logo
Young boxers shine at event which has seen Anthony Joshua win at

Young boxers shine at event which has seen Anthony Joshua win at

Yahoo04-07-2025
FOUR rising stars showcased their skills on one of amateur boxing's biggest stages.
The fighters were battling at the Haringey Box Cup, one of Europe's largest amateur boxing tournaments, held at Alexandra Palace in London.
Former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua is a former winner at the prestigious event.
In the quarter-finals of the senior 75kg category, Blackbird Leys ABC's Jamal Franklin beat Tommy Naismith with a dominant display, winning by unanimous decision. Teammate Morris James (youth 75kg) received a bye into the semi-finals.
READ ALSO: Get unlimited U's coverage from Indonesia in biggest sale of year
Johnny Taylor of Banbury took on Scottish national champion Oliver Jackson in the youth 67kg category, but lost on points.
His twin, Chris Taylor, was in outstanding form, outworking Nadeem Harabia for a clean 5-0 victory in the youth 63.5kg group.
James got into the action against Alex Savga, and using sharp combinations and fast hands in the early rounds, he earned a deserved 4-1 split decision win.
Franklin then defeated Joash Oluwatoki, using crisp counters and smooth footwork to edge the bout with a split decision.
Chris Taylor faced Zac Kazimi in his semi-final, and despite boxing well, he came up short on the scorecards in a 4-1 split loss.
In the final, Franklin met Jenson Burrows. He started strong, landing clean shots and slick counters, while avoiding Burrows' aggressive attacks. Franklin sealed a clear win and a deserved gold medal.
James faced Oliver Male, the current Youth Open national champion from Bridlington. He boxed smartly and showed good movement, but the experience of Male showed as James walked away with a silver medal.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Salma Paralluelo interview: ‘I couldn't give my all because of the pain. I had to stop'
Salma Paralluelo interview: ‘I couldn't give my all because of the pain. I had to stop'

Yahoo

time28 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Salma Paralluelo interview: ‘I couldn't give my all because of the pain. I had to stop'

