Teagn Stott has been one of the outstanding performers for GB Boxing this year.
The amateur from Sheffield reached the final of the World Boxing Championships at 85kg and is aiming for a run which he hopes will take him to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The WC silver medal will keep Stott company in August. Some of the very best fighters to come out of Britain in the last 20 years – future Olympic medalists and professional champions – have won world silver medals first.
“You have David Haye in 2001, Luke Campbell in 2011, Anthony Joshua in 2011 and Pat McCormack in 2019,” Stott said. Sky Sports.
“I thought even before Worlds that I was going to continue doing those things anyway. It just cements it a little more in my head that I was right. My ambitions are that I want to do the same things as all the other people.
“I want to go to the Commonwealths, I want to go to the Olympics. I don’t just want to go, I want to win gold at every tournament I go to.
“Looking even further down the line, I absolutely want to take over the entire boxing scene. I want to be the new face of boxing.”
The World Cup in Liverpool proved to be a fine showcase for Stott. He celebrated his 22nd birthday by winning his first competition at Worlds.
He went on to dominate Bulgaria’s Semion Boldirev in the quarter-finals, forcing a stoppage in just the second round of their match. Stott commanded his semi-final, beating Ukraine’s Danylo Zhasan.
“In the quarters I stopped the kid, in the semis I cut him with a punch that the referee called a head, but if you look back, there was no head clash,” Stott reflected. “Release the hands with good timing, good precision and natural strength behind them.
“All these games you’re just constantly learning,” he added. “The main things I would say about my style are casual, powerful, capable and just plain fun.”
Stott hammers his opponent to secure a stoppage victory
He lost in the world final to the ferocious Uzbek Akmaljon Isroilov. “I never turn down a fight with anybody! It might have hindered me a bit in the final. Maybe I should have boxed a bit smarter. But I wouldn’t turn down a fight with the kid,” reflected Stott.
“I would do things differently next time, but in a world final I was ready for a fight.”
His goal now is the Olympic Games, and he will move up from 85 to 90 kg to pursue that goal.
“It’s focus,” he said. “The plan is to take the natural progression of moving up. As you will have seen at the world championships, I’m big at 85kg. Even though they were taller, I still looked like the bigger man and I carry the power, so I can definitely hold my own when the time comes to move up.
“The GB team across all weights is packed with talent. So you just have to believe in yourself, believe in your own ability that you’ll get the spot, it’s not going to be easy.
“There’s an old saying, iron sharpens iron. So when you train with other good fighters, it’s only going to push you further.”
GB take three European golds
The GB boxing team finished their year with a successful campaign at the European Under-23 Championships in Budapest this month.
Super heavyweight Damar Thomas, light heavyweight Bobby Wallace and welterweight Kayla Allen all won gold medals. They were part of a cohort of six GB medalists which included silver for flyweight Kelsey Oakley and bantamweight Isaac Burton, along with a middleweight bronze for Mary-Kate Smith.
Damar Thomas is another future GB star
GB Boxing’s Director of Performance, Rob McCracken, said: “The team boxed well and it was a very positive end to a good year for GB Boxing. The boxers got a really good experience competing a number of times and to come away with so many medals is a well-deserved reward for the way they applied themselves. There were plenty of good performances and to be honest I felt unlucky for them not to come away with gold.”
“It has shown us that we have some outstanding talent at all levels in the academy and podium squads and bodes well for the future.”