Michael Maguire from Eastfield has taken a step closer to the Beijing Olympic Games by winning the European bantamweight gold medal in Poland.

He is moving up to join a squad of medal hopefuls.

“This is fantastic news but doesn’t come as a big surprise to me,” said Clive Hogben, his trainer at the Kettering School Of Boxing. I know exactly what Michael is capable of and have always said the only person that will ever beat him is himself. If he continues to put in the hard work and commitment he is doing at the moment then I’m sure he’ll make it to the top.”

He has two upcoming boxing Olympic qualifiers in Italy in February and Greece in March.

Read more: Maguire closes in on the Beijing Olympics