Boxing: City boxers given chance of GB funding

Lochend’s Pushker Singh and Lewis Benson, along with Holyrood’s Brian Forsyth, are amongst ten Scottish fighters for the tournament to be held at The Troxy in London on Saturday May 19 and May 20.

While lost of attention is focused on the forthcoming Olympic tournament at the ExCel centre in London with the likes of Prestonpans’ Josh Taylor in the frame to feature, the championships are a key event as GB Boxing makes preparations for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and will help shape the Team GB roster for the Brazilian games.

Light flyweight Hamed Aqeel, flyweight Singh, bantamweight Joe Ham, lightweight Charles Flynn, light welterweight Benson, welterweight Stuart Burt, middleweight Kieran Smith, light heavyweight Forsyth, heavyweight Steven Lavelle and super heavyweight Ross Henderson will all be flying the flag for Scotland and hoping to impress the coaches.

If a boxer not currently part of the GB Boxing squad wins the GB Championship, they will secure an assessment and an opportunity to join as a funded athlete.

GB Boxing’s Performance Director Rob McCracken said: “It will be a fantastic opportunity to assess the next generation and identify some of the talents that will be challenging to be part of the GB squad for the next cycle.

“Thirteen members of the GB Squad and 27 current ABA champions from Scotland, England and Wales will compete in this year’s event, meaning it truly will be an opportunity to identify the Champion of Champions and potential big names of the future..”

Tickets are now on sale, with prices starting at £3 for semi-finals and £5 for finals. For more information, visit www.gbboxing.org.uk .

n Amir KHAN today spoke of his hurt and disappointment following the cancellation of his world light-welterweight title rematch against Lamont Peterson and says the American champion’s failed drugs test proves he was “a cheat”.

Peterson, who controversially beat Khan in December to capture the Bolton fighter’s WBA and IBF titles, tested positive for a banned steroid.

Khan said: “I’m disappointed because I trained very hard for this fight. My head was all over the place, I really, really wanted to win my titles back and have the fight. But the truth’s come out now and it just proves that Lamont Peterson was a cheat.”

Peterson’s publicist Andre Johnson insisted the 28-year-old had done nothing wrong and would fight to clear his name. He said: “In 18 years, barring this incident, he’s never tested positive for anything.”