Ben Holme

BOXING Scotland was delighted to welcome a number of MP’s and MSP’s from across the political divide for a visit to our High Performance Centre in Bridgeton, Glasgow.

The special event was to celebrate Scottish boxing’s incredible results as part of Team Scotland at the 2022 Commonwealth Games this summer.

Boxing had a proud record going into the event, being the only Scottish sport to have won a medal at every single Games, a record that stretches back 92 years.

However, history was made as three Gold medals and two Bronze medals were won to make it our most successful ever Commonwealth Games – and finish above home nation England in the boxing medal table for the first time in 60 years.

Gold medal winners Reese Lynch (63.5kg), Sam Hickey (75kg), Sean Lazzerini (80kg) and Bronze medallist Tyler Jolly (67kg) were in attendance at the event to share their story of the Games with the politicians.

The performance in Birmingham has been the crowning achievement of a phenomenal 12 months for Scottish boxing, which started one year ago in November 2021 with Reese Lynch becoming the first Scot to win a medal at the senior World Championships.

Fellow full-time GB boxer Sam Hickey then became the first Scot ever to win three European medals at the European Under-22 Championships in March 2022, before he added a fourth at the senior European Championships in May 2022.

Hickey’s Bronze medal in Armenia was also the first for Scotland at a senior European Championships in 16 years.

Other achievements include Jacob Naismith becoming just the 6^th Scottish boxer to win a European Gold medal at any age category at the European Schools Championships in Turkey in August 2022.

Niamh Mitchell then added Scotland’s 7^th European Gold in history with her triumph at the European Junior Championships in October.

Niamh’s success in Italy was also Scotland’s first ever female Gold medal at a major international competition.

On the domestic front, this year Boxing Scotland successfully hosted our biggest and second biggest ever competitions, with the 2021-22 Novice Championships in February and the 2022-23 Development Championships earlier this month respectively, with more than 1,500 entries across the two competitions.

We also had a fantastic Elite Finals Championship in April 2022, our first in three years due to the pandemic, which was voted ‘Event of the Year’ at the JATV Live’s Scottish Boxer of the Year Awards a couple of weeks ago.

Boxing Scotland staff, including Performance Director Craig McEvoy, got to share with the MP’s and MSP’s the background for how those achievements were made and our plans for the future of the sport in this country.

SCOTLAND’S Aaron Cullen suffered heartbreak at the IBA World Youth Championships this afternoon as he had a victory overturned to deny him a historic medal.

The Scot was awarded the Quarter-Final contest against India’s Ashish Ashish from three of the five judges at ringside, but a Bout Review – a new procure from IBA that has just been brought in for this competition – overturned the result.

The end result seems especially harsh as it had looked like Aaron had done more than enough to deserve to win the contest.

The Renfrewshire boxer landed a good straight right hand against his southpaw opponent early in the first round, in a round where both boxers had a high work rate, but the cleaner work was coming from the Scot, with a majority of judges agreeing.

Cullen controlled the distance and pace of the bout better in the second round as he used his jab a lot more, landing another good right hand at the end of the round to won it 10-9 from all five judges.

The only round that looked disputable was the third, with Cullen getting caught with a couple of shots before the final bell.

But his work in the opening two rounds saw the judges score it 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 28-29, 28-29 to the Scot.

Unfortunately, IBA Bout Review 22, that can be activated if the scorecard is a 3-2 split decision, was initiated by the appointed Ring Observer and ultimately the result was reversed.

Cullen looked shocked upon the final result being read and will undoubtedly be incredibly disappointed in the manner of his exit from the competition.

But the 18-year-old can hold his head high after a fantastic 12 months in the ring, including his three bouts at the World Youth Championships, which has seen him win two Gold and two Silver medals at International events this year.

Unfortunately, Scotland’s other competitor, Heavyweight Kian Govan, also suffered defeat in his Quarter-Final to bring Team Scotland’s campaign at the competition to an end.

