The first bit of history was made as Raven Chapman and Nina Hughes became the first women to contest the English title series belt in January of this year.

Now they have made history for the first Dorset boxer, of either gender, to win the National Championship.

Raven in action (Photo Arena Boxing Club)

Raven Chapman did what would have been thought impossible just a couple of years ago, when she won the 2016 National England Boxing Elite Championships on Sunday, against the very game, number 3 seed, Hatty Nylon by a very hard-fought split-decision (57kg Raven Chapman (Arena) #1 beat Hatty Nylon (Hebden Bridge) #3 pts split ).

The tournament was held at the Echo Arena in Liverpool and was the toughest tournament to date with record numbers in attendance and in competition.

There has never been an Elite Champion in Dorset (male or female) so this is an outstanding achievement for a small community club such as the Arena Boxing Club and of course for Raven.

Raven gets the decision! (Photo: Arena Boxing Club)

We are told that Raven has been the guiding light at the club.  This year she beat the Welsh champion at their Open Show at the Sir David English Centre in Bournemouth in April. She went on to win the England Boxing (Amateur Boxing Association of England) Novice Championships, London’s Haringay Box Cup (the largest International tournament in Europe) and now she has won the National Elite Championships.

[The National Elite is recognised as the toughest tournament in the England Boxing (ABA) calendar.]

To say the club are proud of Raven would be an understatement but Arena Boxing have told 4TLOS that Raven is a credit to the club; she is always encouraging and helping other female boxers reach their full potential alongside their terrific team of award winning coaches: Steve Clark, Les Simmons, Dwayne Clark & Hughie Dellany.

Arena Boxing are inviting people to come along to Bournemouth’s Highcliff Marriott Hotel THIS weekend (Saturday the 7th), when they will be able to see the club in action against some of the finest boxers in the country.  They will also they will be able to meet Raven and see her latest belt. The cost is £10 on the door, doors open at 7.30pm with the boxing commencing at 8pm.

Report with thanks to Arena Boxing Club

Among the finalists were a number of GB and England International’s who secured multiple national titles. Preston’s Lisa Whiteside (JR Gym) secured her second flyweight title with a unanimous victory over Jade Ashmore (Chesterfield) to add to the three she has won at bantamweight and featherweight.  Remarkably this makes her a five-time national champion.

Light welterweight Cherrelle Brown (Islington ABC) showed composure and class throughout her bout against a tough fellow England International Page Murney (Leicester Unity). She made good use of her straight shots to keep Murney at range to clinch the win and second national title on a split decision.  Finally Natasha Gale (Jubilee ABC) convincingly defeated Nikoletta Paksi (Repton) to secure her second national title at middleweight.

First time recipient Stephanie Wroe (Army) at welterweight utilised her height and range to out point Laura Stevens (Far Cotton). Number 2 seed Demi-Jade Retzen (New Astley) won unanimously against number 1 seed Tanya Dady (Earlsfield), whilst GB’s Sandy Ryan (One Nation) beat St Mary’s Louise Orton to secure her first senior national title.

Meanwhile, the next generation of women boxers were representing their country at the Youth and Junior GB Three Nations Championships in Cardiff this weekend.

Boxers from England, Scotland and Wales battled it out to claim the best of Britain spot.  The England team, however, were unstoppable and they secured six out of six wins in the final to sweep the floor with the competition.

The six Junior and Youth England boxers pose with their gold medals alongside England Coach Amanda Coulson (Photo: Amanda Coulson)

England Boxing Elite Women’s National Championship Final Results

GB Three Nations Junior Women’s GB Final Results

46kg Savannah Stubley (England/Empire) beat Caitlin Cromie (Wales) pts unan

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.

Almost four years since Nicola Adams put women’s boxing well and truly on the sporting radar with her emphatic victory in the London Olympics, we are finally seeing the true impact her achievements have had on female participation in the sport.

This weekend Liverpool’s iconic Echo Arena is the venue for the England Boxing Elite Finals and for the second year running both men’s and women’s bouts are being contested.  Every year since London 2012 women’s boxing participation has increased and boxing clubs, who may once have been reluctant, are opening their doors to women participants.  This year sees the highest number of elite entries to date and ensures an exciting weekend of competitive boxing at the highest level.

