Glasgow 2014: ‘This gold is mine,’ says McFadden

Scottish flyweight Reece McFadden. Picture: SNS

The 19-year-old from Motherwell caused shockwaves on Friday evening with his unanimous triumph over Welshman Selby and he reinforced his medal credentials with an astute performance against Edwards, of England, at the SECC.

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The teenager’s cocky character is infectious, to say the least – some may perceive it as arrogance – but McFadden certainly has the self-belief that he can win gold on the big stage.

“I’ll do it again until I win that gold medal,” the teenager said after his second victory in as many days. “I said it when I beat Selby – I will get that gold medal. The key is to keep calm and I know I beat these two boys [Edwards and Selby] by them both looking away when I stared into their eyes. They didn’t want to look at me and were looking at the referee.

“I’m in the fittest shape of my life right now and I am ready for a gold medal and to progress. I’ve got the heart of a lion. I do get too hyped up from time to time but, from now on, I’m going to focus on boxing.”

McFadden, the smaller of the two pugilists, made a bright start, using a combination of shots to Edwards’ head to signal his intentions.

With every connecting shot, the crowd roared in raptures as the Scottish fighter gained the initiative after the end of the first round and, in truth, never looked back as he went on to finish the job off with a strong performance in the closing two rounds.

Botswana’s Oteng Oteng now stands between McFadden and a place in Friday’s semi-final, with the pair doing battle tomorrow afternoon.

Earlier in the day, Josh Taylor at 64kg sealed his spot in the last eight with an equally comprehensive display against Richarno Colin, of Mauritius. The Edinburgh boxer, 23, had little time to prepare following Saturday’s round of 32 victory over Kagiso Bagwasi, of Botswana, but showed no signs of fatigue as he proved too strong for his experienced opponent.

Both fighters had medaled at the Delhi Games in 2010, Taylor taking silver when fighting at the slightly lesser weight of 60kg, with Colin taking bronze in the 64kg contest. However, the Mauritian was out of his depth against a confident Taylor, who was ruthless with his use of the jab. But in the final seconds of the second round the Lochend boxer really made his mark, throwing a scintillating left hook which sent Colin sprawling backwards with the ropes coming to his aid.

As the bell brought the second round to a halt, Taylor started to clinch his victory and he ensured there was little doubt in the judges’ minds with another strong final-round performance. “I wasn’t looking for any knockout punches and was just letting my boxing do the talking,” Taylor said afterwards. “It’s better when I relax as I think in Saturday’s fight I was trying that bit too hard.

“I feel more relaxed as the tournament goes on and, the better opponent I get, the better I am going to get.”

Taylor will now box Wales’ Zack Davies in tomorrow evening’s quarter-final.

After receiving a bye into the last 16, Lanark’s Charlie Flynn entered the fray at 60kg and did not disappoint as he got the better of Australia’s Nick Cooney to book his place in tomorrow’s quarter-final against Ghana’s Jessie Lartey. It was a cagey opening, however, with just over 90 seconds gone before the first punch was thrown.

In the first round, Flynn also suffered a cut to his right eye as Cooney was all too quick to rush in with his head. But this didn’t stop Flynn as he set about his opponent in the second round and then found his rhythm with the left jab as the judges rewarded him with a unanimous victory.

The Scottish lightweight stressed the significance of having a strong vocal support, which he believes gives the fighters that extra incentive.

Flynn, 20, said: “The atmosphere is absolutely amazing – you can hear the crowd roaring. You feel the passion in your heart and I can’t let these people down.

“I don’t feel pressure because these people want you to win, like they are in the ring with you. I can walk down the streets, speak to my mates or anybody I want, so I am relaxed. I felt a bit sluggish but I got the job done, so bring on the next one.”