Dreams Of Gold
Saunders sets sights on Olympic glory
BRADLEY SAUNDERS has immediately
turned his attention
towards winning a medal after
fulfilling his first wish at the
World Amateur Boxing Championships.
After defeating American
Javier Molina in the early hours
of yesterday morning, the Sedgefield
boxer heads into tonight's
quarter-final against Frenchman
Alexis Vastine confident in
the knowledge he has already secured
his place in next year's
Olympics.
Saunders has always dreamed
he would one day compete for
gold at the Games and now he is
assured of his place in Beijing
after reaching the last eight in
Chicago.
Saunders was never overawed
by the surroundings, despite a
partisan States-side crowd desperate
to see Molina emerge victorious.
After recording a stunning 24-
12 points win over Molina, Saunders
revealed the delight he felt
after stunning the locals.
"It was the second best day of
my life," said Saunders, who had
his 14-month-old son with him
inside the Chicago arena.
"My first goal was to qualify
for the Olympics and my next
one is to gain a medal here.
"I have to pay massive thanks
to England coach Terry Edwards
who has been pushing me all the
way to achieve success at this
event."
Edwards, who is also likely to
be team Great Britain's coach at
the Beijing Olympics, said: "I
love Bradley.
"He's a tough, fast-handed,
difficult opponent for anyone to
box and he's improving all the
time."
Saunders charged straight
into the ring after Molina and he
never looked back once he had
gained an early advantage.
The 20-year-old, fighting in
the 64kg category, is now expecting
a tougher contest
against Vastine.
There is also a strong chance
Saunders will be followed on to
next year's Olympics stage by
fellow North-Easterner Tony Jeffries.
Jeffries, of Sunderland, was
due to face Ramazan Magomedov
of Belarus last night for a
place in the quarter-finals of the
81kg category.
Elsewhere, Scottish heavyweight
Stephen Simmons was
stopped in the fourth round
against Milorad Gajovic of Montenegro.
Irish duo John Sweeney
(heavyweight) and middleweight
Darren Sutherland
lost to Russia's Rakhim
Chakhkeiv and Alfonso Blanco
of Venezuela respectively.
However, all three could still
qualify for Beijing.
■ A star-studded guest list will
assemble for a benefit dinner for
former world featherweight
champion Paul Ingle in his
hometown of Scarborough tomorrow.
Ingle suffered brain injuries
during a defeat against Mbulelo
Botile in December 2000.
Among those appearing are
Nigel Benn, Steve Collins, Billy
Hardy and Johnny Nelson.
Tickets are still available,
priced £150 Platinum, £125 Gold,
£100 Silver, £75 Bronze.
For details, call the box office
at 01992 451332. Credit Cards are
accepted - www.sportsplusweb.
11:00am Thursday 1st November 2007
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