The Doon Valley Heavyweight lost a unanimous decision to England’s Damar Thomas in their 92kg Quarter-Final bout in La Nucia, Spain.

Unlike in Scotland’s other Quarter-Final bout earlier in the day, there was no disputing the result of this contest.

The English southpaw won each of the three rounds as he displayed good movement and footwork, while keeping the bout at long range with jabs and straight left hands.

IBA World Youth Championships Results, Monday 21^st November;

54kg QF – Aaron Cullen (SCO) lost to Ashish Ashish (IND) via Bout Review.

92kg QF – Kian Govan (SCO) lost to Damar Thomas (ENG) via unanimous decision.

WHILE the sporting community might have their eyes on the ongoing World Cup in Qatar, Scottish boxing is aiming to make a further name for itself on the global stage.

Team Scotland has two boxers looking to guarantee themselves a medal at the IBA World Youth Championships in Spain today.

Only five Scottish boxers have ever won a World medal at any age category, four at this competition, which was previously named the World Junior Championships, and Reese Lynch last year at the senior World Championships.

Willy Hutchinson remains the sole World Gold medallist after his triumph at 75kg in Russia in 2016, joined by Ian Scott (81kg Bronze, 1979), Stephen Wilson (75kg Silver, 1989) and Scott Forrest (81kg Silver, 2012).

But Bantamweight Aaron Cullen and Heavyweight Kian Govan will look to join that exclusive list when they compete in La Nucia today.

Renfrewshire’s Cullen will be first in the ring at approximately 3pm in the 54kg Quarter-Final this afternoon.

The 18-year-old has had an unbelievable year so far, reaching four international Finals in 2022 as he won two Gold and two Silver medals.

Cullen will face a rematch against one of those finalists when he boxes India’s Ashish Ashish for a place in the 54kg Semi-Finals.

It was the Indian boxer who won a razor thin 3-2 split decision at the 40^th Golden Gloves of Vojvodina Youth Tournament in Serbia two months ago, a result which Cullen disputes.

“I thought in the Final in the first round the boy edged that as I started a bit slower, but in the second I got right into it and started picking my shots and picking him off,” Cullen told Boxing Scotland following the bout.

“In the third round the lad started to tire and I was still strong, and I started to take the centre and push him back and hurt him.

“I believe I did enough to win it.

“It was frustrating that I didn’t get Gold in Serbia, so now I need to get something at the Worlds,” Cullen added.

“Gold is the aim, but I want a medal at least.”

Heavyweight Kian Govan will then be in the ring at approximately 7pm as he faces an all British clash against England’s Damar Thomas.

The Doon Valley boxer had his first contest in the competition yesterday, when he won a split decision against David Polak of the Czech Republic.

IBA World Youth Championships Schedule, Monday 21^st November;

54kg QF – Aaron Cullen (SCO) v Ashish Ashish (IND). Approx 3pm (Session 19B).

92kg QF – Kian Govan (SCO) v Damar Thomas (ENG). Approx 7pm (Session 20B).

Live stream link for both bouts – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUr4nnJcKaQ

SCOTLAND will have two boxers in the Quarter-Finals of the IBA World Youth Championships after Kian Govan claimed victory on Day Six of the competition this afternoon.

The Doon Valley Heavyweight defeated David Polak of the Czech Republic by split decision in their 92kg Round of 16 contest in La Nucia to join Bantamweight Aaron Cullen in the next round.

The big Scot suffered a bloodied nose in the first round, both physically and on the scorecards as all five judges scored it for his opponent.

It was a competitive round in the second, with not much to separate the two Heavyweights, but again the Czech Republic boxer got the edge from three of the five judges.

But after two close rounds Govan took charge in the third round, landing jabs and straight right hands against his shorter opponent throughout.

With Polak looking to make the bout untidy in order to see the final round out, he was given a point deduction from the referee with just 20 seconds remaining.

