THE FUTURE STARTS NOW
The Mccormack twins lead a young GB team to the Europeans
THE first major championship in the post Rio 2016 era gets underway now. The men’s European championships begin this week and conclude on June 24 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Significant in their own right, these Europeans are also a qualification event for the World championships in August.
For so soon in the Olympic cycle Britain have a strong team, and can once again enter boxers for England, Wales and Scotland. The complete GB boxing team is as follows: Galal Yafai (England, 49kgs), Niall Farrell (England, 52kgs),
Peter Mcgrail (England, 56kgs),
Lee Mcgregor (Scotland, 56kgs),
Calum French (England, 60kgs), Luke Mccormack (England, 64kgs),
Pat Mccormack (England, 69kgs),
Ben Whittaker (England, 75kgs),
John Docherty (Scotland, 75kgs),
Tom Whittaker Hart (England, 81kgs),
Cheavon Clarke (England, 91kgs),
Scott Forrest (England, 91kgs) and Frazer Clarke (England, 91&kgs).
Galal Yafai and Pat Mccormack are two stars from the last Olympics on the team. Yafai has impressed against top level opponents but will be itching to secure a major medal. Only last year he won the European Olympic Qualification event which bodes well for this tournament. In 2017 he has boxed four times in the tough World Series of Boxing competition, winning three and losing to Samuel Carmona, an Olympic quarter-finalist.
Pat Mccormack could be the finest boxer on this GB squad. He has moved up to 69kgs, a weight class where he is currently unbeaten. Formerly a European silver medallist, Mccormack is desperate to win the gold in this event. “I had four bouts in the Strandja [at 69kgs], I won that and got best boxer of the tournament and then I’ve had two WSBS and won them both,” Mccormack said. “I think I’m big for the weight already. I’ve grown into the weight straightaway. “I’m very confident. I’m going for the gold medal. Last time I went I got silver, I thought I should have won the gold really… So I need to make sure I get the gold this time.”
“I’m feeling very good, we’ve just been
‘IT WAS GREAT. ALL THE UZBEKS TRIED TO KILL US. THAT’S WHAT WE WENT FOR’
on a training camp in Uzbekistan. A very hard one, probably the hardest one I’ve been on,” Pat continued. “It was in the mountains, no wifi, no shops, nothing to do, the food was terrible… It toughened us up.
“It was great sparring. All the Uzbeks tried to kill us, to be honest. The number twos and threes were just as good as the number ones. So it was top sparring. That’s what we went for really.”
He is joined on the team but two Birtley clubmates, including his twin brother, Luke Mccormack and lightweight Calum French.
Luke and Pat actually have a history of securing strong results when they box in the same tournament together. “We do box a lot better when we’re both together, so hopefully we’re a force when we go away,” Pat said. “We both won the ABAS [at the same time in 2015]. That was the last time we won a tournament together. We went to the Europeans together as Juniors and I won it and he got silver. Then went to the [ Junior] Worlds, I got gold and he just missed out on a medal.
“He’s feeling much better at the weight [64kgs]. He was struggling at 60kgs. He couldn’t really get into a rhythm when he was boxing but now he’s boxing very well. He’s a lot more comfortable at the weight, a lot stronger and a lot bigger.
French is not, yet, one of the better known names on the squad but he is incredibly successful. He hasn’t lost since 2012, when he was a Junior, and has won every bout he’s had for GB. The Europeans of course will be his most significant test yet.
The squad also features young boxers stepping up for their first major international, like England Boxing Elite champions Niall Farrell at flyweight and middleweight Ben Whittaker. “I’m buzzing for it. But I’m not just going to make up the numbers. I trying to come back with that gold medal,” Whittaker said. “Preparation’s been really good. We went over to Uzbekistan last week for 10 days to spar with the national team over there. So we had some good sparring there, I just finished up my last week in Sheffield. It’s all good.”
He’s also been getting in some sparring with Olympic bronze medallist Joshua Buatsi and Olympian and World bronze medallist Antony Fowler, as well as Pat Mccormack himself. “It’s only going to hold me in good stead,” Whittaker continued. “It’s class, especially at the heavier weight class. If I can spar him [Buatsi], 75kgs is going to be a lot easier.
“Then you’ve got Pat Mccormack who’s a nippier fighter at 69kgs. I’m getting all different styles. It’s good to keep mixing it up.”
“I’m just keeping my mind open. I’m going to treat every fight as a final,” he concluded. “I’m not overlooking anyone, overrating anyone. I’m going to go in every fight, treat it as a final and take each fight as it comes.
GB Boxing’s Performance Director, Rob Mccracken, sees this event as an opportunity to develop his team. He said, “There was 12 that went to Rio and there’s only two [Olympians] featuring, which is Pat and Galal. There’s other good boxers coming through in the team who have already started to do some good things. But obviously it’s still early in the cycle and it’s a mix of a team. There’s a bit of experience, but then there’s inexperience as well... If you look at potential towards Tokyo this team has plenty of potential to go to Tokyo and do well. But there’s a lot of time to go, there’s a lot of building. This is just the start.”
‘THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS IS ALWAYS TOUGH AND THE COMPETITION WILL BE FIERCE’