GB Boxing and British Army announce development programme partnership

GB Boxing and the British Army will be working together for the next 12 months as part of a development programme.

The partnership will see some of the best Army boxing coaches work with the top fighters at GB Boxing HQ in Sheffield.

Army boxing has enjoyed high-profile achievements over recent years with some fighters included in GB squads.

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It was the route taken by former Royal Artillery gunner Karriss Artingstall, culminating in her Olympic bronze medal success before leaving the Army and turning professional.

The Army has benefited with its GB Boxing connections already as Ben Stewart, who is a GB Boxing Performance Coach, has been working as Army team performance manager and technical lead coach for the last five years.

Corporal Alanna Nihell is a two-time Commonwealth Games veteran and claimed a bronze medal at the 2014 event for Northern Ireland.

She sees this as an opportunity to feature in the corner for future GB fighters at the highest level. 

"My end goal is to become a full-time coach at GB Boxing down the line," Cpl Nihell revealed.

"You have to work your way up the ranks in the Army – you have to work your way up in the boxing world too!

"The fact that we've got the opportunity to go and do this and work with the best in the country is really exciting."

Sergeant James Allen is a former national champion and has been working with the Army team for eight years.

He hopes his involvement will help forces fighters find their way onto the national set-up, saying: "The aim always is to get our boxers as far as we can.

"I like to think this link now, and learning from that experience, will give them a little bit of an incentive to go a bit further," he added.