That proved to be crucial for Govan, as he claimed victory by split decision with scores of 29-27, 29-27, 28-28, 28-28, 28-28.

Unfortunately, Lightweight Isa Akram was unable to join him in the next round as he lost a unanimous decision to Carlos Jamil De Leon Castro.

The 18-year-old Scot had been aiming to avenge his defeat to the Puerto Rican from just six weeks ago, when the pair met in the Final of the Boxam International Youth Tournament, which acted as a warm-up for this competition.

It had been a close split decision that looked like it could have gone Akram’s way last month, but the boxer from the Caribbean Island was a worthy winner this evening with scores of 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28.

Each round was still very competitive, however, and the Scottish southpaw will be able to take away a lot of great experience from the competition.

IBA World Youth Championships Results, Sunday 20th November;

92kg R16 – Kian Govan (SCO) beat David Polak (CZE) via split decision.

60kg R32 – Isa Akram (SCO) lost to Carlos Jamil De Leon Castro (PUR) via unanimous decision.

IBA World Youth Championships Schedule;

Monday 21^st November;

54kg R16 – Aaron Cullen (SCO) v Ashish Ashish (IND). Approx 3pm (Session 19B).

92kg R16 – Kian Govan (SCO) v Damar Thomas (ENG). Approx 7pm (Session 20B).

SCOTLAND’S Isa Akram will be out for revenge at the IBA World Youth Championships when he faces Puerto Rico’s Carlos Jamil De Leon Castro for the second time in six weeks.

The duo met each other in the Lightweight Final of the Boxam International Youth Tournament last month in Spain, and will do battle for a second time today in the Alicante region for a place in the World Youth Quarter-Finals.

It was the Puerto Rican who took Gold in October through a split decision in a bout which the Rob Roy boxer thought he deserved to get the nod.

But the Scottish teen will have a chance to put that result right at the biggest tournament in Youth boxing this evening at approximately 7:15pm.

Isa is one of two Scots in action in the Round of 16 today, with Doon Valley Heavyweight Kian Govan having his first bout in the competition at approximately 1:15pm when he faces David Polak of the Czech Republic.

The duo will be aiming to join Renfrewshire’s Aaron Cullen in the Quarter-Finals, after the Bantamweight comfortably defeated Moldova’s Ilie Argatu by unanimous decision yesterday.

IBA World Youth Championships Schedule, Sunday 20th November;

92kg R16 – Kian Govan (SCO) v David Polak (CZE). Approx 1:15pm (Session 16B). Live stream link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7uORfdDer0

60kg R32 – Isa Akram (SCO) v Carlos Jamil De Leon Castro (PUR). Approx 7:15pm (Session 18A) Live stream link – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWT1wKw2Bzw

TEAM Scotland will return home from the 51^st Golden Gong Tournament in North Macedonia with one Gold, three Silver and four Bronzes medals.

Perth Railway’s Luke Bibby claimed Gold on the final day of the competition in Skopje via a walkover, after home boxer Ilhan Ozmen withdrew from their 63.5kg Final.

The Light-Welterweight had boxed his way through to the Final, defeating Eritrea’s Haben Zere yesterday.

“I received a walkover in the Final today, which is not ideal,” Bibby said.

“Nevertheless I’m happy to win my second Gold for Scotland this year after a dominant display yesterday.

“I just focus on what I can control and the rest takes care of itself.”

Unfortunately, Scotland’s other two Finalists today, O’Neil’s Nick Devlin and Cleland’s Stephen Newns Jr, both suffered close points defeats against two home boxers from North Macedonia.

51^st Golden Gong Tournament, Saturday 19^th November Results;

60kg Final – Nick Devlin (SCO) lost Dion Lena (MKD) via points.

63.5kg Final – Luke Bibby (SCO) won Ilhan Ozmen (MKD) via walkover.

71kg Final – Stephen Newns Jr (SCO) lost Halim Nasufi (MKD) via points.