The Boxam Elite Tournament continued with further 45 contests in La Nucia, Alicante region in the second day of boxing. Wales’ Rosie Eccles did not box since the Paris Olympics but she made a wonderful and successful comeback in the Boxam today. 

Altogether 90 women and 124 men boxers from 21 nations and four continents are participating for the 20 available titles in Spain’s boxing city.

 The bout of the day

England’s Ellis Trowbridge and Ukraine’s Maksym Zymenko both won international events in 2025 and they started their annual pathways at the Boxam Tournament. The English tried to keep the distance against the attacking Ukrainian and her strategy paid off in the first round of their 55kg bout. Zymenko moved forward in all of the three rounds during their 55kg preliminary but Trowbridge had the routine to handle the fight.

The surprise of the day

Canada’s Maximus Tomines is not an experienced boxer in the national team yet but he shocked Spain’s European Champion Martin Molina with his strategy. 

The Canadian had only 69 bouts during his career and this event is his first event in Europe but Molina did not find the best weapon against him. The Hamilton-based Canadian was able to keep the same rhythm until the very end of this 55kg bout and he caused the surprise of the day.

The Round-up

Spain’s Noelia Gutierrez is only 19 but she has plenty of international experience from the recent five years. The Spaniard reduced the fighting distance successfully in the first round against Kazakhstan’s Rakhmina Abdumezhitova and she dominated the second with heavy punches. Gutierrez is in strong promising stage and she performed well enough to win her preliminary bout unanimously.

France’s Mayssoun Bourega was a surprise in the national team in 2025 and she proved her further progress in preliminary of the women’s 51kg today. The young French found the best fighting range against Ukraine’s Tetiana Ostrovska in the first round and she kept her opponent on long to win this contest today.

Ukraine’s Anastasia Taran is a youngster in the elite national team, she has just moved up from the U19 squad but she was energetic today. The Ukrainian dominated the first round against Spain’s Lorena Lopez and she finished the job in the second with a stoppage at the women’s 70kg weight class.

Wales’ No.1, the Commonwealth Games winner Rosie Eccles returned to the national squad and she put two top events to the focus this year. The Boxam Tournament is part of her preparation and she landed the jabs with perfect timing in all of the three rounds to beat Spain’s Anastasiya Sokolovska.  

England’s Mary-Kate Smith began boxing only four years ago but she reached the level of the national team so quickly and she received the right to compete at the Boxam. She was in shape in her opener against Spain’s Adame Garcia and her tough combinations were decisive today in this 75kg contest.

Kazakhstan sent its best male team to the Boxam Tournament with several World Champions on the board. Their Torekhan Sabyrkhan won his opener on Day1 and another World Champion in the team, Sanzhar Tashkenbay made a strong debut on Day2. The 22-year-old Kazakh landed punches whenever he wanted and he eliminated a younger Indian opponent, Rishi Singh today.

Ukraine’s Pavlo Illiusha moved up to the 80kg weight class in the recent one year and he tried to find the best counter-attacking angles in his bout against Thailand’s Olympian Weerapon Jongjoho. The Ukrainian had excellent defensive skills in their meeting and he eliminated a top Asian opponent in the second day of boxing.

Spain’s Pablo Coy has fully recovered from his hand injury and had a quick success in the first competition day in La Nucia. The local boy did not underestimate Belgium’s Rayen Ben Othmen and he used a patient style of boxing in the first round. The Belgian landed tough punches in the second round but Coy used better defence in the third to win this quarter-final bout on home soil.

The quote of the day

“The Paris Olympics did not go well for me and I had also a serious injury after that so the last 18 months were very difficult in my life. After all these problems, I am so happy to return to the competitions and I enjoyed my first contest here in Spain. I have two big targets this year and I have just started my road on it,” said Wales’ Rosie Eccles about her successful return.