Natural born fighters.
That is the McCormack twins, Luke and Pat, and the three-word assessment comes from the top of the Great Britain camp.
The Washington brothers are watching and waiting in London at the European Olympic Qualifying tournament – waiting for their first bout and watching at the Copperbox to see who their opponents will be.
Both Birtley ABC stars are seeded at the Road to Tokyo – Luke (right) is number three at U63 kilos while at U69 kilos, Pat is numero uno – meaning they must wait for the first round to be staged before entering the fray in the last 16.
Luke is up first on Tuesday when he meets the winner of Sunday evening’s Germany v Turkey tie between Kastriot Sopa and Tugrul Han Erdemir while 24 hours later, Pat tackles the boxer who progresses from Monday’s welterweight match between Milan Vrankovic, from Croatia, and Monaco’s Hugo Micallef.
Britain coach, Lee Pullen, told punch-lines he has no doubts about either of the brothers, not even the difficulty faced by Luke of having to shed a kilo to make the new division limit of 63 kilos.
“We thought he’d be a bit miserable and grumpy,” he smiled. “But he’s got his nut down and put the work in.
“The one thing about the twins is when they are on it, they are on it, you never have to chase them about training or their weight.
“They get their heads down and graft, they are natural born fighters.”
And while Lee has no doubts about Luke and the weight, similarly, he has little concern regarding Pat and the pressure the 24-year-old might be feeling as the competition’s favourite.
Pat has lost only twice in the last two years, a hard-to-stomach World Championship defeat to Andrei Zamkovoi after the final was halted because of a bad cut.
Other than that, he has won everything, including the Commonwealth Games, European Union Championship and European Games.
“Pat made the world final and was unlucky about the cut,” added Pullen.
“He copes well with the pressure, I think he’ll be all right and, as I’ve said, he’s a natural born fighter.
“He’s served his apprenticeship, he’s a really good fighter, world class.
“Anyone who is drawn to fight Pat is in for a really tough night.”
Great Britain have made a good start in London, where Caroline Dubois clinched a unanimous win over Belarusian Ala Staradub on her senior debut while Frazer Clarke was handed a walkover in his opening super-heavyweight bout after his opponent withdrew.
Words: Roy Kelly
