Introducing Great Britain’s boxing medal hopes at Rio 2016

The Rio Olympics are upon us, and Team GB are hoping that boxing is one of the many sports in which they build upon their London 2012 success.

After having seven male competitors and three female competitors qualify four years ago - without even requiring the one female and five male slots they would have been automatically granted as host nation - this time around a record 12 combatants will be vying for medals in Brazil.

Here’s a closer look at each of the 10 men and two women who will be representing Britain between the ropes in Rio.

Galal Yafai (men’s light-flyweight)

The southpaw has boxing in his blood: Kal Yafai boxed at Beijing 2008, with both he and third sibling Gamal now fighting in the professional ranks. Galal’s impressive performances in the World Series of Boxing (a tournament which combines elements of both amateur and pro competition) lead many to believe he’ll follow in their footsteps after he has gone for gold in Rio. “I was far more interested in semi-pro football and I took boxing as a bit of a hobby really, but Kal and Gamal convinced me to give it a proper go,” admitted Galal.

The draw: Simplice Fotsala of Cameroon is first up for Galal with Joahnys Argilagos of Cuba awaiting the winner.

Muhammad Ali (men’s flyweight)

Of course, this isn’t the same Muhammad Ali who won gold at Rome 1960 - but in the very same calendar year we sadly lost ‘The Greatest’, it would be poignant and fitting if the 20-year-old could go all the way in Brazil. The Bury ABC product was trained by Mick Jelley, who also brought Amir Khan and Scott Quigg through the amateur ranks. “Hopefully I can be half as good as the real Ali one day,” said Ali.

The draw: Ali received a first-round bye, with the representative of either Dominican Republic or Venezuela first up.

Qais Ashfaq (men’s bantamweight)

Ashfaq, 23, won silver two years ago at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. One of the more experienced members of the GB fighting crew, the Leeds man says meeting Amir Khan prior to the former world champion’s own Olympic odyssey in 2004 inspired the then-11-year-old to take the same path. Ashfaq said: “Since that day I have been working hard, I’ve been striving and I’ve got where I am now.”

The draw: Chatchai Butdee of Thailand meets Qais in round one, with the winner meeting Ireland’s bye recipient Michael Conlan.

Joseph Cordina (men’s lightweight)

The 24-year-old from Newport, Wales, won bronze at the 2014 Commonwealths followed by gold at the European Championships in Bulgaria last year. However, at the 2015 Worlds, Joe lost out to Brazil’s Robson Conceicao in the last eight. He feels training with IBF featherweight king Lee Selby will help him reach the top, saying: “Champions breed champions and it is good to be around that environment.”

The draw: Charly Suarez of the Philippines awaits Joe in round one.

Pat McCormack (men’s light-welterweight)

Bartlett man McCormack, 21, participated at Glasgow 2014 but his career highlight so far came in Bulgaria last year with a silver medal. He and Josh Kelly qualified only as recently as June which brought Team GB’s boxing squad to a record number. “It’s an unreal feeling to qualify for the Olympics,” he said. “I was frustrated not to do it in Turkey at the first qualifier but always had faith in my ability and this time I made sure.”

The draw: Pat has his work cut out for him, after being drawn to first fight Kazakhstan’s Ablaikhan Zhussupov before the winner has to get through Cuba’s Yasniel Toledo.

Josh Kelly (men’s welterweight)

A part-time model who has already made public his plans to go pro immediately after Rio, the 22-year-old from Sunderland was the last of the 12 to qualify. “I have had a few injury problems over the last year and there were times when the Olympics looked a long way off,” he explained, “so to know that I have now qualified and will be on that plane to Rio with the rest of the team is just brilliant.”

The draw: Sedik Mohamed of Egypt is first up for Kelly, with the winner being paired up against Kazakhstan representative (and number two seed) Daniyar Yeleussinov.

Antony Fowler (men’s middleweight)

One of Britain’s top boxing medal prospects, the cousin of footballer Robbie Fowler brings a wealth of amateur experience to the camp and delayed turning pro to compete in Rio. He is the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist and a bronze medallist at the 2013 World Amateur Championships. "I genuinely believe I can win gold,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of experience over the years and because of that I’ve got a strong mentality, I can handle the pressure. I showed it at the Commonwealth Games, the Europeans, and the Worlds.”

The draw: Fowler also has Kazakhstan in his immediate future, with a first round draw against Zhanibek Alimkhanuly.

Joshua Buatsi (men’s light-heavyweight)

The Ghana-born 23-year-old, who now resides in Croydon, began boxing aged 15 and has delayed the final year of his degree in sports science and management until after the Games. Buatsi is looking at the stars of 2012 for inspiration - and he doesn’t have to look far. “Anthony Joshua and Luke Campbell are still coming down to the gym and I still get to see them from time to time,” he explained. “To see where they are now and know they were in the position I’m in, it’s inspiring to see where I could be in a few years.”

The draw: Kennedy Katende of Uganda awaits Buatsi in round one.

Lawrence Okolie (men’s heavyweight)

In only his 23rd amateur bout, the 23-year-old qualified for Rio in April. A relative newcomer to the sport, Okolie started going to boxing gyms six years ago after being subjected to abuse as a teenager because of his weight at the time and is now a highly-rated medal prospect who during London 2012 worked at McDonalds, flipping burgers. “I was constantly picked on, called fat, chubby, Umpa Lumpa and all sorts,” said the Stoke Newington man. “Then I took up boxing, dropped to 12 stone and qualified for the Olympics.”

The draw: Okolie will fight Igor Jakubowski of Poland in round one, with the victor advancing to meet Cuban Erislandy Savon - who caused Anthony Joshua a great deal of trouble at London 2012.

Joseph Joyce (men’s super-heavyweight)

The last man to defeat Anthony Joshua, pro or amateur, looks to follow in his friend’s footsteps by winning the medal the current IBF heavyweight champion of the world claimed four years ago in London. A World Series of Boxing stalwart, the 6’6”, 17-stone gentle giant will also turn pro after Rio and has been compared by some - including Joshua himself - to the great George Foreman. "I’ll be turning 31 after the Olympics so I need to start the pro road before it’s too late,” said Joyce. “I thought about going pro before, but my original goal was to get to the Olympics and I wanted to see that dream through.

The draw: Joyce has a bye to the quarter-finals, where he will face

Nicola Adams (women’s flyweight)

Winner of a gold medal four years ago when women made their Olympic boxing debut, Adams’ name is already etched into fight sport history - and she seeks to bolster her legacy by joining the select few fighters - male or female - to have claimed multiple golds. The bisexual 33-year-old is as revered in the LGBT community as she is within the realm of women’s sport, and is Team GB’s most likely source of a 2016 boxing medal. "Boxing is a sport for me, I don’t see it as a fight,” she said in an interview.

The draw: Adams received a first-round bye, and needs to beat the winner of Ukraine vs Bulgaria to guarantee a medal.

Savannah Marshall (women’s middleweight)

Marshall, like Adams, participated at London 2012 but lost in the quarter-finals to eventual bronze medallist Marina Volnova of Kazakhstan. Having won Commonwealth gold and World bronze since, a matured Marshall has a strong chance of medalling at the second attempt in Brazil. “I am really happy and grateful to be given another chance to compete at the Olympic Games,” the 25-year-old from Hartlepool said.

The draw: Savannah begins against Anna Laurell of Sweden in round one.

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For more details on the Olympic boxing tournaments, including the full schedule and day-to-day updates, check out the official Olympic website. And for daily reports of the blow-by-blow action, stay tuned to Yahoo Sport UK.