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AIBA World Boxing Championships: Sky Sports Scholars set to follow greats

Friday sees the start of the AIBA World Boxing Championships as fighters from all over the globe descend on the city of Almaty in Kazakhstan, each dreaming of walking away with a gold medal.

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Frankie Gavin became Britain's first World Championship gold medallist in 2007 and remains the only one to date, although both Luke Campbell and Anthony Joshua took silver in the 56kg and +91kg divisions, respectively, two years ago in Baku. Whilst Bateson will be looking to emulate the likes of Joshua, Haye and in particular Gavin, Quigley knows he can make history should he make the final. To date, no Irishman has progressed beyond the semi-final, meaning bronze is the best an Irish competitor has ever achieved in the men's event. Both Quigley and the rest of the Ireland team will be hoping to improve the country's record of seven bronze medals in 16 previous World Championships. Ireland have had significantly more success in the women's event since it was established in 2001, winning four gold medals in six tournaments. On the other hand, England have managed just the one gold. That was won last year in China by another Sky Sports Scholar, Savannah Marshall, who saw off the competition to win the middleweight crown. Marshall will have her chance to defend her title next year in Canada but for Bateson and Quigley, the waiting is over. Monday sees the start of the preliminaries and, they will hope, the road to being crowned world champion. The fact the championship is a straight knock-out makes it an unforgiving format, especially when you consider that the bouts consist of just three, three minute rounds. This means that not only a bad fight will be costly; just one poor round could be enough to see even the most accomplished fighter crash out. The time to regroup and mount a steady recovery simply isn't there. There is the additional factor that this is the first AIBA competition in which head-guards will not be used. For boxers that have been used to the added protection of the headgear for a number of years, the adjustment may be tricky and those who adapt quickest are likely to gain an advantage, even if only a psychological one. These are the challenges that face the athletes in Almaty this month. However, after their significant achievements in the past months and years, both Jack Bateson and Jason Quigley will be backing themselves to overcome any and all obstacles put in their way once the championships begin.

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