A BOXING coach has spoken of his pride at seeing the early Olympic successes of twins he has nurtured in the ring since they were youngsters.
Graeme Rutherford, head coach of Birtley Amateur Boxing Club, spoke as Pat McCormack’ won his first bout in the men’s welterweight division.
The 26-year-old World number one, who was born in Washington and spent his formative years at Birtley ABC, scored a comfortable unanimous decision victory over Aliaksandr Radzionau of Belarus, although one of the five judges saw fit to award his opponent the opening round.
Earlier, on Sunday, his brother Luke got the better of Manish Kaushik of India via unanimous decision in the men’s lightweight division to set up a last-16 bout against dangerous Cuban Andy Cruz.
Graeme said: “They both boxed really well in their opening fights. I am really proud of them.
“Pat and Luke have been with me since they were 11-years-old. They’ve had some good times and some bad times. They have worked really hard to get where they have got.
“They are not mega-talented or anything like that - their success is down to pure hard work. It doesn’t matter how good you are. If you don’t put the hard work in.
“He added: “Some times the opponent, who has put the work, in has beat them. That is how they have learned.
“They have paid the price. And obviously each time they have won it has boosted their confidence. They have strong mentalities.
“Hopefully they’ll go on and get a medal each. I am really confident they will.”
Graeme said the twins been in the gym twice a day, before they went to Japan.
He said: “They looked really good. They couldn't have done more preparation. The rest is in the lap of the gods.
“Before they left I said to them 'go out and do your best and get a medal.
"And I joked ‘if you don’t get a medal don’t come back’."
Pat McCormack has made no secret of his intention to shed his amateur vest after the Tokyo Games and turn professional alongside his twin brother Luke, who also made it through to the last eight in the lightweight division on Sunday.
And he can think of no better way of doing so than a final win over Russian Andrey Zamkovoy, who beat McCormack on cuts in the world final in 2019.
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