Pat McCormack must swap vest and shorts for a smart ‘whistle’ in the capital tonight after striking gold again.
The European Games champion and World Championship silver medalist has taken a write hook by being named Best Amateur Boxer of The Year by the Boxing Writers’ Club of Great Britain.
He will be suited and booted in London this evening to collect the award, which is named after the late, great sports journalist Ken Jones, at the Boxing Writers’ Club annual dinner at the Savoy Hotel.
GB Boxing’s Performance Director, Rob McCracken said: “Pat is a very rare talent and one of the best boxers we have had in the GB Boxing squad in my time with the world class programme.
“He has had a fantastic 12 months and thoroughly deserves this recognition.”
As his GB boss correctly says, it caps an incredible year for the 24-year-old.
After going through 2018 unbeaten, winning gold at the Commonwealth Games and European Union Championships, he stepped up another gear in 2019.
After winning a top international competition in Finland, he struck gold in Minsk at the European Games, Europe’s version of the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.
The Birtley ABC star was named number two seed at the Worlds in Russia, where he put together a fine run of wins over Aidan Walsh, Lasha Guruli, Sewonretys Okazawa and Bobo-Usman Baturov to reach his first world championship final.
There he suffered terrible bad luck after the welterweight showdown with Andrei Zamkovoi was stopped in the second round in Ekaterinburg following a head clash just as Pat seemed to be getting to grips with the Russian.
A silver medal though represented a great achievement for the Graeme Rutherford-trained boxer and this award in memory of Ken Jones is a very worth one.
The Amateur trophy was introduced by the Boxing Writers’ Club in 2008, with McCormack following in the footsteps of some GB and Olympic gold medal heroes, James DeGale, Luke Campbell, Anthony Joshua and Nicola Adams.
The boxer, from Washington, has been destined for success for some time. He was a Junior World Champion in 2011 and joined the GB Boxing squad in 2013. He performed well at the Rio Olympics 2016 is also a two-time European Championship silver medalist.
Words: Roy Kelly Picture: GB Boxing
