Great Britain Boxers Secure European Medals in Sofia
On a cold night in Sofia, Great Britain’s boxers brought the heat.
By the time the action wrapped at the Asics Arena Sports Hall, three GB fighters – Chantelle Reid, Damar Thomas and Abdul Burton – had punched their way into the semi‑finals of the European Boxing Championships and secured at least bronze.
For a squad that has already seen more than half its 15-strong team exit, this was a statement of resilience.
Reid in cruise control
Chantelle Reid never allowed doubt to creep in.
The 28-year-old, a Commonwealth Games silver medallist, controlled every round of her women’s light-middleweight bout against Ireland’s Evelyn Igharo, easing to a dominant 5-0 decision. Clean, composed, ruthless when she needed to be – Reid boxed like a woman who knows she belongs on a major podium.
Her reward is a last-four showdown on Wednesday with Serbia’s Milena Matovic, and the sense is clear: Reid hasn’t travelled to Bulgaria for third place.
Thomas lays down a marker
In the men’s super-heavyweight division, Damar Thomas matched that authority.
Up against Georgia’s Nikoloz Begadze, the 21-year-old GB giant imposed himself early and never let the contest drift. He walked Begadze down, dictated the tempo and walked away with his own 5-0 verdict.
Thomas now faces Mahammad Abdullayev of Azerbaijan in the semi-finals – a serious test, and exactly the kind of stage on which a young super-heavyweight can announce himself to the rest of Europe.
Burton silences the home crowd
If Reid and Thomas won with control, Abdul Burton advanced with grit.
The 20-year-old faced the most hostile setting of the night, going in against home favourite and Olympic bronze medallist Javier Ibanez. The Bulgarian crowd roared for their man, but Burton refused to fold, edging a tight, bruising contest 3-2.
“Sometimes you have got to dig in and when things went against me I had to get stuck in and show who I was,” he said afterwards. “I am young, hungry and here to take over.”
It was the kind of performance that turns a promising prospect into a genuine contender. Burton now meets Turkey’s Semih Gumus in the semi-finals, carrying momentum and no shortage of belief.
Mixed fortunes for the rest of the squad
While those three march on, the wider British picture is more complicated.
Lauren Mackie, Amy Broadhurst, Callum Makin and Oladimeji Shittu all step into quarter-final action on Wednesday, knowing medals are now within reach and the bar has been set high by their team-mates.
But the attrition of tournament boxing has already bitten. More than half of Britain’s 15-strong squad have been eliminated.
On Tuesday, flyweight Ruby White pushed Olympic silver medallist Hatice Akbas hard but slipped to a narrow 3-2 defeat against the Turkish star. Emily Asquith endured a tougher night, losing 5-0 in her light-heavyweight clash with Ireland’s Lisa O’Rourke.
In the men’s heavyweight division, Commonwealth Games champion Isaac Okoh also bowed out, beaten 3-0 by Germany’s Kevin Lebowski.
Three medals are already in the bag. The real question now is how many of Reid, Thomas and Burton can turn bronze into something brighter – and who else in this GB squad is ready to fight their way onto that podium beside them.
