The local British fighters are ready for the upcoming Olympic Test Event to be held at the ExCeL in the heart of London's Docklands from 24 to 27 November. The ExCeL is the venue for next summer's Olympic Games. Russia, Kazakhstan, China, France, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Uzbekistan and Brazil will be bringing world class athletes to take part and add to the mix in this exciting event.
The host nation's boxing team performed as expected in Baku, securing five qualification places for the Games but they can still reach their maximum number at the European Olympic Qualification Tournament in Istanbul where 26 European places will be up for the grabs.
The youngest team member is 18-year-old Light Flyweight boxer Charlie Edwards, who secured a valuable bronze medal at the European Championships in Ankara despite the fact that he can still compete at youth level. Edwards needs to raise his level of international experience but the teenager has got the skills to perform well at these upcoming events.
Welshmen and Newport-based Sean McGoldrick will be celebrating his 20th birthday later this year but will be in buoyant mood having secured a sensational silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi last year. McGoldrick is now considered an accomplished tough fighter and will be competing in the Bantamweight category in London.
20-year-old former European Youth Champion and Tammer Tournament winner Martin Ward went up a weight class last year and shocked his strong local and international rivals in the Lightweight division in 2011. At the European Championships in Ankara and at the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Baku, he failed to reach a medal and he now looking to breakthrough among the elite boxers.
The only Scottish boxer of the British team is 20-year-old Josh Taylor who moved up to the Light Welterweights just this summer. The Commonwealth Games silver medallist lost his first contest at the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Baku but won the Belgrade Winner Tournament in April.
The British top Welterweight boxer is Commonwealth Champion Fred Evans who became European Champion in Ankara, becoming the second Welshmen following Selby's final success. Fred Evans has already secured his ticket for London and will relish the opportunity of performing at the test event.
Former AIBA Cadet World Champion Anthony Ogogo won the gold medal at the Strandja Memorial Tournament this year but failed to qualify for the London Olympic Games in Baku. The British head coach decided to replace him and gave a chance to 21-year-old Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Callum Smith to represent his country in the Middleweight division.
In the heavyweight category, Daniel Price represented Great Britain at the European Championships in Ankara, while Commonwealth Games winner Simon Vallily fought for the country at the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Baku. Both of them were eliminated in the preliminaries so the British head coach decided to involve Warren Baister for the test event at the ExCeL in London.
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