Three English amateurs march into Moscow finals

Three England boxers will compete for gold medals in the finals of the European Championships in Moscow tomorrow.

At 51kg Birmingham City ABC's Khalid Yafai celebrated his 21st birthday with a 5-0 win over Ronny Beblik of Germany. Khalid edged into a 1-0 lead after the first round in which both boxers kept things tight and the German failed to penetrate the Birmingham boxer's defence, allowing Khalid to pick up another four points in each of the final two rounds to secure a guaranteed silver medal and a shot at the gold tomorrow.

Boxing alongside the England boxers was Welsh bantamweight team mate Andrew Selby, who added another bronze to the medal he won at the 2008 European Championships in Liverpool. Andrew lost 5-0 to Georgi Chigaev of Ukraine after a cagey opener in which both boxers moved with speed but threw few punches. The elusive Ukrainian moved into a 4-0 lead in the second with a solid display, leaving Andrew too much to do in the last.

Also at 54kg, Gamal Yafai (Birmingham City ABC) managed to get ahead of Russia's Eduard Abzalimov by two points to one in his first round. However, a strong finish and two extra points for the home boxer meant Gamal finished 3-2 down. A fantastic performance and a bronze medal for the younger Yafai brother in his first major championship semi final.

Ferndown boxer Iain Weaver (Golden Ring ABC) overcame Irishman Tyrone McCullagh 10-3 in a terrific display that saw him negotiate the awkward Irishman to win a place in the final. With the score poised at 3-2 to Iain at the end of the second, the Englishman picked McCullagh off at will in the final round to seal it 10-3.

Liverpudlian lightweight Tom Stalker (Salisbury ABC) beat Eugen Burhard (Germany) 5-2 after finishing his second round behind on points. A brave and skilled performance from Stalker, who beat the odds earlier in the competition when he cleverly saw off Italian world champion Domenico Valentino. Tom boxes for gold tomorrow.

Boxing in the finals (1pm, Saturday):

51kg: Khalid Yafai v Misha Aloyan (Russia)

57kg: Iain Weaver v Denis Makarov (Germany)

60kg: Tom Stalker v Albert Selimov (Russia)

Information courtesy of the ABAE