Injury ends Jeffries' Euro final

There was a silver lining for Olympics-bound Tony Jeffries after he was forced to retire through injury during the final of the EU Nations Championships in Poland.
The Sunderland Amateur Boxing Club light-heavyweight was trailing Ken Egan by only two points when the Irishman landed a solid blow to Jeffries's face in the third round, aggravating a painful nose injury he suffered in his semi-final win over Hungary's Imre Szello.

The punch forced Jeffries onto the back foot and, with Egan seven points ahead at the end of the third and a cut opening over the Wearsider's right eye, England coaches retired their man.

Jeffries was disappointed not to get gold, but was satisfied with his efforts during a bruising week that saw him have three fights in five days.

"It would have been great to win the final but I've come away feeling very positive," said the 23-year-old, who heads to Beijing for the Olympics in six weeks.

"I've got a silver medal and beaten one of the lads who I could come up against in the Olympics (Szello).

"I was tentative in the final because of my nose and I think I would have the beating of Egan without the injury.

"It's been a very hard week and I've got a fat nose and cut eye to bring home – but I'm still smiling."

Jeffries is one of nine Great Britain fighters going to Beijing and team chiefs have set a target of winning two medals.

Fellow Sunderland ABC fighter Warren Baister was also on the podium in Poland after Saturday's finals to collect the bronze medal he earned in the heavyweight division.

He had the satisfaction of knowing that the man who beat him in the semi-final, Greece's Ilias Pavlidis, went on to take the gold medal, beating Ireland's Con Sheehan in the final.