Team England has today announced the 14 athletes that will make up the host nation’s Boxing team at this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Commencing on 29th July and culminating on 7th August, the Boxing will take place at Birmingham’s NEC venue and features male and female competition across a range of different weight divisions.
The team is made up of eight men and six women who are all part of the World Class Programme (WCP) for Boxing and part of the GB Boxing squad that trains at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
It features a range of boxers who have competed at the world and European tournaments and includes five men who all earned medals at the recent 2022 European Championships in Harris Akbar, Kiaran MacDonald, Lewis Richardson, Lewis Williams and Delicious Orie.
European 2017 silver medallist and Team England Generation 22 athlete, Niall Farrell, has also been called up to the squad alongside Joe Tyers and Aaron Bowen.
The women’s selection includes Demie-Jade Resztan and Kerry Davis who recently competed at the world championships and European U22 medallists Savannah Stubley, Sameenah Toussaint and Gemma Richardson. Light-middleweight, Jodie Wilkinson, completes the female cohort.
It will be a Games to remember for featherweight Niall Farrell and super-heavyweight Delicious Orie who both live locally to Birmingham.
Orie said: ““Ever since I found out Birmingham was going to be the host city it was a dream of mine to be able to compete there so when I found out I was selected it was basically a dream come true.
“I haven’t boxed in the UK for over two years having boxed all over Europe, but I now have the opportunity to not only compete in England but in my hometown of Birmingham at a major competition like the Commonwealth Games – it’s something I don’t think I’ll ever really forget.
European gold and silver medallist Harris Akbar and Lewis Richardson also were keen to reflect on their selections to Team England.
Akbar said: “It’s my first senior Commonwealth Games and to be chosen to compete in a tournament of this scale, which is at home as well, it feels like an unbelievable achievement for myself.
“We’re always travelling around the world to box and always see other countries getting right behind their boxers, cheering and screaming after every punch, and it makes me a bit envious so to now finally have the chance to experience that for ourselves will be unreal.
Richardson added: “It’s a proud moment for me to be selected to represent Team England at the Commonwealth Games. It’s an amazing feeling and I’m looking forward to representing both my country and all of the people that have supported me along the way.
“It’s not often we get to box on home soil so to be able to do it in Birmingham is a great opportunity for us all.
“I’m coming into these Games off the back of a silver medal at the European Championships which is a big achievement so pushing forward now I want to go one better at the Commonwealth Games and it gives me a brilliant platform to build from and hopefully Bring It Home.”
2019 World Championship bronze medallist, Demie Jade Resztan said: “I was over the moon to have been selected. It’s going to be an amazing experience and opportunity having a home Games because having home fans in the arena and also the publicity and exposure will be better than what it would be if it was abroad.
“I have lots of positives to take from my previous experiences at other tournaments and I know that I have every chance of doing well at these Games.”
The coaches that will accompany the boxers in Birmingham are all from GB Boxing and include Lee Pullen, Dave Alloway, Gary Hale and Graham Alderson. All four are hugely experienced and have coached teams at Olympic and Commonwealth Games. The Boxing Team Leader will be Darren Chappel, who oversaw the team’s history-making medal haul at the 2018 Gold Coast Games.
Team England’s Chef de Mission, Mark England OBE, welcomed the boxers to the team: “After such a successful Gold Coast Games in 2018, I’m excited to see how our Boxing class of 2022 shape up for the Birmingham games. It is an honour to welcome the 14 athletes to Team England, and I know the NEC crowd will be eager to support each boxer when they enter the ring.”
This summer, Team England will comprise of over 400 athletes in total, all of whom will look to capitalise on the once in a lifetime opportunity to bring home success in their own country.
You can get behind Team England by following its social channels where each athlete will become Part of the Pride in the run up to Birmingham.
The Commonwealth Games is a multi-sport event with a fully integrated programme of para sport disciplines and this year’s Games promises to be extra special with full stadiums and arenas after Tokyo 2020 took place behind closed doors. Birmingham 2022 is set to have the largest ever female and para sport programme in history after a new discipline of Women’s T20 Cricket, Beach Volleyball and Para Table Tennis were confirmed.
The full list of boxers announced to represent Team England are:
Demie-Jade Resztan Minimumweight – 48kg
Savannah Stubley Light-flyweight – 50kg
Kiaran MacDonald Flyweight – 51kg
Niall Farrell Featherweight – 57kg
Sameenah Toussaint Featherweight – 57kg
Gemma Richardson Lightweight – 60kg
Joe Tyers Light-welterweight – 63.5kg
Jodie Wilkinson Light-middleweight – 70kg
Harris Akbar Light-middleweight – 71kg
Kerry Davis Middleweight – 75kg
Lewis Richardson Middleweight – 75kg
Aaron Bowen Light-heavyweight – 80kg
Lewis Williams Heavyweight – 92kg
Delicious Orie Super-heavyweight -92+kg
