British trio claim silver medals after European boxing finals defeat

Great Britain sent three boxers into the finals of the European Boxing Championships on Friday, but all three fell short of gold, adding three silver medals to their collection.

Chantelle Reid and Abdul Burton were both edged out by a unanimous 5-0 verdict from the judges. Reid, a Commonwealth Games silver medallist, faced Turkey’s Busenaz Surmeneli in the light-middleweight final.

Despite the loss, Reid expressed satisfaction with her performance and the opportunity to compete at a high level. “I’m happy to come away with a silver, obviously would’ve preferred a gold but I shared the ring with a really good opponent,” she said. “I feel like I performed the best I could but I’m looking forward to fighting her again. It’s been an amazing tournament, four really good fights and getting these medals at major competitions, I’m really grateful.”

In the men’s super-bantamweight division, 20-year-old Burton succumbed to Russia’s Viacheslav Rogozin. He appeared emotional following the bout but remained positive about his progression from the under-23 category to senior competition. “It’s not the gold I aimed for, but silver in my first major, I’m still happy,” Burton stated. “I’ll learn from it and come back. Five fights out here against top kids, it’s been a great experience.”

The day’s competition concluded with Damar Thomas, the 21-year-old Commonwealth gold medallist, in the men’s super-heavyweight final. Thomas lost a tight decision 3-2 to Russia’s David Surov.

Great Britain arrived at the championships with a squad of 15 boxers. As of Friday evening, the team had won five medals—three silvers and two bronzes—but no golds. Callum Makin and Dimeji Shittu claimed bronze on Thursday, while Ireland’s Lisa O’Rourke secured the women’s 80kg gold earlier in the tournament.