Great Britain's Chantelle Reid and Damar Thomas are set to compete for gold at the European Boxing Championships following their semi-final wins on Wednesday. Reid overcame Serbia's Milena Matovic with a 3-2 decision in the light-middleweight category, while Thomas secured a dominant 5-0 victory against Azerbaijan's Mahammad Abdullayev in the men's super-heavyweight division.
Reid, a Commonwealth Games silver medallist, recovered from being behind after the first round to win unanimously in the second and seal her victory at Asics Arena Sports Hall in Sofia, Bulgaria. She expressed her anticipation for the final, stating, "On to the next. Each bout's gone better, each opponent's gotten better and I'll be boxing the best out of the weight category in two days' time." The 28-year-old will face Turkey's Busenaz Surmeneli in Friday's final.
Thomas, a 21-year-old Commonwealth gold medallist, will also fight for gold on Friday against Russia's David Surov. Both Thomas and Surov achieved 5-0 victories in their semi-final bouts.
Further medal hopes for Great Britain rest with Callum Makin and Dimeji Shittu, who have guaranteed themselves medals by reaching their semi-finals. Shittu, a Commonwealth Games silver medallist, secured his European medal with a 5-0 win and will compete on Thursday for a place in the final. Makin, a World Boxing Championships bronze medallist, also won his quarter-final 3-2 and will fight in a semi-final on Thursday.
Other British fighters, Lauren Mackie and Amy Broadhurst, experienced quarter-final defeats on Wednesday. Abdul Burton is also scheduled to compete on Thursday in the men's super-bantamweight semi-finals.