Fourth British boxing title for Hawick’s Rosie Swailes
Hawick’s Rose Swailes won her fourth British title at this year’s inaugural Four Nations Boxing Championships at Motherwell’s Ravenscraig sports centre last week.
Drawn against England’s Ruby Cuthbertson in her semi-final in her under-19 girls’ 54kg weight class last Thursday, she won by a unanimous judges’ decision to make it to Friday’s final versus Ireland’s Carly O’Herron and that went the same way.
That latter result earned the 17-year-old her fourth British title and her first since the competition’s expansion to include Irish opposition as well as England and Wales.
Swailes was delighted to go fourth in North Lanarkshire, saying: “I’m just so happy.
“It just proves that I’ve been at top level every single year in a row.
“Ireland are a really good country at boxing, so them being in it makes it a lot harder and more meaningful.
“I’d boxed England the day before and she was a European champion and the Irish girl I boxed in the final was a European silver and bronze medallist, so they were both good basically.”
Hawick Boxing Club were delighted to see Swailes come up trumps again versus international opposition, with a spokesperson saying: “Rosie defeated English and European champion Ruby Cuthbertson in the semi-final on Thursday then returned to Ravenscraig on Friday and defeated Irish national champion Carly O’Herron in the final, both by way of a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards.
“Rosie’s victory is even more remarkable when you consider she is at the younger end of the age group and boxing girls almost two years older than her.
“Rosie first represented Scotland at the British championships in Dundee in 2022 and had to settle for a silver medal but came back more determined than ever and has brought the gold medal back to Hawick for the following four years in a row.
“We at Hawick Boxing Club couldn’t be prouder of Rosie. She represents club and country with great pride and is a fantastic role model to the youngsters who attend our gym.
“Her dedication to her chosen sport is second to none and we’re sure that if she were a rugby player instead of a boxer, there would already be a statue of her in the town.”