McCracken Proud as Brit Squad Heads To Medals in Minsk

Great Britain performance director Rob McCracken has hailed a new generation of talent after his squad guaranteed three medals at the European Championships in Minsk.

Reigning champion Andrew Selby, plus Jack Bateson and Joe Joyce, will all fight for final places in the Belarus capital tomorrow, while four Irish fighters also remain in the hunt.

Neither light-flyweight Bateson nor super-heavyweight Joyce were elite squad members at the time of the London Olympics, and McCracken believes their quick-fire success underlines the quality of the GB boxing programme.

McCracken said: "We've really come out here and hit the ground running and we've seen some tremendous new talent start to emerge.

"It is always tough in a transitional period after a Games when you are starting again with youngsters, but it is a mark of this squad that they can come here and win medals so soon."

The 19-year-old Bateson faces his biggest test yet against vastly experienced Russian David Ayrapetyan, while Joyce takes on the latest Russian super-heavyweight, Sergey Kuzmin.

Welshman Selby's bid to make history by becoming the first Briton to retain a European title takes him into a flyweight semi-final against Elvin Mamishza of Azerbaijan.

Ireland's double Olympic bronze medallist Paddy Barnes could yet set up a light-flyweight final against Bateson but he must first see off another Azeri, Salman Alizada.

Fellow Olympic bronze medallist Michael Conlan meets Russia's Ovik Ogannisian at flyweight, middleweight Jason Quigley takes on Ukraine's Ievgen Khytrov, and Olympic silver medallist John Joe Nevin has a bantamweight clash with Russia's Wladimir Nikitin.