Tomorrow Belfast middleweight Brian Magee could become only the third boxer in almost 50 years to win a gold medal at the European Championships, which are currently being staged in Minsk, Belarus. The Holy Trinity fighter, who made it to the quarter-finals of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, yesterday out-classed Russia's Strelchinin Dimitri 5-0 to secure a place in the final against the current World Champion, Erdahl Zsolt of Hungary.
Already guaranteed the silver medal, Magee, the holder of the Irish title for the last four years, could become only the third Irish boxer to win a European title since Maxie McCullough's lightweight success in Oslo in 1949 and Paul Griffin's gold in Gothenburg in 1991, if he can overcome the divisional favourite.
"I feel brilliant, really good," he said after yesterday's win. "I haven't really thought of the other fighters who have come this far. But to be in the final of the European boxing championships really is something else. It took me three fights in qualification to get me here and it's brilliant.
"The fight itself was tactical and rough in places. I felt tired afterwards, but I'm rejuvenated now and getting ready to go on Sunday. I've seen him before (Zsolt) and I know that it will be a very hard fight. If I can perform the way I know I can and fight to the best of my ability there is no reason whatsoever not to bring home a gold medal. I don't have any negative thoughts about the fight. Everything at the moment is positive."
Magee's clubmate Damean Kelly won a bronze medal in Velje two years ago, but no Irish boxer has won a silver medal since featherweight Terry Milligan took one in the 1953 championships in Warsaw.
"I went two points up after the first round and by the fourth round I was still two points ahead. There was a lot of inside fighting, but I kept well protected. In the fifth round I felt my punches come together, got a good lead and just kept moving from there on in. I'd been practising my right hook and getting out of the way of his left hand. It worked brilliantly for me," said Magee.
Having won his semi-final bout over Germany's Gaisler Harald by a 6-4 margin, Magee will be delighted that he kept his distance from the Russian, who was unable to register a single point in the semi-final. And despite the tough week he continues to maintain his training regime.
"I've been training every night. Even after a fight you've got to train. You might be tired, but you just lift yourself for every fight. I know that when I get back home I can take a decent break. I'll just keep up what I'm doing now. It's worked so far," he said.
Magee will meet Zsolt for the final bout tomorrow afternoon.
