Bethany Doocey (red)©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo
Judy Bobbett (blue)
©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo
Three IABA High Performance boxers will fly to England in early February, by invitation, to box on England Boxing’s Roaring Lions International Event.
The invited athletes are 48kg Ciara Walsh, Smithfield BC Dublin, 75kg Bethany Doocey, Castlebar BC, Mayo and 81+kg Judy Bobbett, Liberty BC, Wicklow.
Ciara and Bethany are members of the High Performance Priority Development Squad, while Judy is a member of the High Performance Senior Squad.
England, Ireland and Germany are participating in this multi-nations performance development event.
Ciara will take on Bobbylee Burns. The two last met in December’s Women’s Winter Box Cup 2024 where Ciara was the victor. Bethany contests against 19 year old Mary-Kate Smith. Judy steps between the ropes against Grace Buckle – the two last met in the 2023 Haringey Box Cup Final, where Grace came home with gold.
The Roaring Lions Internaitonal will be boxed at the Magna Science and Adventure Centre in Rotherham on Friday 7th February 2025 from 6pm.
England Boxing has advised the event will not be streamed, but live results will be available on englandboxing.org on the night.
National Performance Head Coach Zauri Antia says “These development opportunities are vitally important for the forward progression of Elite athletes – and we’re delighted to accept England Boxing’s invitation for Ciara, Bethany and Judy. Their preparatory training has been excellent, and we’re expecting highly competitive contests.”
Head of Performance at England Boxing Chris Connelly said, “We’re absolutely thrilled to host the upcoming Roaring Lions international, marking the first time in quite some time that we’ve held an event like this. Germany and Ireland are bringing some exceptional talent, and we’re expecting high-quality, competitive bouts that will really showcase the best of international boxing”.