So close. The McCormack twins were agonisingly near a double gold at their first tournament since returning from the Commonwealth Games with medals.
Pat McCormack struck gold at welterweight at the Golden Belt tournament in Romania on Saturday, when he defeated Vasilii Belous on a unanimous decision.
Sadly, there was disappointment for Luke, who also had a Moldova boxer in the opposite corner, losing a split decision in the light-welter final to Dmitri Galagot.
Gold and silver for the Birtley ABC stars was only part of the GB story in Galati, where Galal Yafai took the title at flyweight with Peter McGrail and Frazer Clarke having to settle for runner-up spots on the podium.
The 2020 Olympics are, unbelievably, just 663 days away and Pat McCormack will be looking to make every day in the ring count in the build-up.
He did just that in the Nicolae Linca, that’s the Golden Belt to you and I.
Pat McCormack (pictured) dominated the U69 kilo final against Belous with four of the Romanian judges scoring it 30-27, with compatriot Valer Pocovnicu marking it wider at 30-26.
It was a great tournament for the 23-year-old who had been masterful at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, where he defeated Northern Ireland’s Aidan Walsh to lift the title.
After running out of gas at the 2017 European Championships, where he won silver, and being ripped off at the Worlds, where the judges robbed him of victory against Shakhram Giyasov, 2018 has proven much kinder to one half of the Washington ring masters.
Luke McCormack emerged from the Commonwealths frustrated not to go all the way after losing to the boxer so good they named him twice, Jonas Jonas.
After bronze in Australia, there was silver in Romania and more frustration the result went against him.
Up against Moldova’s experienced campaigner Galagot, the Graeme Rutherford-trained fighter looked firmly in contention in the final but the decision was on a knife edge.
It was an all-Romanian panel again and three scored it 29-28 to Galagot, with two giving the nod to Luke, 30-27 and 29-28.
Sadly, it was not to be for the European silver medallist but the competition marked another step forward.
That was certainly the case for Galal Yafai who was too strong for all of his rivals at the Golden Belt, the highlight being a terrific flyweight final triumph over Bulgaria’s Tinko Banabakov.
There was a shock at bantamweight, where Peter McGrail suffered a split decision reverse to teenager Boyan Asenov. The 19-year-old Bulgarian’s footwork looked unorthodox but it was enough to get three judges to score the bout his way.
At super-heavyweight, it was four judges to one as Frazer Clarke lost out in the final to Romania’s Mihai Nistor.
Words: Roy Kelly Picture: GB Boxing/ EUBC
