
15-year-old Barney-smith, twice a European Schoolboy gold medalist, outpointed Martin
Mccullough in a match between southpaw counter-punchers that never ignited. In each round, there were more feints than punches thrown as both were reluctant to lead off and risk making a mistake.
Barney-smith took more chances, landed more punches and at the final bell, four of the five judges had him winning, his 43rd win in 48 bouts.
The match between Patterson, 2018 European Schoolboy champion, and Ireland’s Mustafa
Edris was another meeting of left handers, unanimously won by the Englishman. Again, there weren’t too many clean punches landed and when they did engage, midway through the second round, Edris ended up taking a count.
After a cagey opening round and a half, the Irish teenager decided to be more positive and ran into a blurring flurry of punches that made him touch down in the centre of the ring.
The wins for Patterson and Royston-barney added to a points victory for Kelsey Oakley over
Breda Marie Quilligan to put England 3-1 up at the interval.
Combination puncher
Savannah Stubley extended the lead by unanimously outpointing
Nicole Clyde in a Youth flyweight contest. Stubley met every Clyde advance with combinations to body and head and when she in behind her punches midway through the opener, she drove Clyde into a neutral corner to force a standing count.
Clyde didn’t find her range until the final minute of the second round and that set up a closer final round. Again, Stubley got the better of it.
Ireland won the last two contests of a good night’s boxing. Niamh Fay, crowned European Youth champion earlier this year, was all over Sameenah Toussaint until the referee waved the bout off midway through the second after handing the English boxer a third count.
Evelyn Igharo was a clear winner of the final bout, unanimously outpointing England’s spirited Chloe Mcdermott in a Youth contest.
Chloe Gabriel, this year’s European Junior champion, had got Ireland off to a winning start, picking clean singles against
Megan Bainbridge to win unanimously on the scorecards.
In a club bout, Leicester Unity’s
Vinny Huczmann, bronze medallist at the European Junior championship, kept Reece Harrismann (Scarborough) under control with his lead hand and won unanimously.