Boxing: Falkirk Phoenix's 'Special K' loses out in Auld Alliance bout against top French star

Fresh from an impressive win over Irish Commonwealth Games star Nicole Clyde, Special K was in action again against a formidable opponent in Caroline Cruveillier.

She is a multi-medal winning full time fighter in the Sports France set-up.

Cruvellier won bronze at the European Elite Championships in 2019 and won gold twice at the European U22 Championships in 2019 and in 2021. She has also picked up silver at the World Elite Championships in 2019, and has won multiple French elite titles including taking gold at last month’s 2023 French Elite Championships.

Meanwhile, district boxer Kernachan has only recently fought her way back into Boxing Scotland’s Elite Boxing Group after a two-year break. She was the only elite senior boxer on the otherwise junior and youth international event, which had some of the very best upcoming Scottish and French talent on show.

Special K is a six-time three weight Scottish champion, and was the first elite female boxer to win a GB title in a Scotland vest alongside being the first woman to compete for Scotland at a World Championships in India back in 2018. She has won two GB golds, a GB silver and a GB bronze over the years, and has also medalled at several multi-nation tournaments.

Given the calibre of these two women a barnstormer of a bout was expected and they did not disappoint. The fight started at a frantic pace, but instead of Kernachan forcing the pace, as is often the case, it was southpaw Cruveillier who took the initiative. Kernachan seemed out of sorts, but in fact it was the movement and speed of Cruveillier that was the problem. Special K’s tactics were not her usual as her guard was looser and her hands lower.

This gave Cruveillier opportunities, and she took them, landing a number of thumping backhand right hook combinations that forced the referee to issue Kernachan a standing eight count.

In the second round, Special K appeared to have resumed her normal stance and came out on the front foot looking for Cruveillier and the pair traded shots at the centre of the ring several times, much to the delight of the French crowd.

Kernachan had more success getting to the inside in this round, where she wanted to be, and tucked a number of crunching right and left uppercuts under the elbows and onto the abdomen of her French opponent.

However, Cruveillier’s movement and defensive blocks meant that Special Ks successes were limited. A closer round but likely still in favour of the French champion.

The third round played out like the second with both boxers having success, but with Kernachan having resumed her high guard and compact style, the French boxer had fewer successes, and Kernachan had more success pot-shotting at distance and landing to the body and head when on the inside. A close round that could have gone either way but likely in favour of the Scot.

This was the only elite senior bout on the France v Scotland dual match and was without doubt the bout of the night. However, after three incredible rounds of gutsy box/fighting Cruveillier was declared the winner by a unanimous decision. It was undoubtedly her fast start, movement, and speed, that convinced the judges to give her the nod.

Despite losing out on the night, Phoenix ace Kernachan reckons the experience will only make her a better boxer and that it opened her eyes up to the real difference between part-time and full-time, fully funded athletes.

“Wow, that was incredible,” she said of the bout. “Caroline Cruveillier was incredible. I started too slowly. I just couldn’t seem to get going. I was told to hold my hands differently and change my stance by the corner, which was odd, but I did it, and it cost me as I was caught repeatedly and got a count.

“Because of this, I went back to the plan my own coaches had given me having studied videos of Caroline and felt I performed better doing that and maybe had a shout for winning the third round.

"I am not making excuses, but Caroline is a full-time fighter in the Sports France set up. Their sports ministry pays them to train full time, so they are not at college, university, or working like me and most of the other Boxing Scotland Group.

"I work full time in social care and to get the time off for this trip I had to work a late shift into a night shift, train in the morning, go home and sleep for a few hours then go back into work to do a late shift and then travel straight to France from work. That is necessary, but hardly the best preparation for any bout, never mind one at this level.”

In the last month Kernachan, who is on the pathway to the next Commonwealth Games, has been to a training camp in Wales, boxed against the army in England, took part in a training camp with and then boxed against Ireland, boxed against France & will be heading south next week to take part in a GB training camp. She will then be heading to Holland for a training camp and dual match, Spain for a multi-nation tournament before heading to the USA in the summer to train at a number of world-famous gyms.

Special K said, “ My calendar is full to bursting but I would not have it any other way. It is tough maintaining the standards needed for the top level when you also work full time, and that is why I am happy my club is in talks with a few companies about sponsoring me so I can take a sabbatical from work and focus on boxing until after this Commonwealth Games cycle. Without that I will have to keep doing full time work and full time training and so might never achieve my potential.”

Any local businesses interested in becoming part of Special K’s exciting journey via sponsorship can email [email protected]