COLCHESTER'S international boxer Lewis Richardson is hoping his latest gold-medal performance will stand him in good stead for some big events to come.

The talented middleweight was victorious for GB Boxing at the Gee Bee tournament, in Finland.

Richardson, 24, secured a unanimous victory over Estonia's Maksim Ljubimov to claim gold.

The victory sets the former Thomas Lord Audley School pupil up nicely for next month's Men’s European Championships in Armenia, along with this summer's Commonwealth Games.

Richardson said: "It's always nice to win gold for Great Britain, especially with a big few months coming up.

"I've got the Europeans and the Commonwealth Games over the next three or four months so it was good to get into a bit of form before then and hopefully carry that through to the major competitions.

"There's still a selection process for the Europeans and the Commonwealth Games but I believe I'm in the number one spot to go and get selected for those and I'm eager to go and do well.

Gazette:

"It's another one to add onto the list and another international tournament to say that I've been to and come away with gold.

"We've been focusing on a few things in the gym and we were able to replicate that in the ring.

"It's obviously positive for myself and positive for my coaches that we were able to transfer what we've been practising and learning into a fight environment.

"There were plenty of positives - I felt good, I felt strong, I felt fit and it's all good preparation for what could be a really big few months for me."

Richardson ended up only having one bout in Finland after several potential opponents dropped out, at short notice.

It was a frustrating scenario for the former Essex University Boxing Club member but the talented fighter still remained professional, to secure gold.

Gazette:

"It was a bit of a let down for me personally, as I only had one fight whereas previously, I've had five fights in five days," added Richardson, who is likely to compete in the Czech Republic later this month.

"There was meant to be eight of us and then four dropped out.

"I thought then 'at least I'll get four fights in' and then one failed to make weight, so moved up, to leave three of us.

"It looked like I would get the semi-final and then the final, as I didn't want the draw where you get a bye to the final.

"I got that semi-final fight but then the night before, the coach told me my opponent was ill and wasn't fighting.

"He's a good kid and I was looking forward to that fight - I was confident I was going to win but it would have been a close, competitive fight.

"So I ended up only having one fight which was the final.

"But you can only beat what's in front of you and I still boxed well.

"You've still got to be professional, eat that right foods and stay sharp and focused and I felt like I did that."

Richardson is backed by his sponsors Datum Group, Maldon Demolition, Shaun Hanney Scaffolding and Construction and Jak Finch Hair and has thanked them for all of their support.