No gold. Not this time anyway, hopefully that will come at the Commonwealths.
Kiaran Macdonald missed out on the chance to add his name to a select list of male boxers to have been crowned European champion.
After a superb run in his debut European Championships, the Sunderland flyweight was outpointed in the U51 kilos final by sharp Spaniard Martin Molina.
It wasn’t an unfair result but a place on the podium at a major tournament provided a silver lining for the 25-year-old. Now there will be a short breather for Macdonald who will next month wear the England vest at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, which opens on July 28.
“I’m probably half over it now,” the skilled southpaw told punch-lines.
“I’m obviously gutted not to have won and it’s a bit of a sore subject because I lost to a boxer I’ve beaten before.
“But if you had offered me a European silver medal before the competition started I’d have bitten your hand off.
“It’s a massive achievement and I’m over the moon to have been on the podium at a major tournament.
“I’m having a little break now and then it will be back for camp before the Commonwealths and looking to put right what went wrong, not that a lot did, but there is always stuff to improve on.”
It will be another tough challenge but the Sunderland ABC star will be looking to turn silver into gold in this country following some impressive form in Armenia, where he reeled off three victories.
First he outpointed Scotland’s Lennon Mulligan, four of the five judges scoring in his favour, and it was the same margin against Irish soldier Sean Mari in the last eight.
Macdonald had it all to do in the semi-final against Federico Serra, when the Italian edged a very close first round. Using his skill and timing, Kiaran retained this composure and fought back superbly to win via a 3-2 margin.
It set up a fascinating final against Spanish pocket dynamo Molina.
Despite giving his all, the Wearsider had to concede second best to Molina, whose quick feet and hands took him to victory.
The judges from India, Moldova and Turkey gave one of the three rounds to Kiaran, with the Kazakhstan and German officials marking each session to Martin.
Disappointing? Of course, no-one is happy to lose but Macdonald must look to carry his form from A to B: Armenia to Birmingham.
“I’ve still got great momentum and great confidence from what I’ve done,” he said.
“I’ve just had three great performances and three great wins.”
On the subject of great performances, it was a dream week for the British squad in Yerevan, where an amazing eight medals were collected, one gold, three silver and four bronze.
There was a gold and silver from one contest with Harris Akbar beating GB Boxing team-mate, Garan Croft, the Bradford boxer outpointing the Welshman at light-middleweight.
“The squad had a brilliant week,” added Kiaran. “I’ve grown up with Harris and for him to win gold was a great thing to see.”
Words: Roy Kelly Picture: GB Boxing
