CORY JONES is testing himself against the best competitors in Europe this week.

Maelor Boxing Club’s Cory Jones is out in Alicante, Spain, to take part in the 2023 BoxAm tournament.

This tournament is open to junior, youth and under-22 boxers and it is being held in Benidorm from May 15-22.

Jones, one of a number of promising boxers at the Cefn Mawr-based club, is in good form heading into the tournament, having last month won his fourth Welsh championship title.

He will be representing Wales in the 54kg youth category.

Last year, Wales picked up four medals during the BoxAm event, with Helen Jones claiming gold in the women’s 52kg class.

There were bronze medals for Haaris Khan, Zoe Andrews and Romeo Costa.

Meanwhile, following a review of the staff structure, Welsh Boxing has announced the appointment of a new head of community boxing.

After a thorough recruitment process, Gareth Evans has joined Welsh Boxing.

He joins as a head of service, working alongside the head of performance Adam Park and the head of coaching Colin Jones.

Evans joins from Welsh Hockey, where he was director of relationships, and before this he was at Welsh Triathlon as head of development.

Welsh Boxing CEO Colin Metson said: “Gareth has a very strong sports development background and has experience across many sports.

“His expertise and knowledge of the sports sector will be of great benefit to Welsh Boxing as we support our clubs and expand our community programmes. Gareth will be a great asset to Welsh Boxing.”

Evans said: “I’m delighted to be joining the team at Welsh Boxing and look to continue the good work done by the team within the community space over recent times.

“I hope to bring my experiences from previous sporting roles to form new partnerships and work closely with the club network to grow boxing across the communities of Wales and showcase the wider benefits and opportunities the sport can bring.”