When Salma Paralluelo returned from the Olympics last summer, she knew something had to change. The winger had played football consistently ever since giving up a promising athletics career in 2022 to join Barcelona but the pain was becoming too much and her body was struggling to cope with adapting to the different requirements of the sport. 'It's hard to stop playing but I had reached a point where I just had to accept it,' Paralluelo tells The Athletic. 'I saw that (carrying on) wasn't going to do me any good. I wasn't going to be able to perform or enjoy myself on the pitch. 'It's upsetting to see your team-mates playing without you, to be away from the group, but I knew it was what I had to do at that moment.' The Barcelona forward, now 21, took four months out and is now back to full fitness, appearing in her second major tournament with Spain. This is the story of why she took the unconventional step to pre-emptively stop playing, and how she bounced back just in time to help Spain at Euro 2025. When Paralluelo was given the chance to join Barcelona in the summer of 2022, she was forced to choose between the two sports she had competed in throughout her youth: football and athletics. Until then, she had played for Villarreal, who allowed her to combine both passions. But when the Catalan club came calling, she chose football. Even before then, her ability had put her in the spotlight, despite not yet playing for a club of Barca's calibre. She was one of the first players in Spanish women's football to generate major hype long before turning 18. Her athletic physique, speed and dribbling ability made her an eye-catching prospect, and one who many teams wanted to sign. Although Paralluelo can play as a centre-forward or on the right, her natural habitat is on the left wing. At the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, she won the tournament's award for best young player. She was only 19 but was crucial for Spain. She scored a 111th-minute winner against the Netherlands in the quarter-final, then gave her side an 81st-minute lead against Sweden in the semi-final. She then started the final in Sydney, where Spain beat reigning European champions England to secure their first Women's World Cup. If that was a summer of joy, 2024 was one of disappointment. Spain's women went to their first Olympic football tournament with great expectations, but left empty-handed after losing to Brazil in the semi-final, then Germany in the bronze-medal match. On top of all that, Paralluelo's body was telling her enough was enough. To understand her pain, we have to go back to the days when she was still playing for Villarreal and training and competing in athletics. Then she suffered one of the worst injuries a footballer can experience. 'In 2021, I injured my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament),' she says during an interview in Lausanne, where Spain have set up camp for Euro 2025. 'After I eventually returned to playing, I could feel slight discomfort in my patella, but I didn't pay much attention at the time. By the time I arrived at Barca (in 2022), the discomfort was quite noticeable. I was training in pain, working out in the gym in pain and it was becoming more and more limiting. By the Olympics, I reached a critical point. 'Playing through the pain only made it worse, and I was at high risk of injury. I couldn't give my all because of the pain. 'That's when I decided to stop. Other players had told me how serious it was, that I should have stopped earlier. But because of my youth, because I didn't want to miss out on cool things like the Champions League and the World Cup, I decided just to keep playing.' When she made the decision, she found support from her club. Barca gave her everything she needed to recover without rushing. 'They didn't put any pressure on me and helped me realise that I was doing the right thing, that I would recover and have a better future,' she adds. 'I've learned that sometimes you have to put yourself first, approach things sensibly and think about the future, not just what you have in the present. The important thing is to feel comfortable on the pitch and be in good long-term health, rather than doing everything you can to be on the pitch.' By the time she returned to Barca in mid-December, the pain she had been feeling for so long had completely disappeared. 'Before, I had been training in so much pain that I was avoiding making certain movements. I was thinking about what to avoid doing so it wouldn't hurt, instead of just thinking about playing football. Now I'm in much less pain.' One of Paralluelo's strengths is her speed and explosive play, something that the injury prevented her from exploiting. 'It was frustrating to go out on the pitch and not perform as well as I wanted. You can have good games and good spells but it was something I didn't really enjoy. I was limited.' Paralluelo has spent her whole life preparing for a sport that is played for 90 minutes, football, and another to compete at her best for 40 seconds, athletics. She competed in athletics at a high level. Her coach Felix Lagunas told The Athletic in 2023 that 'if she had chosen athletics and injuries had respected her, she would have ended up in an athletics final at the Olympic Games for sure'. 'You will have heard of Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who broke the world record in the 400-metre hurdles. Or Allyson Felix, who dominated the 200m and 400m during her time. Well, Salma — at her age, without training — was achieving better times than both of them,' he said. When she stopped training in athletics, she realised she had to readjust the daily routine she had followed for years. She also had to get used to life away from a sport that had played such an important role for so long. 'At first, I really missed the athlete part of me,' she says. 'It's a matter of adapting to football, changing your mindset. In the end, I had to give 100 per cent to one sport. I had to forget about athletics.' Adjusting her training was a gradual process. 'In the end, competition demands a lot from you, but together with the staff, myself and the physical trainers, we made that adjustment,' she says. 'I was coming from training (football) two days a week and the other days I was doing athletics, and then I went to training every day with a team as demanding as Barca, and I suffered from those changes.' Despite her young age, her record is enviable. With Spain, she has won every World Cup she has played in: under-17 (2018), under-20 (2022) and senior (2023), as well as the Nations League in 2024. With Barca, she already has two Champions League titles (2022-23 and 2023-24), three Liga F titles, two Copa de la Reina titles and two Supercopas de Espana. Now she has the chance to lift one of the few football trophies she has not yet won: the senior European Championship (she won the under-17 title in 2018). 'I've been experienced things from a very young age that you can't really imagine experiencing so early on,' she says. 'But you think about continuing, about the ambition and motivation to repeat something. That's also a stimulus for all of us as athletes, and even more so in this team, and you can tell that we still have the European Championship and the Olympic Games to look forward to as a group. But in the end, what counts each year is the competition you have. What you've already done is in the past.' In this tournament, she has only started against Italy, but her ability to break down the wings makes her an interesting player for head coach Montse Tome going into Wednesday's semi-final against Germany in Zurich. Tome only reveals her team to the players on the day of the game. 'The job of all the players is to be ready whenever it's time to go into battle,' Paralluelo says. Does she see herself in the final? 'Not yet,' she replies. 'First, Germany.' This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Barcelona, Spain, Women's Soccer, Women's Euros 2025 The Athletic Media Company

