More European boxing glory for Alice Pumphrey of Blackpool

She won gold in the girls’ 50kg weight division at the European Junior Championships in Montesilvano, Italy.

The Blackpool fighter had represented England at the 2019 championships in Georgia, where she won her first European crown.

Team England had not competed for three years because of the pandemic but Alice helped her country mark its return by being named best team.

She defeated a string of national champions to complete a 2022 hat-trick, having lifted the England and GB Tri-Nations titles before her European conquest.

Having initially developed her skills at Blackpool’s celebrated Sharpstyle club, Alice now trains at Purge Boxing Academy in Batley, West Yorkshire.

Romania’s number one, Luciana Maria Petrache, was her preliminary round opponent in Italy.

The Romanian’s greater height proved no advantage as Alice’s punching power earned her the unanimous vote of the five judges.

In the quarter-final, Alice was drawn against Spanish number one and last year’s silver medallist, Salmeron Noelia Gutierrez.

Gutierrez tried to take the fight to Alice, who stepped up her relentless combinations for another unanimous verdict in a bout voted the best of the quarter-finals.

Her semi-final opponent was Azerbaijan’s top-rated fighter, Aynur Mikayilova.

Again, Alice stamped her authority on the contest to win a unanimous decision after the three rounds.

A strong rival in the opposite corner for the final was Grace Conway Dowling from Team Ireland, though Alice’s speed and marauding style soon had her opponent in all sorts of trouble.

Conway Dowling was forced to take a standing count of eight in the final round as Alice won another unanimous decision.

Proud dad John told The Gazette: “Alice never dropped a round the whole time she was there.

“As the first England boxer to win schools and junior gold at the Europeans, she has made history for Blackpool and the Purge gym.”

Alice looks forward to taking on Europe’s best again at the Women’s Winter Box Cup in Leigh in December.