GB Amateur Boxing Championships: Britain's best raring to go

Boxing Betting / Joe Dyer / 09 November 2011 / Leave a Comment

Super heavyweight Anthony Joshua features

"Eleven weight categories will be represented at the meeting with the top amateurs selected by the Amateur Boxing Associations (ABAs) of Scotland, England and Wales pitted against members of GB Boxing’s Podium Squad."

Two days of top-class amateur boxing await as Olympics begin to loom for the country's finest

Khald Yafai and Andrew Selby's 'box-off' may be the headline act but there's plenty more to enjoy at the GB Amateur Boxing Championships, sponsored by Betfair Casino.

Eleven weight categories will be represented at the meeting with the top amateurs selected by the Amateur Boxing Associations (ABAs) of Scotland, England and Wales pitted against members of GB Boxing's Podium Squad.

Ten male and one female weight categories make up the programme with the Saturday afternoon finals shown live on BBC One.

And qualifying places are still available for the 2012 Olympic squad for those who impress over the two days.

The weight categories where Olympic places are still available are light-flyweight (49kg), men and women's lightweight (60kg), middleweight (75kg), light-heavyweight (91kg) and heavyweight (91kg).

Two of the most hotly contested categories are expected to be the men's light-heavyweight and the women's lightweight category.

GB Boxing does not currently have a Podium boxer at light-heavyweight, so it is an opportunity for Lawrence Osueke (Great Britain) and Deion Jumah (England) from the Development squad and Scotland's James Cunningham to secure pole position ahead of next April's Olympic qualifier in Turkey.

In the women's Olympic lightweight category, Chantelle Cameron (GB) will compete against fellow GB Boxing squad member, Amanda Coulson (England), to establish supremacy ahead of next May's Olympic qualifier in China.

Officials are looking forward to two days of fantastic boxing. Rob McCracken, Performance Director of the British Amateur Boxing Association (BABA) said: "This will be a high quality tournament and reflects the huge depth of talent we have in amateur boxing in Great Britain at the present time.

"It will influence the make-up of the GB boxing squad as we head in 2012 and is an opportunity for the competitors to put themselves in the frame for possible selection at next year's Olympic qualifiers."

Some tickets for Saturday's finals, priced at: £5, £15, £20 and £25, should be available on the door. Doors open at 11:30 and boxing will begin at 12:30.