Reese Lynch hit the headlines in 2021 when he became the first Scottish boxer ever to medal at the World Amateur Boxing Championships. Just a year later he fought his way to Commonwealth gold at the Birmingham 2022 Games.
Now on the cusp of going pro, we sat down with the 23-year-old from Fauldhouse to chat through his sporting journey, those who have influenced his career up until now, and where he is headed next.
The start of something big
As a youngster, Reese found his role models close to home, looking up to his big brother Peter who played football for Chelsea pro youth.
“Growing up, I really wanted to be like my big brother,” Reese told us.
“I thought I might have been able to play football like him but quickly discovered I was no good,” he laughed.
With a professional football career off the cards, a young Reese sought another sport to try his hand at.
“I’d been doing boxing pads with my brother Peter in the garden as a muck around since I was about 6 which I always loved.”
At age 8, Reese, under the wing of Peter’s future brother-in-law and professional boxer, Kieran Smith, went along to Shotts Boxing Club for the first time
“I loved the gym environment from the word go,” he told us.
“The classes were a mix of people of all ages and people from different backgrounds with different skills. It was a really inspiring place to be as a youngster.”
Rubbing shoulders with athletes like Kieran and Willy Hutchison on a weekly basis, Reese was never short of people to look up to.
The early years
By 2014, 13-year-old Reese had claimed his first Scottish title as a junior.
“I think at that point I really started believing in myself and my capabilities."
Despite this, however, Reese expresses that competing in juniors was also a challenging time for him.
“As a junior, I found I was never quite where I wanted to be.
“I’d been to numerous European Championships and just missed out on medals.
“I always had that belief in myself though, and knew that if I gave up, I wouldn’t only be letting myself down but also my brother who had been my coach since I started boxing.”
Moving into youths, Reese had two successful stints at the prestigious Golden Gloves, claiming gold at two consecutive championships.
“My wins at Golden Gloves were a huge confidence boost for me.
“I had always known I could achieve big wins like that, and it just felt so good to finally see it all coming together.”
Reset and recharge
With just one year left as a youth, Reese traveled to compete at the European Championships and after a disappointing performance, began to question his future in the sport.
“I had hit a real wall at that point.
“My club had gone through some changes and my brother was away so he couldn’t coach me for a while.
“Everything just felt a bit off and after my performance at Europeans I think I was almost ready to throw the towel in.”
Just as Reese was beginning to feel a shift in his passion for his sport, the world came to a halt, and he was forced to take a step back from the intensity of training and competition.
“In a weird way, covid ended up being a bit of a blessing for me,” he explained.
“I had no choice but to slow down and that really gave me time to focus on where I wanted to be.”
Making it on the world stage
When competition returned, Reese did too, with a bang.
In his first year as a senior, he made history, becoming the first boxer from Scotland to ever medal at the Amateur World Championships, claiming the bronze medal.
“Although I’d never medalled at a major championship before, I really believed that I could do something big at worlds.”
And that he did. Reese’s performance secured him selection for Team Scotland’s boxing side and his focus quickly shifted to the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
“My long-term goal had always been to compete at the Commonwealth Games and then turn pro,” he told us.
“After I watched Kieran compete at the 2014 Glasgow Games, I was really set on getting there myself.”
Over the course of a week and a half, Reese boxed 5 times, beating 4 Olympians along the way.
“Going into the final I was totally knackered if I’m honest,” he expressed.
“I remember that morning, after my weigh-in just looking in the mirror and thinking about how much I wanted it to be over.
“In moments like that, I just try to remind myself what I’m doing it for and what I’ve got in front of me.”
In this case, a Commonwealth gold medal lay ahead for Reese.
The strength in unity
“Getting that win was just surreal and undoubtedly my biggest highlight to date,” he told us.
“What made it even better was the team I had behind me at the games.
“We just had such a tight bond, and I really felt like I was part of something bigger through that whole competition.”
Reese attributes much of his success at the games to the confidence he and his teammates had been able to build up as a unit.
“Confidence plays such a huge part in getting those wins and we just had such a strong sense of belief that we could do something really special at those games.”
Bouncing back
After the buzz of the Birmingham games, Olympic selection seemed to be on the horizon for Reese.
“I went to the first Olympic qualifier in June 2023 but was suffering a lot of pain in my back and shoulder.
“At that point, I had been told that it was likely a muscular injury, and I just needed to work on strengthening it.”
After training with the GB team for a further month, Reese discovered that he in fact had two broken ribs in his back, and with a 5-month recovery period ahead of him, Olympic selection looked unlikely.
“That was a hard one to take,” he told us.
“I think the most frustrating part is knowing that I would have made it if I’d been at my best.”
Explaining how he had dealt with the disappointment, Reese said that the Commonwealth Games had always been his biggest goal, and the Olympics would have simply been a bonus.
“I got the best result I could have hoped for with the best team around me at the Commonwealth Games and I’ll always have that.
“We have such a great community at Boxing Scotland and pulling on the Scotland vest was the proudest moment for me.”
To the future
So, what’s next for Reese?
“My focus is now fully on turning pro – that’s always been the dream.
“That should hopefully happen for me in the near future.
“Long-term I want to be winning world titles and fighting in iconic arenas like Madison Square Gardens.”
