Damar Thomas has reached the super-heavyweight final, adding to Great Britain's tally of five medals at the European Boxing Championships in Bulgaria.
Thomas secured his spot in the 90+kg final by defeating Azerbaijan's experienced Mahammad Abdullayev. He dominated all three rounds, winning by unanimous decision. Thomas is set to face David Surov of Russia in Friday's final.
"Absolutely great. I'm just becoming who I thought I'd become and it would be great to win this," Thomas stated. He likened the achievement to a "to-do list," having already secured Commonwealths gold and now aiming for European and potentially Olympic gold.
Paris Olympian Chantelle Reid also earned a place in the final after a challenging bout against Milena Matovic of Serbia. Despite trailing after the first round, Reid rallied to win the second round and narrowly take the third, securing a 3-2 victory and advancing to the light-middleweight final.
Reid will compete against Turkish boxer Busenaz Surmeneli for the gold medal. "I was behind after the first round, but I just listened to my coaches, stuck to the game plan and got over the line," Reid commented. She added, "Each bout has got better and so has the opponent. I'll be boxing one of the very best at my weight on Friday and I'm looking forward to it. It'd mean the world to me to win gold."
Dimeji Shittu (80kg), Callum Makin (75kg), and Abdul Burton (55kg) are the other GB boxers who have guaranteed themselves medals at the championships.
