Commonwealth Games 2026: Duo move closer to medal stages on mixed day for Team England
July 27, 2026 | by Chris Boyd
A mixed fourth day at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games saw Ruby White and Oladimeji Shittu move to within one victory of guaranteeing themselves a medal, while Will and Paddy Hewitt exited the competition after a pair of spirited performances.
The evening session began in perfect fashion as Ruby White made a winning Commonwealth Games debut against South Africa’s Truelove Mathiba in the women’s under 51kg division.
Competing internationally for the first time since joining the GB Boxing programme, the England Performance graduate looked composed from the opening bell against her more senior opponent. White controlled the contest throughout, forcing two standing eight counts before securing a unanimous decision victory.
Afterwards, Ruby reflected on achieving a dream: “I’m over the moon, to be honest. It’s been my dream since I was seven years old to compete at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. I worked it all out when I was younger, figuring out when I’d be old enough to compete, so it’s a dream to be here.
“Obviously, there were a little bit of nerves, just because of the size of the tournament really, and wanting to make everyone proud and make myself proud. But I couldn’t really ask for a better fight. I’ll be better for my next performance because that was far from what I can do.”
Oladimeji Shittu also booked his place in the next round with an assured display against Uganda’s Alfred Ojok in the men’s under 80kg competition.
The Five Star ABC boxer boxed with maturity and confidence throughout, producing a composed performance to earn a unanimous decision and move to within one win of the medal stages.
Having waited several days to begin his campaign, Shittu was relieved to finally step through the ropes: “Oh, it’s (the wait) been awful. I even said it to my teammates, ‘watch, I’ll get the bye’.
“I’ve got my first one out of the way, and we crack on to the next. I saw my teammates box for the days prior, and it just really inspired me. I’m blessed.
“When I got in there, felt the canvas, I knew why I was in that ring, and it was time to do the job.”
Earlier in the day, the Hewitt twins both produced brave performances but were unable to progress.
Will Hewitt faced one of the toughest draws of the competition in India’s Sachin Sachin, the world number five, in the men’s under 60kg division.
The England boxer responded well after the opening round, increasing his work rate in the second before pushing hard again in the third, where his opponent received a point deduction. Despite the tight nature of the contest, Hewitt narrowly missed out on progression after a 4-1 split decision.
A disappointed Will managed to see some positives despite the result: “I thought it was unlucky, obviously. Great bout. He’s a great boxer, and it’s not seeded, but he’d be the number one seed; I’d be the number two seed. He’s a number one seed for a reason.
“You only get one chance every four years. So, this just hurts a bit more. Like every other bout, it’s a great experience, I’ll improve from it and then come back better.”
Shortly afterwards, brother Paddy Hewitt faced Wales’ Orlando Holley-Sotomi in the men’s under 70kg competition.
Having shared sparring rounds just a week earlier, the pair produced an entertaining contest, with Paddy standing toe-to-toe throughout three hard-fought rounds. However, he too came out on the wrong side of a 4-1 split decision: “This is sport, it’s tough. It’s the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows. What can you do? You can’t dwell on it. You’ve got to pick yourself up.
“I was boxing well and then obviously got clipped in the first round. What can we do? I’m not going to sit here and feel sorry for myself because there are bad days in sport and there are good days in sport. And unfortunately, in this sport the bad days are bad days.
“At the moment it’s horrible, but you probably look back at this in five or 10 years and be like, this is one of the best things that could have happened.”
Tuesday, 28th Schedule:
Women’s, U54kg Quarterfinal: Lauren Mackie vs Helen Jones (Wales) – 12pm
Men’s, U55kg Quarterfinal: Amadu Mohammed (Ghana) vs Ellis Trowbridge – 1.30pm
Women’s, U60kg Quarterfinal: Lucy Kings-Wheatley vs Josefien Betist (Sierra Leone)– 6.45pm
Women’s, U65kg Quarterfinal: Sacha Hickey vs Parveen Parveen (India) – 7pm
Women’s, U75kg Quarterfinal: Mary-Kate Smith vs Patricia Mbata (Nigeria) 7.30pm
Men’s, U65kg Quarterfinal: Nuhu Batte (Uganda) vs Patris Mughalzai – 8.15pm
Men’s, U90kg Quarterfinal: Isaac Okoh vs Lachlan Lawson (Australia) – 8.45pm
Keep up to date with everything Team England boxing-related at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games by visiting our dedicated webpage here.
