RAF Lossiemouth serviceman and Elgin Amateur Boxing Club star Arran Devine celebrates international call-up to fight for Scotland against England and Wales in Tri-Nations tournament in Cardiff
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SCOTTISH champion Arran Devine is celebrating a call-up to the international boxing ring and will fight for his country for the first time in Wales this weekend.
The RAF Lossiemouth serviceman and Elgin Amateur Boxing Club fighter landed the Scottish middleweight crown at this year’s Boxing Scotland open championships at Ravenscraig regional sports centre in Motherwell.
And after impressing in a Boxing Scotland assessment and a multi-nation sparring camp, he was selected to fight for Scotland at a Tri Nations tournament in Cardiff.
“This is the biggest tournament of my career, 100 per cent,” he said. “To win the Scottish title and to have all of your friends there watching you was unreal but to go and box for your country is something very special.”
Devine is one of three Elgin ABC boxers to be called up by Scotland, as club mates Corey Rizza and Lukas Vaitekunas will fight for Scotland at youth and junior Tri Nation tourneys next month, reward for their Scottish title successes this year.
“It’s been a busy time for the club and I think the three of us being picked for Scotland has given the whole club a buzz,” Devine said.
“There’s a lot of good young boxers at the club and both Corey and Lukas have have done really well and they’ve been selected as well.”
The RAF boxer won the points verdict of the judges in his 75kg middleweight final against Renfrewshire rival Olivier Kasasula in the Scottish elite final.
Devine (30) has been placed in a Boxing Scotland Elite Boxers Potential Group for the next six months, and is thrilled to pull on his country’s vest for the first time in a ten-year competitive career.
“It’s massive for me. It has been my goal for a long, long time to fight for Scotland so this is a pretty huge deal to me personally.”
“There’s three in my weight class and we will all weigh in on the Saturday and two of us will box on the Saturday in the semi-final and one has a walkover to the final.”
