THERE is less than a year to go until the Tokyo Olympics. Concerns that there wouldnโt be a boxing tournament in 2020, with the international federation AIBA facing suspension by the IOC, can be laid to rest. Attention can turn fully to the boxers attempting to reach the Games with qualification events set to take place early next year. Womenโs participation at Tokyo 2020 will be increased with more places and two more weight categories, though the menโs event will have fewer divisions and places for athletes.
โEveryone thought [boxing] would be in the Olympics and thankfully it is in the Olympics,โ GB performance director Rob McCracken said. โItโll always be harder when there are less places for the men, itโll be harder. Menโs boxing has got huge strength in depth and youโve got lots of good boxers at every weight. Itโll make it tougher for the men to qualify but weโve expected it and we knew it was coming. Weโve got some really good male boxers on the programme and theyโre looking forward to the challenge.โ
Major tournaments lie ahead this year. There are womenโs European championships, starting this month in Spain, and both menโs and womenโs World championships set for Russia in September and October.
โThereโs plenty of work to do with some of the men and certainly the women, some of them are relatively in experienced. Thereโs a lot of work to do. The competitionโs really difficult and tough. The Worlds is always tough, as tough as it gets, as everybody knows. Iโm confident that by the time we get to the qualifiers and certainly the Olympics, the boxers can achieve what they need to,โ McCracken said. โTough couple of months, three or four months before Christmas for everyone on the programme and the boxers. Hopefully they can get the experience between now and Christmas that will equip them well for the qualifiers.
โThereโs plenty of time for people to make that space theirs but thereโs a lot of competition here.โ
The womenโs European championships begin on August 22, so soon after the European Games. GB will be sending Tori Ellis Willets (51kgs), Karris Artingstall (57kgs), Paige Murney (60kgs), Rosie Eccles and Sandy Ryan (both at 69kgs) as well as new middleweight Kerry Davis. โItโs good experience for them, a youngish team, relatively inexperienced, barring Sandy. Lauren [Price] is going to concentrate on the Worlds, sheโs just won a gold at the European Games,โ McCracken said. โI thought Lauren Price was absolutely brilliant in the European Games. She boxed real good opponents and she carried out the plan. She boxed fantastically well. Hopefully she can inspire some of the girls on the team who are relatively inexperienced to show what hard work, talent and determination can do.โ
Despite Nicola Adams hinting on social media that sheโd consider a sensational attempt to win a third Olympic gold medal, that appears to be more of a thought experiment at this stage than anything concrete. โShe pops in now and again, thereโs nothing really in it at the moment. I suppose sheโs won two gold medals at the Olympics and she probably thinks maybeโฆ Sheโs a [professional] world champion, Katie Taylorโs a world champion, Claressa Shields is, Iโm sure all three of them look at it and think I wouldnโt mind going back and winning,โ McCracken said. โThereโs not a lot in it at the moment but weโd always be happy to talk to her because sheโs a fantastic boxer.
โPretty much 99% of the weights here, thereโs other boxers in pole position, itโs undoable but an Olympic gold medallist wants to talk about it, you listen.โ
His GB squad is shaping up, a cluster of medals at the European Games bodes well for the challenges to come. โThe men had a really good tournament, thereโs more experience with the men and a couple were really unlucky not to get through to the final,โ the performance director said. โBen [Whittaker] lost a really close one in the final, it could have gone either way. Pat [McCormack] was tremendous winning a gold medal. Luke McCormack, Peter McGrail, Galal Yafai, Chev [Clarke], all did really well to win medals. They know thereโs a long way to go, thatโs the start of it but at least showed that the potentialโs there to qualify next year and hopefully get to the Olympics and contest a medal for all of them.โ