Rosie Eccles, 27, is a British amateur boxer. She took home silver medals in both the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2016 Women’s European Amateur Boxing Championships. She is now Qualified for the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Rosie Joy Eccles Qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics
Rosie Eccles, a 27-year-old amateur boxer from Wales, has qualified to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics after a bronze medal finish at the recent European Games.
Eccles defeated rival Amy Broadhurst in a tight quarterfinal match that she described as her most challenging fight yet on the international stage. Although she lost in the semifinals to eventual gold medalist Busenaz Surmeneli, her top four placing secured Eccles a coveted spot on the Great Britain Olympic team next year in Paris.
Eccles expressed mixed feelings over joy at qualifying for Paris 2024 and disappointment at falling short of the gold medal match.
“I’m gutted. I wanted to be in that final for the gold medal… I’m a winner, I thought I’d done enough, but (it was) top-level and all that and should have been the final. There’s things to build on for next year. I’m just sorry that I didn’t bring home the gold medal.”
Eccles said
Rosie Eccles’s Early years
Rosie Eccles first opened her eyes in Newport, Wales on July 23rd, 1996. Now 27 years 27-year-old British amateur boxer, from the small principality is a proud Welshwoman.
She attended university in Cardiff, graduating with top honors in Sports Studies for her bachelor’s degree. Eccles furthered her education with a Master’s in Sports Psychology, earning distinctions for her scholarship.
When asked about her boxing inspirations, Eccles names a mentor, Kazakh middleweight legend Gennady Golovkin.
Standing at five feet, eight inches (173 centimeters) tall, Eccles frequently posts photos on social media with her family, who have been there every step of the path to Olympic qualification.
Rosie Eccles’s Career
Eccles first began on her boxing journey at age 16, following an injury that stopped the talented young athlete from running and swimming. She moved into a boxercise class in her hometown of Caldicot, Wales, and soon realized she had found her calling.
The local teenager quickly made an impression, joining up with Chepstow Amateur Boxing Club and later crossing town to Pontypool ABC.
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Her amateur success earned Eccles a spot in the full-time program at Cardiff Metropolitan University. While earning top marks for dual degrees, she trained tirelessly with the Welsh national team.
It did not take long for Eccles to make her presence felt internationally. An impressive 2016 run saw her claim European silver and announce herself as a rising star in women’s boxing. Commonwealth glory soon followed on the Gold Coast in 2018 with a silver medal for Team Wales.
Rosie Eccles Professional Career
In May 2019, Eccles got selected to box at the 2019 European Games held in Minsk, Belarus. She also fought that same year at the 2019 World Championships which took place in Ulan-Ude, Russia. There, Eccles lost to Yang Liu, getting knocked out in the round of 16 matchups. Eccles was ready to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Tragically, the global pandemic canceled those Olympic Games, denying Eccles her shot.
“I’m always a very optimistic person but even I started thinking I was suffering a bit of a boxing curse”
said Eccles.
Thankfully by 2022, Eccles fought back to capture a gold medal for Wales at that year’s Commonwealth Games hosted in Birmingham, England.
Jumping forward to 2023 at the European Games held in Poland, Eccles beat Irish opponent Amy Broadhurst who entered as the defending world, European, and Commonwealth title holder. That victory sealed Eccles’ qualification to finally compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Rosie Eccles currently is the Commonwealth light-middleweight women’s champion. Among Welsh female boxers, only the great Lauren Price had previously won Commonwealth boxing gold before Eccles.