So healthy were the numbers of entries for this year’s women’s competition that we saw an almost full bill of quarter finals on day one.

Clashes were seen at all weights from light flyweight to light welterweight and the organisers have for the first time felt the need to seed certain boxers – indicative of the talent on display this weekend.

Three of the seeded boxers took to the ring in the quarter finals including London Community Boxing Clubs Ramla Ali seeded number 3 at bantamweight.  She won on a unanimous points decision against Wellington Boxing Club’s Jade Pearce.

Kim Shannon (Second City) seeded number 2 in the bantamweight category also won on a unanimous points decision against Lauren Parker (Stevenage).

Hatty Nylon (Hebden Bridge) #3 made it three out of three for the seeds with a unanimous points decision against Paddy John’s Kim Rowe at featherweight.

Today’s semi finals promise some exciting clashes with 14 bouts on the bill.  We look forward to the appearance of a few number 1 seeds including Light Flyweight Tanya Dady (Earlsfield), Bantamweight Ellis Booth (St Gerrards), light welterweight Cherelle Brown (Islington) and GB Boxer Sandy Ryan (One Nation) at lightweight.

With less than 100 days to go to Rio, Nicola Adams has already secured her ticket whilst the lightweight and middleweight Olympic spots are yet to be obtained by GB women.  These National Championships see the birth of our future Olympic champions and with such exciting talent on display we have such potential for success in Tokyo 2020.

Women’s quarter final results – Friday 29th April

48kg Adrianna Finch (Boston) beat Molly Perkins (Eastside) pts split

54kg Chloe-Jane Stansfield (Army) lost to Rachael Mackenzie (H Hour) pts unan

54kg Ramla Ali (London Community Boxing) #3 beat Jade Pearce (Wellington) pts unan

54kg Lauren Parker (Stevenage) lost to Kim Shannon (Second City) #2 pts unan

57kg Tori Willets (Eastside) lost to Shelby Brazell (Hartlepool Elite) pts split

57kg Hatty Nylon (Hebden Bridge) #3 beat Kim Rowe (Paddy John’s) pts unan

60kg Chelsey Arnell (St Paul’s) lost to Shanice James (Army) pts unan

64kg Kate Flynn (No Limits) lost to Nina Bradley (Boston) pts unan

Women’s semi final programme – Saturday 30th April

48kg Tanya Dady (Earlsfield) #1 v Adrianna Finch (Boston)

48kg Kerry-Anne Aaron (Army) #3 v Demi-Jade Resztan (New Astley) #2

51kg Beccy McMullin (Intense) #3 v Jade Ashmore (Chesterfield) #2

54kg Ellis Booth (St Gerrard’s) #1 v Rachael Mackenzie (H Hour)

54kg Ramla Ali (London Community Boxing) #3 v Kim Shannon (Second City) #2

64kg Cherelle Brown (Islington) #1 v Nina Bradley (Boston)

64kg Paige Murney (Leicester Unity) #3 v Alanna Murphy (Army) #2

57kg Raven Chapman (Arena) #1 v Shelby Brazell (Hartlepool Elite)

57kg Hatty Nylon (Hebden Bridge) #3 v Kirsty Hill (Grimsby) #2

60kg Sandy Ryan (One Nation) #1 v Shanice James (Army)

60kg Louise Orton (St Mary’s) #3 v Sarah Dunne (Bury) #2

69kg Stephanie Wroe (Army) #1 v Hannah Shield (North Shields)

69kg Jem Campbell (Academy Luton) #3 v Laura Stevens (Far Cotton) #2

75kg Nikoletta Paksi (Repton) #3 v Lauren Johnson (Wodensorough) #2

With thanks to Lucy O’Connor for the report.

Above photo (courtesy of England Boxing) Shanice James (Army) unanimously out points Chelsey Arnell (St Pauls) in the quarter finals.

48kg Demi Jade Retzen (New Astley) vs Tanya Dady (Earlsfield)

Dady started the bout with the intent to impose her strength – very much the taller boxer and physically more developed she spent most of the first round in clinches and leaning on not allowing Retzen to box.

Dady continued to spoil effectively in the second round making the bout a scrappy affair but neutralising the threat from the shorter boxer.  After a talking to from the corner Dady chose to keep it at range, giving Retsen the opportunity to demonstrate her boxing ability and land the cleaner shots.

