Pat McCormack is confident it will be a case of third time lucky when he spearheads Birtley’s brilliant boxing trio at the Commonwealth Games.
Pat will be joined on the Gold Coast by brother, Luke, and Calum French as they form 25% of the England side.
It is the third occasion the McCormack twins and French have been in the same squad at a major tournament.
They drew a blank at the World Championships in Hamburg, but, previous to that, Luke and Pat won silver medals at the European Championships in the Ukraine, where French brought home a bronze medal.
This time they have England vests on – the UK nations all split up for the Commonwealth Games.
“We’re making history again,” Pat told punch-lines. “Hopefully we’ll come back with three golds from this one.
“We’ve all got the ability to do it, we’ve all just had some good WSB wins and we can’t wait to get out there.”
The team, made up of eight male boxers and four female fighters, leave for Queensland on Thursday when they will go through their final preparations in a holding camp before entering the Commonwealth village on April 2.
Birtley’s trio looked in great nick as they met the media at the official team unveiling at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
And as Pat mentioned, all three have tasted victory in the World Series of Boxing.
Light-Welterweight Luke has won twice for the British Lionhearts in 2018, against France and Italy, while Pat and lightweight Calum both beat Croatian opposition at Gateshead Leisure Centre last month.
“I’m very confident,” said Pat, the heaviest of the trio at welterweight. “I’m not worried about anyone, if I go out there and perform I’ll win gold.
“I want to get gold at one of the big tournaments, silvers or bronze are no good – when you go to these championships you want the title.”
Words: Roy Kelly
