Lauren Mackie was thrilled to be the first English boxer to take to the ring at Glasgow 2026, as she began her Commonwealth Games campaign with a comfortable win.<\/p>\n
Mackie beat Kenya\u2019s Amina Faki in a unanimous points decision to start her bid for Glaswegian gold in supreme style.<\/p>\n
The 20-year-old was the very first fight of the entire Games but showed no signs of nerves as she comfortably outboxed her opponent, roared on by her English team-mates.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s great to get the first win out of the way,\u201d she said. \u201cIt just makes me sharper for the next round as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was the first English boxer in the ring. You always want to set the team up to a good start.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s also the first fight of the whole competition, so fans will be tuning in but pressure makes diamonds. It’s just an experience I need to face as well, so it’s only going to help me in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mackie looked immediately in control against Faki, with the Kenyan quickly tiring against the unrelenting punches from the 20-year-old.<\/p>\n
It was the perfect way to start a long road to gold, with Mackie pleased she was able to do her homework on her opponent.<\/p>\n
It looked for a while that Mackie would easily stop Faki before the end of the three rounds, but she ultimately settled for an obvious win on points.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had the experience with this girl, through the competitions I’ve had this year, being at Strandja and then two World Boxing tournaments,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt I was more prepared going in there, and confidence is key at the end of the day. Once you go in with the wrong mindset, you can’t go far.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was hoping for a stoppage, but you can’t force anything. I just needed to make sure I won the bout, and that was the main thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mackie\u2019s victory earned her a place in the last 16, meaning she is four more fights away from gold.<\/p>\n
She faces Australia\u2019s Monique Suraci in the next round on Sunday and is already focussed on her next bout.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cIt’s just about keeping my head and mind in the game and not getting distracted.<\/p>\n
“I’ll have a lot of people messaging me and wanting to see me, but this isn’t
actually done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mackie enjoyed strong support in the ring despite the Scottish crowd, with all her England team-mates in place to cheer her on.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe support means loads,\u201d she said. \u201cI could hear them in the ring and out of the ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey’ve got their flags, so it’s the atmosphere you want, and we had that in training leading up as well. It makes for the experience when you’re in and out there.”<\/p>\n
Ellis Trowbridge also began strongly with a dominant first-round stoppage of Vanuatu\u2019s Ricksen Nomleas.<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old is the son of three-weight world champion Duke McKenzie and his impressive pedigree, which also includes European champion uncle Clinton, has earned him the nickname \u2018Royalty\u2019.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI come from royal blood in the boxing game but this is my own journey, my own story.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am here to build my own legacy and create moments like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another Team England boxer who got off to the perfect start was\u00a0Patris Mughalzai, who earned a unanimous 5-0 points win over Ghana’s Abdul Wahid Omar in the men’s 65kg category.<\/p>\n
Mughalzai, 24, outscored the Birmingham 2022 bronze medallist in all three rounds to set up a round of 16 bout against Northern Ireland’s John Paul Hale.<\/p>\n
“First round I thought I would just feel him out a bit, see what he’s going to bring out because he’s a quality operator, he’s a 2016 Olympian and two-time Commonwealth medallist,” said\u00a0Mughalzai.\u00a0“But after the first round I just showed levels.”<\/p>\n
Lucy Kings-Wheatley also recorded a unanimous 5-0 victory, beating Papau New Guinea’s Petronella Nokenoke in the women\u2019s 60kg round of 16.<\/p>\n
Kings-Wheatley said: \u201cI was super nervous going into it, but got some good work done and got a little bit of confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cSpending time with the England team, being in the village, being introduced first and boxing out in the red corner, it was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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