GREAT BRITAIN hand the next generation their chance when the World Championships come to Liverpool. The championships head to the M&S Bank Arena between September 4 and 14, and of the 16 boxers picked by Britain, five are aged 21 or younger, while another nine are no older than 22.
Charley Davison and Chantelle Reid are the veterans in the squad. Both went to the Paris Olympics last year and have returned to the English Institute of Sport looking to reach Los Angeles in 2028. Davison has her sights set on a third Olympics, having also boxed in Tokyo.
Reid boxes at 70kgs in Liverpool after reaching the last eight at middleweight in Paris. Of the others who boxed in Paris, Lewis Richardson, bronze medallist at 71kgs, and heavyweight Pat Brown have turned pro, Delicious Orie has retired and Rosie Eccles has stayed with the Welsh programme.
Robert McCracken, Head Performance Coach at Great Britain Boxing, took the pressure off his squad when he spoke to Boxing News in Sheffield.
He said: “It’s a young squad and there’s work to do.
“They will be up against the best, facing different styles and that will help them develop if they have the talent and drive.
“We are still three years away from the Olympics.
“Galal Yafai went to two World Championships, didn’t medal and then won gold at the Olympics [in Tokyo].
“The World Championships is great experience.”
The youngest in the squad in the Great Britain squad is Alice Pumphrey. Her selection at 48kgs gives the 19-year-old from Batley the chance to win a second world title inside 12 months. She was crowned World Under-19 Champion at 51 kgs in Colorado last November.
Pumphrey only had her first senior contest in February and has won Boxam gold and the National Amateur Championships, having completed a clean sweep of European Championships at Schools, Junior and Youth level.
“I have proved I belong here,” said Pumphrey, who boxes for Purge ABC and lives in Batley having grown up in Blackpool.
“I was breezing through opponents at my age group, and they are tougher now. They don’t wince when they get hit. They eat your shots and come back with shots and know how to make the referees think they aren’t doing anything wrong!
“I know I have to step up my game, but I believe if I do what I can do, I will come out on top.
“I have the skills and determination to end up on top of the podium.”
There will be a lot of attention on Damar Thomas, the 20-year-old pick at super-heavyweight who has coaching sessions with 2008 Olympic champion James DeGale at Powerday Hooks ABC.
Thomas, silver medallist at last year’s World Under-19 Championship, welcomes the spotlight, saying: “I know people are expecting big things from me – and they will happen.”
Odel Kamara (Salisbury) and Callum Makin (Rotunda) will have the support of their home crowd at the M&s Bank Arena.
Kamara boxes at 70kgs and Makin moves up to 75kgs for the World Championship.
Makin has been competing at 70kgs, but the 6ft 2ins left-hander said: “I would make any weight to box in the World Championships in Liverpool!
“I was never going to turn this opportunity down.”
McCracken said: “Callum has boxed at 75kgs for his club. He will get the chance to show his people how good he is. He will be ready.”
Makin says the venue is a 10-minute drive from his home in Bottle and added: “This is the pinnacle of amateur boxing and medaling in my home city is a dream.
“There’s a great boxing history in Liverpool, in the amateurs as well as the pros.
“Peter McGrail and Anthony Fowler went to the Olympics and I can put my name alongside them.
“I remember watching Anthony win the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 and thought: ‘He’s not far from me. If he can do it, why can’t I?’
“The next season, I won the Schools and that was the start.”
“Now, I want to help bring the next generation through.
“I want people to look at me and know me as a good boxer who can adapt.”
Makin describes himself as “a long, horrible southpaw” and believes he can be a surprise package at middleweight.
“It’s a tough division,” he said.
“There will be Uzbeks, Kazakhs and Americans there and I feel like I’m under the radar.
“I will take my speed up to 75kgs. That will be a big thing for me.”
The next generation includes a pair of fighters with boxing in their DNA. Ellis Trowbridge (55kgs) is the son of three-weight world pro champion Duke McKenzie, and heavyweight Isaac Okoh’s father Chris was Commonwealth cruiserweight champion in the paid ranks.
Jack Dryden, ruled out of the Olympic qualifiers with a hand injury, competes at 60kgs – the weight that has produced Britain’s only gold medallist at the World Championships. That was Frankie Gavin, who won lightweight gold in Chicago in 2007.
In addition to the 16 Great Britain boxers, England Boxing will be sending four representatives to Liverpool. Reece Readshaw (Phil Thomas School of Boxing) is the pick at 50kgs, and there are also chances for females Mary-Kate Smith (Hook and Jab) at 75kgs, Emily Asquith (Sheffield City, light-heavyweight) and Grace Buckle (Heart of Portsmouth, heavyweight).
GREAT BRITAIN SQUAD
Males – 55kgs: Ellis Trowbridge (Surbiton); 60kgs: Jack Dryden (Birtley Boys); 65kgs: Patris Mughalzai (Powerday Hooks); 70kgs: Odel Kamara (Salisbury); 75kgs: Callum Makin (Rotunda); 80kgs: Dimeji Shittu (Five Star); 85kgs: Teign Stott (Sheffield Boxing Centre); 90kgs: Isaac Okoh (Chadwell St Mary); 90kgs plus: Damar Thomas (Powerday Hooks)
Females – 48kgs: Alice Pumphrey (Purge); 51kgs: Kelsey Oakley (Priory Park); 57kgs: Elise Glyn (West Warwicks); 60kgs: Lucy Kings-Wheatley (Acocks Green); 65kgs: Sacha Hickey (Fisher); 70kgs: Chantelle Reid (Kode Red).
ENGLAND SQUAD
Males – 50kgs: Reece Readshaw (Phil Thomas School of Boxing)
Females – 75kgs: Mary-Kate Smith (Hook and Jab), 80kgs: Emily Asquith (Sheffield City), 90kgs: Grace Buckle (Heart of Portsmouth)
For the latest news and information about the World Boxing Championships 2025, including tickets, the draw and boxers taking part, sign-up now at www.worldboxingliverpool.com.
Tickets are on sale and prices start at £15 for Adults and £5 for Concessions (U16, OAPs, Students and those in receipt of benefits). A “buy 10, get one free” offer is available for group bookings.
