INJURY cost Bella Madden a chance of coming away from the prestigious Haringey Box Cup with a gold medal but she remains upbeat after winning silver at Europe’s biggest amateur boxing event.
Madden, who trains at Leamington-based Fitzpatrick Amateur Boxing Club, had prepared well for the competition which was held at London’s Alexandra Palace over the weekend.
She made a positive start after getting the better of Brighton’s Mar Joseph in Saturday’s opening round.
But Madden did not have it all her own way following a difficult opening round which saw the Leamington boxer on the back foot. A few choice words from her corner turned things around in the second before Madden injured her opponents shoulder.
That proved to be Joseph’s downfall and the referee ended the match on a technical stoppage to put Madden through to Sunday’s 57kg final, but Madden herself had picked up a rib injury during the fight and coach Derek Fitzpatrick decided to pull her out of the gold medal match.
He said: “Bella wanted to fight and she wasn’t happy but I had to pull her out. It’s my job to protect these kids. Afterwards we both agreed it was the correct decision.
“In the end it was mixed emotions for Bella. She was pleased to have come away with a medal but at the same time she was upset not to have got the opportunity to box for gold.”
