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.
Mackie beat Kenya’s Amina Faki in a unanimous points decision to start her bid for Glaswegian gold in supreme style.
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.
“It's great to get the first win out of the way,” she said. “It just makes me sharper for the next round as well.
“I was the first English boxer in the ring. You always want to set the team up to a good start.
“It'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.”
Mackie looked immediately in control against Faki, with the Kenyan quickly tiring against the unrelenting punches from the 20-year-old.
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.
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.
“I had the experience with this girl, through the competitions I've had this year, being at Strandja and then two World Boxing tournaments,” she added.
“I 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.
“I 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.”
Mackie’s victory earned her a place in the last 16, meaning she is four more fights away from gold.
She faces Australia’s Monique Suraci in the next round on Sunday and is already focussed on her next bout.
She said: “It's just about keeping my head and mind in the game and not getting distracted.
"I'll have a lot of people messaging me and wanting to see me, but this isn't
actually done.”
Mackie enjoyed strong support in the ring despite the Scottish crowd, with all her England team-mates in place to cheer her on.
“The support means loads,” she said. “I could hear them in the ring and out of the ring.
“They'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."
Ellis Trowbridge also began strongly with a dominant first-round stoppage of Vanuatu’s Ricksen Nomleas.
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 ‘Royalty’.
He said: “I come from royal blood in the boxing game but this is my own journey, my own story.
“I am here to build my own legacy and create moments like this.”
Another Team England boxer who got off to the perfect start was Patris Mughalzai, who earned a unanimous 5-0 points win over Ghana's Abdul Wahid Omar in the men's 65kg category.
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.
"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 Mughalzai. "But after the first round I just showed levels."
Lucy Kings-Wheatley also recorded a unanimous 5-0 victory, beating Papau New Guinea's Petronella Nokenoke in the women’s 60kg round of 16.
Kings-Wheatley said: “I was super nervous going into it, but got some good work done and got a little bit of confidence.
“Spending time with the England team, being in the village, being introduced first and boxing out in the red corner, it was amazing.”
Sportsbeat 2026
