sport news Tokyo Olympics: Meet Team GB's boxers set to make a splash this summer

sport news Tokyo Olympics: Meet Team GB's boxers set to make a splash this summer
sport news Tokyo Olympics: Meet Team GB's boxers set to make a splash this summer

Britain's medal hopes in the boxing category have never been so high.

11 boxers will compete at the Tokyo Games next month following the success at the Paris qualifiers earlier this month, equaling the record set 37 years ago in Los Angeles

Optimism about Britain's prospects in Tokyo has grown so much there have been whispers about them breaking another record.

The Olympic heroes of 2012 were the most successful Team GB boxing squad ever, with Anthony Joshua, Luke Campbell and Nicola Adams striking gold and Fred Evans and Anthony Ogogo adding a silver and bronze respectively.

Could this team achieve even more? The general consensus is that this group of fighters certainly possesses the talent to do so. 

So, without further ado, let's meet the 11 Brits going for gold in Tokyo. 

Anthony Joshua struck gold at the London 2012 Olympics

Amir Khan helped Britain become a major force in Olympic boxing again by winning silver in Athens

Anthony Joshua (left) and Amir Khan (right) are two of Britain's more recent Olympic heroes

Frazer Clarke (Super heavyweight, +91kg)

Frazer Clarke has been around the blocks. His Olympic dream, which was secured last week, has been a decade in the making.

Clarke, who first entered the Team GB boxing ranks as a 17-year-old, was pipped to a place at the London Games by Anthony Joshua in 2012 and then by Joe Joyce four years later in Rio.

The former fight night security guard is also a long-time sparring partner of world heavyweight champion Joshua and is a big favourite to finish on the podium in Tokyo.

He beat the No 2 seed Marko Milun of Croatia during the Paris qualifiers before losing the final on a split decision.

After having to bide his time for so long, Clarke will be fired up to finally get his chance to fight at the Olympics. Expect to hear about him a lot more after these Games, too, because he intends on turning over to the pro ranks afterwards. 

Interesting fact: Has a tattoo of Del Boy Trotter on his leg.

British super-heavyweight Frazer Clarke secured his place at Olympics after a decade of trying

British super-heavyweight Frazer Clarke secured his place at Olympics after a decade of trying

Cheavon Clarke (Heavyweight, 91kg)

Earning a spot at the Olympics is just the latest event in Cheavon Clarke's remarkable life.

The talented heavyweight is still only 30, but he's seen enough adversity and had some extraordinary experiences for a lifetime.

Clarke is fortunate to be with us, let alone going for gold in Tokyo. He has technically died twice. When he was just eight he was left lifeless after falling off a ladder and being impaled by a steel spike. Then when he was 18, he 'flatlined' in hospital again, this time because of a burst appendix.

He's also once played Call of Duty with Usain Bolt, squared up to Prince Charles and got in the ring with Rio Ferdinand in the former Manchester United defender's garden.

Clarke has previously won bronze at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and silver in the 2017 Championships. He will be hoping to go one better in Tokyo. Whether he'll turn pro afterwards is a decision only he knows. He has rejected the chance on numerous occasions after being advised by former world champion Richie Woodhall to stay as an amateur for as long as he could. Right now though, he'll be solely focused on the Olympics.

Interesting fact: Once quit boxing to be a lorry driver.

Cheavon Clarke has had a remarkable life and is now going to be fighting at the Olympics

Cheavon Clarke has had a remarkable life and is now going to be fighting at the Olympics

Ben Whittaker (Light-heavyweight, 81kg)

Ben Whittaker is one of Britain's best medal hopefuls, having qualified for Tokyo as the No 1 seed at light-heavyweight.

Whittaker was due to fight for the gold medal at the Paris qualifiers but decided against contesting the final as a precaution, so that shows you where his focus is.

The 23-year-old is desperate to strike gold at Tokyo to get his name on the wall at the fabled English Institute of Sport alongside Anthony Joshua, Luke Campbell and Nicola Adams.

He is a graduate of the famous Sheffield institute, which has been a breeding ground for British boxing talent with undisputed super-lightweight world champion Josh Taylor also learning his trade there, but Whittaker has got his eyes set on emulating AJ rather than the Taylor, saying recently: 'All they talk about around here is the Olympics and getting your name on the wall.'

After his Olympic dream was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, Whittaker revealed earlier this month it was 50/50 whether he would turn pro or not having seen Teofimo Lopez, who is the same age as him, become the unified lightweight champion but he eventually rejected offers to turn over after taking advice from Joshua.

Interesting fact: Once got sacked from a matchday job at Wolves. Speaking about it recently, he said: 'It was too cold. I used to just hide in the toilet and eat Pukka pies.'

Ben Whittaker desperately wants to win a medal so he can get his name on the wall at the EIS

Ben Whittaker desperately wants to win a medal so he can get his name on the wall at the EIS

Lauren Price (Middleweight, 75 kg)

Lauren Price is the most decorated female boxer in the Team GB squad and a huge favourite to win gold in Tokyo.

The Welsh fighter won gold in qualifying and heads into the Games as the Commonwealth and European champion and without a defeat since 2018.

Price is an exceptional talent but insisted she has improved even further over the extra 12 months she's had due to the Olympics being delayed by Covid.  

The middleweight, who was raised by her grandparents and was a great all-round athlete, having won taekwondo titles and represented Wales in football as a teenager, is known for her extreme toughness and driven attitude.

Price says she has dreamed of competing at the Olympics since she was eight. In just a few weeks, she finally fulfill that fantasy.

Interesting fact: She played more than 100 games for Cardiff City FC's women's team and won 52 international caps playing for Wales after making her debut at the age of 16.

Lauren Price (right) is one of the most talented fighters in the squad and a favourite to win gold

Lauren Price (right) is one of the most talented fighters in the squad and a favourite to win gold

Pat McCormack (Welterweight, 69kg)

Pat McCormack is arguably the standout talent in the Team GB squad and is expected to repeat his gold in Paris.

The 26-year-old edged out Andrei Zamkovoi - who beat him in the 2019 World Championship final - in a hugely competitive contest.

McCormack will now likely be the No 1 seed in Tokyo and the man to beat. Many experts are tipping McCormack and Zamkovoi, who has only lost 20 of his 140 amateur fights, to be the Olympic finalists.

McCormack is one of the most decorated and experienced boxers in the amateurs and has previously competed at an Olympic games, having fought at Rio in 2016.

He got to the last-16 before losing to the No 2 seed and has since moved up to welterweight and established himself as one of the world's leading

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