Boxing: Falkirk Phoenix's Special K shocked as split decision goes against her at British champs

Phoenix fighters were on the road, with the club’s Boxing Scotland elite group member Stephanie ‘Special K’ Kernachan in action for her country at the British championships down in Rotherham while Robbie Shanks and Kieran Brown were in Galashiels.

First up was Special K, in GB tournament action at 54kg (bantamweight) and looking to add another gold to the two, plus two silvers and two bronzes she’d won previously.

The 30-year-old has been in fine form of late, having overcome Irish Commonwealth Games star Nicolle Clyde at a recent home international and having lost a close points decision to French champion and world silver medallist Caroline Cruvallier in France.

In her semi-final, Special K was up against English boxer Lauren Lang. Kernachan started at a ferocious pace and caught Lang repeatedly with an impressive array of straight and bent-arm shots.

That surprised her opponent and she struggled to match the pace and power of the Scot’s attacks.

Lang tried to press forward as the bout progressed to try to gain the upper hand but walked onto Special K’s now-trademark backhand left hook combination and did well to get to the end of the bout without taking a count.

Kernachan was declared winner by unanimous decision after a dominant display.

In the final, Kernachan was up against Welsh champion Zoe Andrews, also a Commonwealth Games star from Birmingham 2022 and a European medallist.

This bout had everything, with both boxers demonstrating a high degree of skill and determination.

The taller Andrews tried to back Kernachan up but was caught in a blizzard of punches that stopped her in her tracks time and time again. The bout swung one way then the other but given that Kernachan blocked most of Andrews’ attacks on her arms and gloves while scoring at will, it looked like she’d taken gold. However, much to the surprise of most watching the live-stream, Andrews was declared the winner by split decision, so Kernachan had to make do with silver.

She said: “I am absolutely gutted. I have worked so hard to get to this point and have been training full-time, thanks to sponsorship from Aim Group, so thanks to Blair MacDonald and his team there.

“I felt comfortable in the bout and carried out the plan to the letter. The instructions I was given by the Scotland coaches in the corner were excellent and complemented the plan my club had given me, so we felt that gave me the upper hand.

“I could not believe it when the MC said Andrews’ name as the winner. The Scotland team were astonished I did not get the decision. In fact, Boxing Scotland performance director Craig McEvoy said he thought my performances over the weekend were my best in a Scotland vest and said I should have come home with gold – but that is boxing.

“I will just need to keep going and focus on my goal of a place at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.”

Kernachan will now turn her attention to London’s Harringey Box Cup, on from June 9 to 11.

While Stephanie Kernachan, alias Special K, was in action at the Great British championships in South Yorkshire, two other Falkirk Phoenix Boxing Club fighters were in action at Galashiels Boxing Club’s the tenth-anniversary show on Saturday.

First up was school-age welterweight boxer Robbie Shanks.

Shanks went into his fight in the Borders in formidable form, having won a closely-contested bout at a show in Cowdenbeath in Fife the weekend before.

On this occasion, however, the youngster seemed overawed by the razzmatazz surrounding his hosts’ tenth-anniversary celebrations and lost to home boxer Sam Brown.

Next up for the Falkirk club at Galashiels Volunteer Hall was light-welterweight senior boxer Kieran Brown.

Brown was up against a tough scrapper in Jack Sutherland, from the MacTaggart Scott Boxing Club at Loanhead in Midlothian.

Brown moved around the ring with some skill and caught Sutherland repeatedly with straight lefts and rights.

Sutherland did not make it an easy night for him, though, and drew his opponent into a scrap in the third round that had the crowd on their feet.

However, due to the quality of his work and ringcraft, Brown was declared the winner by a unanimous decision at the end of their bout.

Other fighters in action at the anniversary event included Scottish cruiserweight champion Jack Swaney, the host club’s first-ever senior elite title-winner.