- Joe Hewlett
- 25 July 2021
Charley Davison impresses as British trio advance into next round
Four out of five Team GB fighters have now progressed into the next round...
After taking a seven-year break from the sport to raise her family, Charley Davison returned to boxing in 2018. The Lowestoft-born fighter only got back into the gym "to lose a bit of weight".
After winning a silver medal at the World Youth Championships, the future looked bright for Davison.
However, after opting for a break to raise three children her sporting career looked over, but her comeback has been inspiring.
She returned with success at the England Boxing National Championships at bantamweight (54kg) in May 2019.
That led to an assessment for the GB squad and after impressing at a training camp in the USA in early 2020 she was chosen for the Olympic Qualifying event.
Davison only joined the GB squad in January and is one of four women on the eleven-strong team.
Dubbed 'Super Mum' she can often be found on Lowestoft beach pounding the sand.
Coached by John Cremin and Frank Bacon since she was eight, the flyweight boxes for Attleborough Boxing Club.
Davison secured Olympic qualification at the European Games in Poland in June 2023 along with Rosie Eccles.
Davison beat Sweden's Zehra Milli by unanimous decision to guarantee a place at the Olympics in Paris in 2024.
Davison will become a two-time Olympian after she qualified for the Tokyo Games and boxed in the delayed 2021 event.
She did not medal. However she stayed with the GB squad and moved up a division to 54kgs.
Tokoyo Olympics
Davison's Olympic dream ended in the second round to the number two seed.
After sealing a 5-0 win against Moroccan opponent Rabab Cheddar in the round of 32, she was beaten by Chinese boxer Yuan Chang.
Chang took the unanimous verdict from the five judges to move into the flyweight quarter-finals.
Davison finished strongly with a big left hand that rocked Chang and saw her drop to the canvas, but it wasn't enough for the GB boxer.
Chang was declared the winner with scores of 29-28, in her favour, on four scorecards.
Her opponent went onto be beaten in the quarter-final by Stoyka Krasteva, who eventually won gold in the flyweight class.
European Qualifying event
Davison showed little ring rust during her first fight in a GB vest. In March 2021 at the Copper Box she put on a dominant display against Ireland's Carly McNaul.
McNaul, 32, a former Commonwealth silver medallist was subjected to two standing counts in the third round as Davison won an unanimous decision.
Davison had started brightly, tagging her older opponent with her lead right and her dominance continued in rounds two before she almost overwhelmed her opponent in the final round
The event in London was soon cancelled though due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but her result stood.
Paris Olympic Qualifying
Davison kicked off with a victory over third-seed Polish boxer Sandra Drabik in the quarter-finals.
Shen then won a unanimous points decision over 21-year-old Italian Giordana Sorrentino to set up a showdown with the number one seed, Buse Naz Cakiroglu of Turkey.
Ahead of the 51kg fight, Cakiroglu said: "I've sparred her [Davison] before, I've not boxed her, so that will be interesting.
"Similar styles as well, so I'm looking forward to it. I know what she does, I know what she's good at, so it's just keeping an eye on that and doing what I'm good at to beat her."
Both finalists had marched into the final with unanimous points wins in their round of 16, quarter-final and semi-final wins.
After a cautious start, where the referee reminded them both to engage, they both put in terrific displays. Both southpaws were keen to employ their impressive counter-punching style.
The GB star came on strong in the third round, but trailing 20-18 on three of the five judges' cards going into the final round, she left herself too much to do.
The Mongolian judge awarded the fight to Davison, but ultimately she found herself on the wrong end of a 4-1 split decision.
Personal Life
Davison took a seven year hiatus from the sport to focus on beginning a family with her partner. Together, they have three children. She returned to the sport in 2018 and by December 2019, she was selected by Team GB.
Net Worth
Davison is believed to worth in the region of $1million.
