Sunderland's Olympic bronze medallist collected the accolade at the SportsAid Northern Awards Dinner in Newcastle on Friday.

It's been a whirlwind 11 weeks since the end of the Beijing Olympics and the 23-year-old light-heavyweight admits his feet have hardly touched the ground – with big decisions still to come.

Jeffries, of Sunderland Amateur Boxing Club, said: "I've had a lot of invitations to events since the Olympics and I didn't have a clue I'd be getting this award.

"I'm really grateful for it. When you think of all the great sports people in the North East, it's an honour to be picked out."

Jeffries has kept himself ticking over in the gym while still considering his future and whether or not to turn professional.

He's been busy training a group of businessmen who will be stepping into the ring to box each other at the Rainton Meadow's Arena next month for a charity fundraising night.

And he was a guest at the Bobby Moore Sports Ball in London on Saturday.

"It's been a really busy few weeks," said Jeffries. "I was ready for the break from competition because it was an intense couple of years leading up to Beijing, but you start to miss it after a while and I should think things will be sorted soon about what I do next."

Meanwhile, there was disappointment for Jeffries's former clubmate Adam Whitfield in his opening bout at the European Senior Amateur Championships in Liverpool on Saturday.

The ABA flyweight champion was beaten 11-3 by Poland's Rafal Kaczor.

* Luckless Shaun Farmer was left to curse his misfortune after being awarded a draw in his latest bout.

The Sunderland boxer drew 57-57 with former Hungarian amateur Janos Fidel in Wigan on Saturday night.

It ended his three-contest losing streak – though two of the losses were both disputed points decisions which could easily have gone his way.