Mikel Arteta reveals what Arsenal need to achieve trophy dreams
Mikel Arteta reveals what Arsenal need to achieve trophy dreams

Yahoo

time28 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Mikel Arteta reveals what Arsenal need to achieve trophy dreams

Mikel Arteta knows the stakes have never been higher after another season without any silverware in north London. After transforming Arsenal from Europa League hopefuls into genuine Premier League and Champions League contenders, the Gunners boss is preparing for the defining season of his short managerial career. 'Yes, I do,' he says with certainty when asked if his team can win the title. 'But it's getting more and more competitive each year. The level is increasing, and so our demands have to increase too.' Arsenal again came heartbreakingly close last season, only to falter amid a lack of ability to win close games during a storm of injuries to key players like Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel, and top scorer Kai Havertz. Arteta's squad ran out of steam and, at times, out of players. 'Last year, the lineup was done for us,' he admits. 'We were asking, 'Give me five players who can finish 90 minutes.' That's how we played for seven months. We need to get away from that. 'These restrictions were limiting our capacity to perform and have the freshness that we need at the end of the season. 'Hopefully this season is going to be very different, and we can decide what is the best team with the best players to play against any opponent. 'Then, if we want to change the game, the team, whatever the context is, whether we are drawing or losing, we can change it immediately and have those players that can impact the game.' That's why Arsenal's board have thrown their weight and their wallet behind their manager's ambitious masterplan to emulate former club Manchester City by having players of like-for like quality in every position. Four new faces are already through the door, including Spanish midfield star Martin Zubimendi and Chelsea's Noni Madueke. Arteta now wants three more: Sporting striker Victor Gyokeres, Spanish wonderkid defender Cristhian Mosquera, and either Real Madrid's Rodrygo or Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze. 'They're tier one signings,' Arteta says. 'That means they can start. But we want a squad where you look at the team and you can't tell who'll play tomorrow. That's the level we're aiming for.' The Spaniard believes the squad is finally approaching the 'perfect mix' of maturity, youth, and hunger. 'We have the right balance,' he says. 'But there are 6, 7, 8 clubs that also have it and there's only one winner.' And he's not just building for now. Arteta is giving teenagers such as Max Dowman a glimpse of the first-team setup, even handing the 15-year-old a squad number. 'This generation goes faster,' he smiles. 'I couldn't do it at that age. But we have to manage expectations. We don't want to rush; we want to get it right.' Arteta will come under pressure if his side fails to impress, but this time, with depth, vision, and a point to prove, Arsenal believe their time is now.

Report – Barcelona Yet To Send Offer For Inter Milan Wingback Despite Agent Efforts To Arrange Transfer
Report – Barcelona Yet To Send Offer For Inter Milan Wingback Despite Agent Efforts To Arrange Transfer

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Report – Barcelona Yet To Send Offer For Inter Milan Wingback Despite Agent Efforts To Arrange Transfer

Barcelona will reportedly pass on the opportunity to sign Inter Milan wingback Denzel Dumfries despite Jorge Mendes' efforts. According to Fabrizio Romano via FCInter1908, the reigning La Liga champions have no interest in the Dutchman. Despite tearing them apart in the Champions League last season, Denzel Dumfries will not move to Camp Nou. Indeed, Hansi Flick holds Jules Kounde in high esteem and wants to tie him down to a new long-term deal. Barcelona Turn Down Chance to Sign Inter Milan Ace Denzel Dumfries Although Jorge Mendes hopes to take his client to Catalonia, his efforts will likely go in vain. Indeed, Flick views Kounde as his first-choice right-back and has no intention of replacing him. Furthermore, Barcelona will rely on Eric Garcia as the Frenchman's backup. Therefore, Inter can relax for now. However, Dumfries' €25 million release clause is valid until the end of June. It makes him an affordable target for many elite clubs in Europe.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store