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Millfield boxer Kieran MacDonald sets sights on Team GB vest at Tokyo 2020

Sunderland ABC Kiaran MacDonald has his sights firmly set on the Tokyo Olympics next summer after making fresh waves on the international boxing scene.
By Liam Kennedy
Published 21st Mar 2019, 18:18 BST- 2 min read
Updated 21st Mar 2019, 18:28 BST
Kieran MacDonald with his silver medal, won at the recent European under-22 championships in Russia.Kieran MacDonald with his silver medal, won at the recent European under-22 championships in Russia.
Kieran MacDonald with his silver medal, won at the recent European under-22 championships in Russia.

MacDonald, known to his mates as 'Kez', is already a two-time England Boxing Elite National Championships winner - he picked up gold in both 2016 and 2017.

He is also a fully fledged member of the Team GB setup - which is a talent producing machine having seen the likes of Anthony Joshua and Sunderland's own Josh Kelly comes through its ranks in recent years.

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But fresh from his latest triumph - a silver medal in the EUBC under-22 men's European Boxing Championships in Russia - 21-year-old MacDonald only has eyes for making the trip to the Far East in 2020.

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"It's every boxer's dream to go to an Olympics," the flyweight hopeful told the Echo.

"An Olympic games is the absolute pinnacle of amateur boxing.

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"The result at the European championships is just one small step towards where I want to be.

"I know it will not be easy to get to Tokyo, but I know I have the ability to do it."

MacDonald trains alongside the likes of world heavyweight king Joshua and other professionals such as Joshua Buatsi, who is also on the road to world stardom, at the GB Boxing headquarters, a purpose-built training facility at the English Institute of Sport, Sheffield.

The Millfield lad spends every Monday to Thursday down in South Yorkshire, sharpening the tools among the nation's professional and amateur elite.

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Confident MacDonald admits it's an amazing learning experience.

"They teach us a thing or two, and sometimes we show them a thing or two, too," he joked.

"The likes of Anthony Joshua talk to us and help us - that's what it's all about. They have been in the same position and know exactly what it feels like.

"I have trained with Josh Kelly for most of my boxing career. To see him doing so well, and all of the other former GB boxers, is inspiration for me.

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"Being at Sheffield is the perfect platform to the professional game, but for now I am 100% focused on being the one out of the three flyweights selected for Tokyo."