WHEN Southampton boxer Taylor Bevan looks around the boxing gym and GB Boxing’s Sheffield base, the faces of Team GB’s many Olympic medallists look back at him.

The 23 year old light-heavyweight dreams of joining their ranks, and will have the chance to join them after being selected for the first World Qualification Tournament in Busto Arsizio, Italy.

A place at Paris 2024 is the prize for reaching the semi-finals and between the inspirational photos on the wall, not to mention Olympic champions Lauren Price and Galal Yafai training in the same Sheffield gym, Bevan knows he is in the right place to succeed at the highest level.

“GB is one of the leading countries in the world for amateur boxing,” said the Team Wales boxer, who won Commonwealth silver in Birmingham.

“You see all the faces on the wall and it gives you the belief that you can go and do it yourself. I’ve seen my teammates do it at the European Games and it gives me a lot of confidence.

"All the boxers from the last cycle, I followed their journeys. I still train with Lauren Price and Karriss (Artingstall, who won Olympic bronze in Tokyo), so I look up to them.

"Galal (Yafai) still trains here as well so I look up to all of them. It’s inspirational when you train alongside them. It gives you the belief you can do it yourself.

“It’s good having chats with them, some of the experiences they have had and how their journey went.

“They talk about how to deal with the pressure, navigating your way through the tournament and getting that qualification.

"I’d like to think I deal with pressure well, I think most boxers do. I don’t want to overthink things. I just need to win each bout and get to that semi-final.”

Bevan is from a particularly sporty family. Dad Lester is a boxing coach, while his brother Owen is on the books at Bournemouth.

While Bevan is doing everything within his grasp to avoid fixating on the prospect of competing in Paris, he believes he has enjoyed the perfect preparation for the tournament in Italy.

“I come back from a really good camp out in Italy for sparring. I got familiar with a few different boxers at my weight who I haven’t come across before. I’m feeling in a good place.

“At the moment, it’s just exciting to think about the possibility of qualifying. But once I’m there, I’ll just take each fight as it comes and not think about the final goal.

"I just need to win each fight and hopefully I’ll get that qualification.

“I’ve learned loads in the last few years. We’ve had loads of great camps, over in Kazakhstan, Italy, and America so I’ve come across loads of different styles and types of training.

"I’ve had some good wins over other experienced countries like Cuba and America so that gives me loads of confidence going into this qualifier.

"I believe I can beat anyone out there at my weight.”

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