The England Boxing Elite Semi Finals held in The Echo Arena in Liverpool saw 14 fantastic female contests.
Whilst all of the women demonstrated the best of what our sport has to offer there were a number of single performances to note. Demi-Jade Resztan (New Astley) produced an emphatic performance from the first bell, much the stronger and more technical boxer she forced a stoppage in the second round against the Army’s Kerry-Anne Aaron in the light flyweight category.
Resztan goes on to face the number one seed, Tanya Dady (Earlsfield) in the Final, in what promises to be a humdinger of a bout.
In only her third ever boxing bout, Rachael Mackenzie (H Hour) found herself drawn against number one seed Ellis Booth (St Gerrards).
Following a successful sporting career in Thai Boxing, Mackenzie decided to quit kicking and stick with the stand up discipline. Having been successful in the preliminary round of the Championships she beat the very capable Chloe-Jane Standfield (Army) in the Quarter Final yesterday to book her place in the ring with more experience Booth.
The number one seed gave the relative newcomer far too much space to manoeuvre and she demonstrated skill far beyond her experience to win on a unanimous points decision. She faces Ramla Ali (London Community Boxing) who put in a fantastic performance against number 2 seed Kim Shannon to book her place in the Final.
In the light welterweight category Cherelle Brown (Islington) faced Nina Bradley (Boston). The first two rounds were cagey with Cherelle edging them both with single straight shots. As she grew in confidence however, Brown started to put her shots together in eye catching combinations and soon gave Bradley a standing count in the third round. Growing ever stronger in the final round Brown convincingly booked her place in the Final.
Brown will now face Paige Murney (Leicester Unity) who won on a split decision to the Army’s Alanna Murphy.
Results from the semi finals together with the finals bill can be found below.
Semi-Final Results
48kg Tanya Dady (Earlsfield) #1 beat Adrianna Finch (Boston) pts unan
48kg Kerry-Anne Aaron (Army) #3 lost to Demi-Jade Resztan (New Astley) #2 TKO
51kg Beccy McMullin (Intense) #3 lost to Jade Ashmore (Chesterfield) #2 pts unan
54kg Ellis Booth (St Gerrard’s) #1 lost to Rachael Mackenzie (H Hour) pts unan
54kg Ramla Ali (London Community Boxing) #3 beat Kim Shannon (Second City) #2 pts unan
57kg Raven Chapman (Arena) #1 beat Shelby Brazell (Hartlepool Elite) pts split
57kg Hatty Nylon (Hebden Bridge) #3 beat Kirsty Hill (Grimsby) #2 pts unan
60kg Sandy Ryan (One Nation) #1 beat Shanice James (Army) pts unan
60kg Louise Orton (St Mary’s) #3 beat Sarah Dunne (Bury) #2 pts split
64kg Cherelle Brown (Islington) #1 beat Nina Bradley (Boston) pts unan
64kg Paige Murney (Leicester Unity) #3 beat Alanna Murphy (Army) #2 pts split
69kg Stephanie Wroe (Army) #1 beat Hannah Shield (North Shields) pts unan
69kg Jem Campbell (Academy Luton) #3 lost to Laura Stevens (Far Cotton) #2 pts split
75kg Nikoletta Paksi (Repton) #3 beat Lauren Johnson (Wodensorough) #2 TKO
Finals – Sunday 1 May
48kg Tanya Dady (Earlsfield) vs Demi-Jade Resztan (New Astley)
51kg Jade Ashmore (Chesterfield) vs Lisa Whiteside (JR Gym)
54kg Rachael Mackenzie (H Hour) vs Ramla Ali (London Community Boxing)
57kg Raven Chapman (Arena) vs Hatty Nylon (Hebdon Bridge)
60kg Sandy Ryan (One Nation) vs Louise Orton (St Mary’s)
64kg Cherelle Brown (Islington) vs Paige Murney (Leicester Unity)
69kg Stephanie Wroe (Army) vs Laura Stevens (Far Cotton)
75kg Nikoletta Paksi (Repton) vs Natasha Gale (Jubilee)
Above photo Ramla Ali (London Community Boxing) celebrates her victory over Kim Shannon (Second City) in the bantamweight category. Photo courtesy of England Boxing
With thanks to Lucy O’Connor for the report.
