SUNDERLAND flyweight Kiaran MacDonald has been selected as part of Great Britain’s eight-man squad for the World Boxing Championships in Belgrade.

The Wearsider will make his World Championship debut in the tournament which takes place between October 26 and November 6, as GB Boxing head into a new Olympic cycle that will culminate at the next Games in Paris in 2024.

MacDonald, who started his career with Sunderland ABC, is one of the more experienced members of an extremely youthful squad, having been part of GB Boxing’s podium squad for more than four years.

He travelled to this summer’s Olympics in Tokyo as a sparring partner to help prepare some of the boxers that went on to compete for Team GB.

GB Boxing’s performance Director, Rob McCracken, said: “The World Championships is an incredibly tough assignment, so this is an opportunity for a new group of boxers to test themselves at the very highest level.

“There is a lot of talent in this team, however they have had very little competition over the last 18 months (because of the restrictions introduced because of Covid).

“Taking part in this tournament will be a great learning experience for the boxers and will enable myself and the coaches to get a clear idea of where we are and what we need to do to develop this group.”