Several boxers amazed and won their contests by referee stoppage in the evening session of the third competition day, but among them Mauritius’ Richarno Colin and England’s Joseph Tyers were the most exciting in Birmingham.

There are 231 boxers representing 55 nations from five Confederations at the Commonwealth games, including 59 women. Sixteen champions will be crowned on the last competition day on August 7.

Mauritius’ Richarno Colin put on a fantastic show in the opening bout of the evening

Mauritius sent six boxers to the Commonwealth Games, with Louis Richarno Colin the most experienced. The Mauritian wearing blue was dominant of the first round against Guyana’s Colin Lewis. The All Africa Games winner Richardno Colin was a hard target for the opponent from Guyana and he had strong straight punches in the first round. The referee counted Colin Lewis in the second round three-times and after that stopped the unequal light welterweight (63.5kg). contest. Colin is already 35 but has fantastic speed, his accuracy decided the contest in the second round.

“I have used this bout as a test prior to the quarter-finals against my English opponent. The tactics were simple, to move around and to attack or counter-attack my opponent whenever required with a series of three-four blows. I liked the second round when the referee stopped the bout after the third count,” said Mauritius’ Richarno Colin after his impressive performance.

Tyers stopped his second opponent

England’s Joseph Tyers was not in good enough shape in the EUBC European Men’s Elite Boxing Championships in Yerevan but he had a fantastic opening bout at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. He is one of the tallest boxers at light welterweight (63.5kg) and he had a massive height advantage against Papua New Guinea’s small John Ume. His Oceanian opponent had experiences from the recent Commonwealth Games and tried to put huge pressure on the English boxer. Tyers made beautiful counter-attacks and injured Ume after landing multiple shots, therefore the ringside doctor stopped the contest.

“I followed the game plan which was built by my coaches. I kept him at a distance and made good use of uppercuts when he was close. I applied good head movement rolling under the bent arm punches. It was an unfortunate end when my opponent was injured and suffered two cuts,” said England’s Joseph Tyers after his contest.

Omar Abdul Wahib won his contest within two minutes

Ghana’s Omar Abdul Wahib has already achieved a bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and since then has moved up four weight classes. He faced Fiji’s Elia Rokobuli who had a bye to the last 16 following his first opponent was unable to fight against him. Ghana’s boxers are in top shape in this Commonwealth Games and Omar Abdul Wahib delivered a strong performance. The German referee counted his opponent three-times within two minutes, leading to an early stoppage triumph for Omar Abdul Wahib, who now needs only one further step to win a medal in the Games.

Antigua’s lone boxer advanced to the quarter-finals

Antigua & Barbuda’s Alston Ryan won a bronze medal at the 2019 Panamerican Games and the UK-based boxer had a nice debut in the Commonwealth Games on Day1. He advanced to the last 16 and faced Sierra Leone’s John Browne in the next stage of boxing at light welterweight (63.5kg). Ryan’s left hand was dangerous for the Sierra Leonean boxer in the first round and he had the clear 10:9 advantage in all of the scorecards. The Antiguan boxer was quicker in the ring than the African and he looked almost untouchable for Browne. Ryan played it safe in the first round to avoid any injuries and unnecessary risks. He is now one win away from getting a medal in this exciting Commonwealth Games.

“As in the previous contest, I tried to be smarter than my opponent and just win the bout by points, not to do any dangerous things,” said Antigua & Barbuda’s technician boxer, Alston Ryan.

Desmond Amsterdam delivered a small surprise

New Zealand’s top boxer, the two-time Commonwealth Games winner David Nyika, was injured before the start of the Birmingham edition and is not able to get his third title. The New Zealanders had losses in the previous two competition days but they had hopes with Emile Richardson at middleweight (75kg). The Kiwi boxer was active in the first round against Guyana’s Desmond Amsterdam but he received shots from his Caribbean opponent too. Richardson had a small disadvantage after two rounds of the fight and so made more risks in the last period to regain momentum. Amsterdam moved a lot on feet in the final round and his efforts secured his place in the last eight.

Callum Peters caused the main surprise of the evening session

India’s Sumit Kundu lost to Ukraine’s superstar Oleksandr Khyzhniak in the Strandja Memorial Tournament this February, but he defeated Russia’s No.1 Dzhambulat Bizhamov in that event. He won the Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament with a superb performance and was named as a gold medal contender in Birmingham. Callum Peters is the youngest Australian competitor in the boxing event and he has the talent, but received many clean punches in the first round from the Indian. Both boxers were born in 2002 but they had amazing rhythm in the whole contest, showing experience beyond their years, landing dozens of clear punches. Peters changed his distance in the beginning of the second round and his tough shots turned back their incredible contests. The referee counted the Indian a few times and the 19-year-old Aussie boxer was able to eliminate the gold medal contender.

Simnikiwe Bongco is South Africa’s first winner in the boxing hall

The South Africans sent three boxers to the Commonwealth Games and they tried to prepare in their homeland before the start of the event. South Africa’s Simnikiwe Bongco competed at the African Zone 4 Boxing Championships in Maputo this April and he won his first international competition. The 21-year-old South African was slightly better in the exchanges than Gambia’s Foday Badjie and four judges favored him in the first round. Bongco landed several body shots and single jabs in the second round and worked mostly from a longer distance. Badjie moved down to middleweight (75kg) before this event and was not able to use his longer reach in their meeting, therefore Bongco secured South Africa’s first win in the boxing hall.

Sagar and Paul are the first winners at the super heavyweight

Following India’s Sagar Ahlawat’s success, the second super heavyweight (+92kg) contest closed the evening session of the third competition day. Nigel Paul achieved a historic bronze medal for Trinidad & Tobago at the 2021 AIBA World Boxing Championships and he is among the favourites in the heaviest weight class in Birmingham. Nigel Paul had the weight and height advantages against Mauritius’ Jean Christophe Otendy who moved up to this division only this year. Trinidad & Tobago’s No.1 landed a clear left-handed jab in the first minute and the Bulgarian referee counted Otendy out after that punch. Paul was larger in size and his strong shots decided the bout in the first round.

“My fight today was a good warm-up match. I got a feel of the ring, the crowd and the whole atmosphere. As you know these things can get to an athlete in bigger fights. The tactics given to me by the coaches was to put my foot on the gas from round one, so I did just that. The first was the only round of the fight. All in all, it is a wonderful experience being at the Commonwealth Games,” said Trinidad & Tobago’s Nigel Paul after his quick bout.

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