A buzz at Bridlington ABC as Emily wins Euro crown

Coaches at Bridlington ABC have praised the confident and mature performance which saw Emily Asquith win the gold medal at the Junior European Boxing Championships in Russia.
Emily Asquith has won the European ChampionshipEmily Asquith has won the European Championship
Emily Asquith has won the European Championship

She outclassed her Polish opponent Martyna Jancelewicz in Tuesday afternoon’s final, claiming a clean sweep on the judge’s scorecards.

Already clearly ahead after the opening two rounds, she was even more ruthless and impressive in the final two minutes, forcing Jancelewicz to take an eight count as the fight neared the end.

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The club’s head coach Damien Grant was watching back at the gym in Bridlington.

The Bridlington ABC fighters line up at the showThe Bridlington ABC fighters line up at the show
The Bridlington ABC fighters line up at the show

He said: “Emily winning the European gold medal really has created a buzz about the club. Everyone has been following her progress and she is very highly thought of across the whole team.

“As a coach, there is nothing more pleasing than seeing one of your boxers represent their country and to do so and succeed at such a level, with the maturity and confidence Emily has shown really makes myself and the whole club proud.

“Headlands School have been a great support to Emily and that has been instrumental in the build-up to this competition.

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“Emily will now take some well earned time off and enjoy a half term holiday before regrouping and looking to the future with her due to move up to the youth category after Christmas.”

Headlands School pupil Emily was part of a 19-strong England team at the championships in Anapa in Russia, after becoming national champion in 2017.

Two powerful displays took her to the final of the 80kg weight category.

Last week she eased to an opening victory against Turkish southpaw Sena Kosaoglis, who managed to take the contest to the judges’ scorecards despite standing counts in rounds two and three.

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In Monday’s semi-final, she dominated from the first bell and forced her Romanian opponent Petronela Schinte to take two standing eight counts before the referee stopped the contest in the first round.

Meanwhile, another of Bridlington’s young female boxers has been making a big impression closer to home.

In the crowd at Saturday’s Bridlington ABC show was British boxing legend Johnny Nelson, who still holds the record for being the longest reigning cruiserweight champion of the world.

He was given the task of choosing the Home Boxer of the Night, and picked Aaron Boyes to receive the Blakeston Belt, which is awarded in memory of Phil Blakeston, a supporter of Bridlington Boxing Club who died last year.

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Boyes made a winning return to the ring after a five-year break, taking the verdict in a thrilling welterweight contest against Kai Green from Hyde.

But Nelson said he was especially impressed with one of the other Bridlington youngsters on the bill.

He told the Free Press that the contest between Violet Heseltine and Billie Baillie from Alloa had really caught his eye.

The classy Scottish boxer got the decision from the judges after an outstanding display but Nelson had words of praise for both girls.

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“They boxed really well technically. The boys have the brute force but the girls had finesse and focus.

“I’ve really enjoyed being here. It has been tremendous.

“Hopefully me being here can be an inspiration to the young boxers. I remember when I was an amateur, it was great to get someone down who had been there and done it.”

A memorable week for the Asquith family kicked off when Emily’s younger brother Harvey won a hard-fought contest against Scarborough ABC’s Murphey Jenkinson.

Coby Scotter also gave a confident performance on his debut to take an impressive victory over Adam Barnes from the Alliance BC in Leeds. But it was a tough night for the home team.

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Middleweight Roan Stanley was on the wrong end of a very debatable decision after his clash with Reneil Thompson from the Manor ABC in Sheffield, and a number of other Bridlington fighters could also count themselves unlucky to be beaten.

Lewis Shields, Bailey Jarvis, Otis Hirst, Frankie Thompson, Bryan Keown, Josh Jones and George Johnson were all defeated on Saturday night, with Makhaya Widnall, Alfie Ratcliffe and Oliver Male all in action in skills contests.