When you first heard they might get rid of lightweight [merging 60kgs and 64kgs to make a 63kgs weight division in the Olympic], what was your reaction, given itโ€™s a historic weight class?
To be honest, I thought f***** hell, itโ€™s just my luck thisโ€ฆ 60 kilo is one of the most popular weights, itโ€™s always full to the brim when you go to these major competitions.
That was my first reaction, now itโ€™s just sunk in, I just think to myself it wasnโ€™t meant to be.
Iโ€™ve tried to put it to the back of my head. The main thing was performing still at 60kgs but it was always there, I was thinking whenโ€™s it going to change and when am I going to have to start filling into this new weight.
I think towards the end [making the weight] was taking its toll on my body I think it was starting to affect my performances a little bit. When I first got on GB I was on a massive winning streak, no one could beat us. But the past year, year and a half, as itโ€™s got harder to make the weight it tended to be in training I was working more on getting my weight down rather than working on new skills and that.

How many bouts was that winning run?
I went on a 35 fight win streak from 2012 till 2017, I got beat off Yuri Shestak in the European semi-finals.

Calum French
Calum French grew out of bantamweight and began finding it hard to make lightweight Action Images

What were the most recent European Games like?

It was a brilliant experience going out to Belarus.

I got the Italian [Francesco Maietta] first who Iโ€™d already boxed and I beat him and then I boxed the Armenian [Karen Tonakanyan]. Iโ€™d boxed him before, I boxed in the Strandja and I beat him. So I boxed him in the quarter-finals and I lost on a 3-2 split.

It was the first time Iโ€™ve been put down [in the first round]. It was a shock but I got up, I recovered well from it and I came on and I won the second two rounds on every judges card. It was a shock to the system but it was experience as well.

It must be tough becoming a rival for Luke McCormack?

Itโ€™s not a rivalry. It is what it is. Weโ€™re both going for the same goal. Weโ€™ve been best pals since we were 12 years old, travelling the country, travelling the world together.

Weโ€™ll be sent to different tournaments and whoeverโ€™s performing best will get the spot. Heโ€™s away at the Worlds now so heโ€™s number one at the minute.

I must have done over a thousand rounds [of sparring] with him. Itโ€™s always been competitiveโ€ฆ Weโ€™re at that world level sparring each other. We live together as well down in Sheffield, weโ€™ve got similar mindsets and similar interests. Weโ€™re the same type of kid really.