The final round once again returned to ‘exchange and hold’ style but the overall tactics edged the split decision for Dady.

51kg Kim Shannon (Second City) vs Lisa Whiteside (Larches & Savick)

Despite the Championship bout at 51kg not being the eagerly anticipated contest between Olympic and Commonwealth gold medallist Nicola Adams and World Silver medallist Lisa Whiteside – it was still an exciting match up.  Shannon impressed on her way to the finals with an aggressive style and strong shots.  Whiteside, still with a point to prove, was equally up for the challenge.

The bout had an explosive start with both boxers throwing a multitude of shots but from the outset Whiteside got out of range more proficiently and ended the exchange.  Throughout the bout Whiteside made the most of Shannon’s linear approach, slipping and rolling her shots and coming off at angles more effectively.  Shannon was facing a vastly more experienced boxer and produced an impressive performance, with plenty of potential but Whiteside won by unanimous decision.

54kg Jenna O’Reilly (Lynn) vs Rachel Bowers (Fitzroy Lodge)

Bowers, the taller boxer faced O’Reilly, the victor of the semi-finals.  Bowers having received the bye benefited from being fresh to the competition.  Bowers’ high guard and straight shots combined with her greater reach found the target almost at will againt O’Reilly who held a low guard to her peril.  O’Reilly received a count towards the end of the third round.  Bowers started the fourth apace, forcing two further counts; the referee took the decision to stop the contest after the last count.  Bowers took the championship belt by TKO.

60kg Chantelle Cameron (Far Cotton) vs Sophie Coleburn (North Mersey)

A fast start from the GB boxer meant Coleburn struggled to find the target in the first round.  Coleburn tried to slip and roll but Cameron was too proficient at getting in and out of range, with snappier shots which left Coleburn flailing at times.  The Liverpool boxer started the third round positively, pushing Cameron back, spoiling and working inside but Cameron, switched on to the tactic, and kept herself behind her snappy jab and prevented Coleburn getting into range once more.  Experience won through today with a  unanimous points decision awarded to the GB boxer.

64kg Cherrelle Brown (Islington) vs Oriance Lungu (Haringey)

Source: England Boxing

Brown (right) lands her classic spearing jab against Lungu (left)

Despite both boxers hailing from London, Brown was awarded automatic entrance into the quarter finals by
virtue of her number one seeding.  Brown used the jab to good effect in the first round to keep Lungu at bay.

Brown’s tempo dropped in the second round; by waiting too long she allowed the Haringay boxer back in the fight.  Lungu gave Brown too much space in the penultimate round however, enabling her to take her time and wait for the attack.  Getting a little desperate in the final round Lungu lunged in from too far out of range playing into Brown’s hands.  The number one seed was awarded a unanimous decision.

69kg Stacey Copeland (Bradbury & Stockport) vs Stephanie Rowe (Army)

Rowe, a relative novice to the sport with only 4 bouts faced an incredible challenge as she stood against European silver medallist Stacey Copeland.  However, for the first two rounds she made it very difficult for the international boxer, performing the basics very well and Copeland struggled to get inside the range of the taller boxer.  In the third round, however, Copeland landed a few eye catching shots which edged her the round.

Copeland continued in this vein throughout the final round piling the pressure onto the army boxer securing the last in her favour.  A close bout, with the potential for an upset but the judges saw it in Copeland’s favour by split decision.

75kg Natasha Gale (Jubilee) vs Alex Turbitt (Army)

Gale entered the ring as a recently selected GB boxer versus a relative newcomer Turbitt.  Towering over her opponent Gale was an onimous figure against the much shorter and stockier army boxer.  Gale speared in straight shots from the outset forcing Turbitt to swing shots in from out of range.  Whilst a few of Turbitts shots landed, they were no match for Gale’s power, rocking the head of the army boxer whenever she landed.  Gale got involved too much in the middle rounds allowing Turbitt to make a statement to the judges but some solid straight shots in the last round secured the inevitable unanimous victory for Gale.

Report Courtesy of Lucy O’Connor

Photo above shows European silver medallist Copeland (right) lands a convincing rear hand against army boxer Rowe (left)