A PLACE at the Youth Commonwealth Games is the carrot for contenders at the British Youth Boxing Championships at Portobello Town Hall tonight and tomorrow.
Amateur Boxing Scotland confirmed there are only five places available for the games in Poona, India, in October.
A spokesman said: "An outstanding, championship- winning performance this weekend will do no harm to the chances of going to India.
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Leith Victoria light-welterweight Sandy Forsyth is a good prospect for this weekend's championships, which are restricted to boxers born in 1990/91 and the current Scottish ten-stone champ said: "I've won Eastern, Scottish and Schoolboy titles but now I want to add a British crown to my list of honours.
"I really fancy being in that Junior Commonwealth Games team heading to India later on this year.
"I've had good preparation at club level, sparring with former Gambian senior Commonwealth Games light-welterweight Momudu Jammeh and former Scottish middleweight champion Fundo Mhura.
"Sparring with Fundo has been especially good in sharpening me up.
"He has worked on me going forward and attacking more rather than me just using my natural counter-punching style."
European bronze medallist Mhura believes that Forsyth could be both a serious contender for a British title and one of the quintet of places on the plane for Poona.
Mhura said: "Sandy has really impressed me overall in our sparring sessions.
"But, in these championships, very often, come forward, eye-catching aggression is counted higher than cool counter-punching so we've been working on moves to make Sandy equally effective coming forward."
Gilmerton club boss Rab Young believes that two of his boxers also have the tools to win British titles tomorrow.
He said: "Scottish light-flyweight champion Josh Taylor is on fire just now at international level. He stopped a Turkish opponent inside a round two months ago in Finland to win a gold medal.
"More recently, he won a bronze in Russia – only being defeated by a Russian opponent who is rated number two in the world at his age and weight.
"Josh has looked good in sparring with my other hope for a British title – lightweight Conor McCallum, who I also believe could shine in these championships.
"Both Taylor and McCallum have been alerted to the possibility of making the Scottish Youth Commonwealth Games squad and that will fire them up."
Other Capital contenders over the next couple of days include lightweights Lewis Benson and Brian Lacey from the Sparta club.
The full article contains 421 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
